SOF News

SF Soldiers on Horseback After 9/11. Before 9/11, the last time American forces fought on horseback was on January 16, 1942 when the U.S. Army's 26th Cavalry Regiment charged an advanced guard of the 14th Japanese Army as it advanced from Manila. At the onset of Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) select members of the 5th Special Forces Group infiltrated northern Afghanistan and linked up with groups of the Northern Alliance. Some of them soon found themselves on horseback fighting with a warlord known as Rashid Dostum (now First Vice President). Read more in a news report by We Are the Mighty, September 11, 2015.

COL Charles Beckwith - One Helicopter Short. Phil Walter - a former member of the military and intelligence community - has provided us with a short bio of Colonel Charles Beckwith. COL Beckwith was one of the founders of the 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment - Delta which first gained fame for its role in the ill-fated OPERATION EAGLE CLAW. Read more in "Leadership in Action: Colonel Charles A. Beckwith", The Military Leader, September 7, 2015.

No Medal of Honor for Green Beret? An Army SFC received the Silver Star for heroism in Afghanistan. He was recommended for the Medal of Honor by senior military officials in Afghanistan but the Army approved the lower award instead. Read "Pentagon watchdog investigating why the Army didn't award Medal of Honor to Green Beret", The Washington Post, September 8, 2015.

SF "Gag Order? A member of the House Armed Services Committee is blasting the Army over an alleged 'gag order' barring SF Soldiers from speaking to their elected officials or the media in defense of a decorated Green Beret who got it trouble for shoving an Afghan police commander accused of raping a boy. Read more in "Rep rips Army over alleged 'gag order' barring soldiers from defending Green Beret", Fox News, September 11, 2015.

Combatives for Special Forces. The SF community has gone through several styles of combatives - MACP, SOCP, LINE, MCMAP, and others. Read more in "Here's how military combat training is evolving", Business Insider, September 8, 2015.

Estonian SOF. There are a lot of nations participating in the NATO mission in Afghanistan. One of them is Estonia. Watch a video about Estonian SOF by Intrepid TV.
https://youtu.be/yqXm1JvXIks

Camp Bastion Saved by US SOF? A news report by The Daily Mail (Sep 5, 2015) says that the former Camp Bastion is at risk of seizure by the Taliban and that almost 100 United States SOF personnel were deployed to defend it. The same report says that the Afghan army is paying the Taliban not to attack Camp Bastion. Hmmmm.

Documentary - Australia's SAS. An official documentary gives a rare glimpse inside Australia's secretive and elite military unit. The 11-part series is named The Australian SAS: The Untold History. The Australian SAS has been a long-time contributor to SOF organizations in Afghanistan. Read more in a news report and watch a 6 minute trailer by ABC.net.au, September 2, 2015.

SOF in Afghanistan. The Afghan National Army is doing okay - according to some observers. The Afghan special mission units, commandos, and special forces are doing good. The Afghan police? Not so much. Read more in "Special Operations: Surviving Change in Afghanistan", Strategy Page, September 8, 2015.

SF Soldier Dies in Parachute Accident. A member of the 1st Special Forces Group died Friday, September 11, 2015 during an airborne operation at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington. (KXLY.com, Sep 12, 2015).

SORA Conference. The Special Operations Research Association 2015 Conference - 2015 Annual Symposium - will be held at Fort Walton Beach, Florida on 11-12 December, 2015. www.specopsjournal.org/conference.html