Political pressure is building for the UK’s special forces to be subjected to parliamentary scrutiny for the first time – bringing them into line with rest of the military and the intelligence services. The SAS and other elite units that make up the UK’s special forces are usually deployed on covert operations. Any questions in parliament about them are met ... Read More »
The U.S. military’s investigation into last year’s ambush in Niger, in which four U.S. soldiers were killed, has been completed and the notification of families has begun, the Pentagon said Monday. “We’re currently in the process of briefing the families of those fallen soldiers in order to provide them with the results of the investigation,” said Col. Rob Manning, a ... Read More »
Tech. Sgt. John Chapman, the combat controller who was killed during the fierce Battle of Roberts Ridge in Afghanistan in 2002, will be posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor, according to a report in Task and Purpose. Chapman would be the first airman to receive a Medal of Honor, the nation’s highest award for valor, for actions since the Vietnam War. Chapman originally received an ... Read More »
The provincial government media office in a statement said the raid was conducted in the vicinity of Wazir area in Khogyani district, Khaama press reported. The statement further added that a local commander of the Taliban group identified as Abdullah nom de guerre Mazlumyar was among the killed. A large number of weapons, ammunition, and explosives of the Taliban insurgents ... Read More »
Of the 18 ROTC students chosen to train as U.S. Navy SEALs this year, four are from the Virginia Tech Corps of Cadets and the university’s Naval ROTC. Another six Hokies are among the 53 men and women nationwide to begin the rigorous SEAL selection process. In fact, in the past two years, no ROTC program in the country has had more students selected ... Read More »
A former U.S. Army sniper and two other ex-American soldiers were convicted Wednesday in the contract killing of a real estate agent in the Philippines for an international crime boss who thought the woman had cheated him on a land deal. Joseph Hunter, a onetime sergeant from Kentucky with a Special Forces background, Adam Samia and Carl David Stillwell were ... Read More »
An icon of special operations and a man who at one time was the Army’s most battle-tested officer has died, according to The Fayetteville Observer. Maj. Gen. Michael D. Healy, 91, died Saturday in Jacksonville, Florida, according to officials. The general served in the military for 35 years, spending much of his career at Fort Bragg. When he retired in 1981, ... Read More »
Even as Islamic State group fighters flee the Middle East and cause fear across Africa’s Sahel region it is al-Qaida that poses the more serious long-term threat, the U.S. military’s special operations commander in Africa said in an interview with The Associated Press. Speaking on the sidelines of the annual U.S. counterterror exercise to train West African special forces, Maj. Gen. Marcus ... Read More »
Army Staff Sgt. Michael Young was in the middle of his fifth combat deployment to Afghanistan last year when he and his fellow Rangers found themselves in an “terrifyingly chaotic” firefight from the moment they hit the ground that would last for hours. They were working alongside their Afghan counterparts on a nighttime raid after a high- value target, Young said. What Young, a ... Read More »
There has been a number of news reports about a Tuesday night military training exercise that shook up residents in the Cornwall area. The Canadian Forces has apologized for the disturbance. Canadian Special Operations Forces Command has confirmed that special forces members, supported by CH-147F Chinook and CH-146 Griffon helicopters, were involved in the training that night. Department of National ... Read More »
SOFX The Crossroads of Special Operations