SOF News

Comments on JSOC and Hitting the Taliban. Gary Owen of the Sunny in Kabul Blog has penned a piece examining the targeting killing of the Taliban leadership, its effectiveness, and more in "Yes, The Taliban are Worse than Ever", August 18, 2015.

Blackbird Technologies Contract. Raytheon Blackbird Technologies has won a U.S. Special Operations Command (SOCOM) - Wide Mission Support (SWMS) contract to provide program management and technical services to special operations forces (SOF) around the world. Blackbird's core competencies are: persistent surveillance, reconnaissance products, cyber security,and global intelligence systems. (Military Embedded Systems, August 19, 2015.

Academi Contract for Afghanistan. The Academi Training Center, LLC from Moyock, North Carolina (used to be part of Blackwater) has been awarded an $8 million contract for facility service support and private security contract / armed security in Afghanistan. The estimated completion date is May 2018. Camp Integrity where the Special Operations Joint Task Force - Afghanistan (SOJTF-A) is based is an Academi facility rented by the U.S. military. It was recently attacked during a spate of bombings in Kabul - with one U.S. Green Beret KIA and several Afghan security contractors killed.

Aeromedical Evacuation and Camp Integrity. One Green Beret lost his life in mid-August during a Taliban attack on the hqs of the Special Operations Joint Task Force - Afghanistan (SOJTF-A) located near the Kabul International Airport. In addition, several Afghan security contractors died and there were numerous wounded. A recent news release provides more information on the medical evacuation of the wounded to regional medical facilities as well as onward to a medical facility in Germany. Read "455th EAES provides critical bridge between battlefields, higher-level care", DVIDS, August 17, 2015.

Green Beret Getting Kicked Out of Army for Afghan Actions. An eleven-year veteran of the Army is getting axed by the Army for actions he took in Afghanistan in saving a 12-year old boy who was being raped by an Afghan police commander. He got into a physical altercation with the Afghan policeman over the issue and was relieved of his position and now is faced with discharge from the Army. Read more in "Army kicking out decorated Green Beret who stood up for Afghan rape victim", Fox News, August 21, 2015.