SOF News

JSOU Paper on Tactical Opns & Strategic Effect. Colin S. Gray has wrote a paper entitled Tactical Operations for Strategic Effect: The Challenge of Currency Conversion, JSOU Special Report, November 2015, Joint Special Operations University.
http://jsou.libguides.com/ld.php?content_id=16765138

Special Warfare Magazine. The October-November 2015 issue of Special Warfare Magazine has been published by the United States Army John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School. You can read online or download at the link below.
www.dvidshub.net/publication/issues/27727

Tip of the Spear. This monthly magazine is published by the U.S. Special Operations Command at McDill AFB, Florida. The latest issue (Nov 2015) is available at the link below.
www.dvidshub.net/publication/issues/27636

USSOCOM Fact Book 2016. The United States Special Operations Command 2016 Fact Book was been published in October 2015. It is 60 pages long and filled with neat photos and an explanation of what USSOCOM is and does. It is only 61 MBs big and can be download at the link below.
www.dvidshub.net/publication/issues/27133

SF Training Ukraine SOF. United States Army Special Forces (USSF) have started a six month long training program for the Ukrainian Special Operations Forces (SOF). Read more in "US begins special forces training for Ukrainian troops", UAToday.TV, November 21, 2015.

SOF and Exercise Jackal Stone. Special Operations Forces (SOF) from several countries took part in an exercise aboard the USS Mount Whitney this fall. The training was focused on building SOF capacity and capabilities of partner nations. SOCEUR organizes the JS exercise. Read more in "USS Mount Whitney trains with SOF during JS10", Special Operations Blog - SOFSPACE, November 23, 2015.

Paper - SOF Background and Issues. The Congressional Research Service (CRS) has provided a 12-page paper to Congress entitled U.S. Special Operations Forces (SOF): Background and Issues for Congress, November 19, 2015. It is posted on the Federation of American Scientists (FAS) website (which means military computers won't access it). One interesting topic is the issues associated with the administration's decision to deploy SOF to northern Syria.
http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/natsec/RS21048.pdf

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SOF News

Can SF Defeat ISIS? Mike Rogers, writing for CNN, says that SF can only do so much - especially when the numbers deployed are to be small. A projected number to be deployed to Syria is 50 SOF personnel - hardly a robust number. He compares this proposed deployment to Syria with the robust SOF presence in Iraq from 2004-2011. He concludes by saying "A minimal number of special operations forces can achieve a great deal but they are incapable of achieving strategic success." Read more in "Can Special Forces defeat ISIS in Syria and Iraq?", CNN, November 19, 2015.

Mali Attack and U.S. SF? One news report stated that a few U.S. Special Forces members were involved (in some fashion - Intel, advice, etc.) with the rescue of some of the 100 + hostages in the American-owned hotel in Mali taken by al-Qaeda-linked jihadists. Perhaps we will see more in the news about this? See "Mali attack: Special forces storm hotel to free hostages", BBC News, November 20, 2015. To learn more about U.S. SOF involvement in Mali read "Countering Violent Extremism in Mali", by Dr. Mark Moyar, JSOU Report 15-5, November 2015, Joint Special Operations University.

SOF Operator Killed in Iraq. MSG Joshua Wheeler was killed in action while deployed in support of Operation Inherent Resolve (Iraq) in late October 2015 while serving with Delta Force. His death took place during an operation to release 70 individuals that were being held hostage by ISIS. He was assigned to U.S. Army Special Operations Command in 2004 and deployed 11 times in support of combat operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. Read a biographical sketch of MSG Wheeler posted on the U.S. Army Special Operations Command website. Read about his funeral at Arlington Cemetery (The Washington Post, November 18, 2015).

How to Win in Syria with SF. Dave Betz, a retired SGM from U.S. Army Special Forces, tells us how to win in Syria with SF. Read his piece at Small Wars Journal, November 20, 2015.

G1 Trainer Needed for SMW. Raytheon is advertising a position for a G1 Trainer for the Afghan Air Force Special Mission Wing. http://jobinafghanistan.blogspot.com/2015/11/afg-kabul-g1-trainer-administration.html

Jade Helm and Obama. Conspiracy theorists had a field day with the Jade Helm exercise held this past year in the southwest of the United States. This special operations exercise was organized by the U.S. Army Special Operations Command (based at Fort Bragg, NC). Many thought that President Obama was using the exercise as a vehicle to declare martial law in an attempt to stay in power longer than eight years. Obama was recently asked what was the most entertaining conspiracy theory about him and he answered - the military exercise in Texas. Read "Obama names Jade Helm rumors as most entertaining conspiracy theory about him", The Washington Post, November 18, 2015.

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SOF News

More on Kunduz Hospital Attack. Information about the AC-130 aerial attack on the MSF medical facility in Kunduz City seems to be slowly coming out. New reports indicate that about 35 members of the 3rd Special Forces Group were located 1/2 mile away at the governor's compound when they came under attack by a large group of Taliban fighters during the Afghan counteroffensive to retake Kunduz City. The SF element called in air support to hit a number of Taliban positions to include suspected Taliban command and control nodes. The Afghan forces insisted that the MSF hospital was one of these command centers and urged it to be destroyed. The SF element did not know the target was a functioning hospital until the attack was over. Read more in a news report by Associated Press, November 12, 2015.

AAN Report on MSF Hospital Attack. In October 2015 a U.S. Air Force AC-130 gunship attacked a Doctors Without Borders medical facility during the Afghan security forces offensive to retake Kunduz City from the Taliban. The Afghanistan Analyst Network (AAN) provides their perspective on what happened to cause 30 medical providers and patients to die. Read "MSF Investigation: US hospital strike looking more like a war crime", Afghanistan Analysts Network (AAN), by Kate Clark, November 10, 2015.

Delta Force. One of the U.S. Army's most specialized units has had many names. "Delta", "Combat Application Group (CAG)", "The Unit", "Army Compartmented Element (ACE)", etc. Delta is one of the most effective counterterrorism units in the world. Read more in "Delta Force: Speed, Surprise and Violence of Action", Newsweek, November 8, 2015.

Video of BG Bolduc - Cdr SOCAfrica. BG Bolduc provides his perspective on the new era of special operations at "The Age of Everything" - Defense One Summit 2015.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=mY4THCpv75g

Project Diane. A University of Kansas study examines gender integration of Army Special Forces. The ". . . researchers recommend interventions to overcome barriers in policy implementation and daily operations". Reminds of the old days when we had to endure classes on "Consideration of Others" (COO). Oh my.  (KU, Nov 10, 2015).

Estonia Special Forces Selection - Video. A short (90 secs) video details the selection process fo the Estonian Special Forces. www.youtube.com/watch?v=A8-rVID-u04

Ukrainian SF Fight On With Limited Trng & Supplies. Ukraine's Special Forces are still heavily engaged in countering the proxie forces of Russia in the eastern part of the country. However the SF units are hampered in their fight. Read more in "Ukrainian Special Forces Fight On Despite Lack of Training and Supplies", Task & Purpose, November 13, 2015.

Gulf Allies Need SOF More than 'Fancy' Jets. "In an interview, the U.S. defense secretary says that America's Arab allies need fewer high-end fighter jets and more training of ground forces and special-operations troops."  The real threat to Middle East security is not from nations states and their large armies but from the hybrid warfare conducted by Iran and other nations - a type of warfare that requires SOF forces to defeat. Read more in a news report by Defense One, November 6, 2015.

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SOF News

Green Beret Officer Retires After Cleared of Wrongdoing. A decorated Special Forces officer who was investigated by the Army for whistleblowing to Congress about the government's broke hostage-recovery process has retired from the U.S. Army. His retirement was held up by the Army while an ill-advised months-long investigation ensued. The investigation, a warrant-less and inane act of bureaucracy, finally cleared LTC Jason Armerine of wrongdoing. Armerine and his 12-man Special Forces team linked up with Hamid Karzai in the fall of 2001, defeated a number of Taliban formations in the field, and entered Kandahar as liberators. Three members of the operational detachment were killed during this timeframe. Karzai later became President of Afghanistan. Read more in "Green Beret investigated for whistleblowing retires", Army Times, November 2015.

50 SF Soldiers Heading to Syria as Advisors - but "It's not Combat"! Some U.S. special operations troops are going to be coordinating local fighter movements with U.S.-led coalition efforts against Islamic State militants. They will assist local Syrian forces (Arabs, Kurds, and Turkmen fighters) in tactics, operational planning, and logistics. They probably will assist in controlling air support as well. But this is not "combat". Hmmm. Red more in "White House: No Combat Missions for US Troops in Syria", Voice of America, November 2, 2015.

Drones Continue Advisory Mission in Syria. US officials remain adamant that the increase of operations and air support in Syria do not indicate a change in US policy. White House Press Secretary Josh Ernest was emphatic when he said our ". . . drones are serving in a non-combat role". Read more in "Drones in Syria 'Serving Strictly in an Advisory Role'", Duffel Blog, November 2, 2015.

Failed SF Training Program for Syrian Moderates Cost $2 Million per Trainee. While the price tag may be an exaggeration certainly the program was not a success. Read more in "Pentagon's failed Syria program cost $2 million per trainee", USA Today,  November 5, 2015.

Retired SF LTC Comments on Syria Mission. In a guest commentary to The Denver Post, Mitch Utterback tells us the difference that 50 Green Berets on the ground in Syria can make. Read "Don't underestimate the power of U.S. special operations", November 2, 2015.

SF Working "Coffee Breath Close". An example of "advise and assist" going right can be found in the effort by SOCAfrica to reduce the threat from African warlord Joseph Kony. His force of 3,000 has been whittled down to about 200 hardcore fighters. Read more in "What the Syrian Train-and-Equip Effort Could Learn from US Ops in Africa", Defense One, November 2, 2015.

9th Commando Kandak Facility Under Construction. Versar, Inc. has received a $17 million construction contract from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to support construction projects in Afghanistan. (UPI, Nov 3, 2015).

7th SFGA Memorial Wall. On Friday, Nov 6th 7th SFGA had a groundbreaking for the 7th SFGA Memorial Wall. (Stars & Stripes, Nov 6, 2015).

General Votel Interview. The commander of the United States Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) in Tampa, Florida is interviewed. (KSTP.com, Nov 1, 2015.

JSOU Reading Lists. The Joint Special Operations University Library has posted their "Professional Military Reading Lists" for 2016; including the USSOCOM Cdr's favorites. Also, see AWN's reading lists for Afghanistan.
http://jsou.libguides.com/readinglists
www.afghanwarnews.info/afghan-reading-list.htm

SOCOM Looks to Techno Future. The US Special Operations Command in Tampa, Florida is always exploring new high tech ways of conducting special operations. Read more in "Socoms 'hackatohon' opens process of creating high-tech commando gear", The Tampa Tribune, November 4, 2015.

Cash Bonus for SOF NCOs. Special Forces Senior NCOs with a high DLPT score are now eligible for bonuses (CSRB) of up to $150K if they re-enlist from 24 to 73 months. Check out the pay graph with details at Military Times.

MSF Report on Hospital Attack. When SOF operators, supporting ANA SOF in the fight to retake Kunduz city, called in air support from an AC-130 on a hospital in Kunduz over 33 people were killed including many members of the medical staff of "Doctors Without Borders". MSF has published its Initial MSF Internal Review about the attack on the MSF Kunduz Trauma Center. http://kunduz.msf.org Meanwhile, The Daily Beast has published an article on the incident - "Pentagon MIA on Afghan Doctors Without Borders Hospital Attack", November 3, 2015. Read also "U.S. Airstrikes in Kunduz destroyed more than a hospital", The Washington Post, November 4, 2015.

Book Review - The Lion of Sabray. An illiterate former Mujahedeen leader helped a survivor of a four-man SEAL reconnaissance element chased down by the Taliban. Lone Survivor is a book about Marcus Luttrell - a SEAL assisted by an Afghan villager. The Lion of Sabray is the story of the villager that helped Luttrell. Read a review of the book in a news story posted on Hampton Roads.com, November 1, 2015.

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SOF News

SOJTF-A to Expand? The Afghan Local Police (ALP) was a program started by U.S. Special Forces in Afghanistan to provide security and stability in key districts. SOF Marines and Navy SEALs also took part. The number of ALP was capped at 30,000 and with the withdrawal U.S. SOF was pulled off the district level local police. Now the Afghan government, facing a resurgent Taliban is looking at increasing the ALP to 45,000 (with U.S. funding of course). Will we see U.S. SOF once again committed to the ALP in the form of train, advise and assist? Hmmmm.

New SOCCENT Commander. Special Operations Command Central (SOCCENT) has a new commander. MG Michael Nagata has passed command to MG Darsie Rogers. Rogers is the former commander of U.S. Army Special Forces Command and has extensive experience in 10th Special Forces Group. 10th Group has spent lots of time in Iraq over the past few decades (starting with Desert Storm and Provide Comfort). 10th SFGA is known to be "Kurd friendly" so don't be surprised to find SOCCENT spending more time training up the Kurds in Iraq and Syria. Read "Special Operations Command Central welcomes new commander", Army.mil, October 29, 2015.

SF Now In Syria. This past Friday (Oct 30, 2015) President Obama announced that approximately 50 Special Forces personnel will deploy to northeastern Syria to advise and assist local forces fighting the Islamic State. A White House spokesman, Josh Earnest, says that the SF dudes won't have a combat mission. Seriously? Is he being earnest when he says that? Read more in "Obama Sends Special Operations Forces to Help Fight ISIS in Syria", The New York Times, October 30, 2015. See also "Analysts: US Special Forces Operators in Syria Not a Cure", Defense News, October 31, 2015.

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SOF News

Commandos Kill Taliban Dep Gov. Afghan commandos are reported to have killed the Taliban Deputy Govenor for Farah province. The ANA conducted several operations in the western province last week. (Khaama Press, Oct 12, 2015).

Brit SF Return to Camp Bastion. It appears that the British will re-occupy Camp Bastion in Helmand province for a least a short period of time. Seems that some Afghan units (Commandos?) are in need of advice and assistance. Read a news report by the Daily Mail, October 15, 2015.

SF NCO Facing Discharge. Little support is forthcoming from the Massachusetts delegation to Congress for the Special Forces NCO from Milton, Massachusetts who will soon be discharged from the Army for beating up an Afghan police officer who held a young Afghan boy captive and sexually exploited him. Read more in a recent news report (WBUR, Oct 13, 2015).

SF Medic Receives Recognition. Dan Winschel currently works as a Physician Assistant the Veterans Administration Jamaica Plain Hospital in Massachusetts. He started out 28 years ago as a Special Forces medic with 7th Special Forces Group and has deployed to Afghanistan many times. The Veterans Administration recently recognized "Veteran of the Day".

Ukraine SOF. The Ukraine has been a dependable Coalition partner in the Afghan War. They have revamped their special forces. Read more in "Meet Ukraine's new elite Special Forces securing the border", UA Today, October 17, 2015.

India's SOD. The Indian military is changing up the organization of its SOF units by creating a Special Operations Division (SOD). (The Times of India, Oct 17, 2015).

3rd Female to Graduate Ranger School. Reports indicate that a third female has graduated from Ranger School. It would seem that she spent more than the usual 60 days at the course - having recycled a few times - staying in the course about 180 days. Some news report say she is a 37-year old mother of two. I went through when I was 32 years old and the 4th oldest graduating student in my class. 37-years old? Must be a stud! Good for her. (The Washington Post, Oct 12, 2015).

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SOF News

Behind the Scenes. Barbara Star, CNN Pentagon Correspondent, interviews General Votel (cdr of USSOCOM). Votel chats about SOF successes, failures, SOCOM creation, covert operations, and more. Read (and watch the video) "Behind the scenes with the commander of Special Ops", CNN.com, October 5, 2015.

Spetsnaz in Syria. Russia's special forces has now deployed to Syria according to some news reports. Read "Putin has sent the feared Spetsnaz special forces nto Syria to bail out Assad", Mirror UK, October 6, 2015.

JSOC in the Shadows. "One of the least publicized organizations active in counter-terror operations is the U.S. Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC). Formed in 1980 in the aftermath of a failed mission into Iran to rescue American embassy personnel being held captive there, JSOC was meant to eliminate the coordination problems between the services that were found to be the main reason the Iran rescue mission failed." Read more in "Special Operations: JSOC in the Shadows", Strategy Page, October 3, 2015.

History of Special Operations Executive (SOE). This famous organization was created by British prime minister Winston Churchill to carry out top-secret missions against Germany. Read more in "The Top Secret WWII Warriors Who Inspired James Bond and Birthed Modern Black Ops", Maxim Magazine, October 8, 2015.

Syrian Training Program "Paused". After the disastrous testimony of CENTCOM commander General Austin before Congress and subsequent reports of failure coming out of the Middle East the Syrian training program has been halted. At least the military part of it. A program to train up 5,400 Syrians had produced only 60; and those were either killed or captured as soon as they entered Syria. The more successful (?) CIA training program is reportedly still ongoing. It appears that rather than start from scratch in recruiting and vetting "moderate" Syrians the Pentagon may provide aid to already established rebel groups (what a concept). Perhaps they should have armed up and trained the Kurds in a big way right from the beginning. Thus far the Kurds have proven themselves to be the most effective fighters on the ground in Syria (besides ISIS).

SF Failing at UW? One wonders just how well our Army is in conducting the Special Forces core mission of Unconventional Warfare - if we couldn't get the Syrian training program off the ground with a $500 million budget, a years worth of work, existing rebel organizations already established, training camps in countries adjacent to the area of operations, air superiority, and sanctuaries for the resistance movements. Does the CIA know how to do UW better than the Army? Read "Pentagon plans major shift in effort to counter Islamic State in Syria", The Washington Post, October 9, 2015. See also a DoD press release on the topic (Oct 9, 2015).

10th SFGA & 4th ID Aligned. The 10th Special Forces Group is regionally oriented with Europe and has a battalion forward deployed near Stuttgart, Germany. It's home base and group headquarters is at Fort Carson. 10th SFGA teams have worked for many years alongside European SOF training, advising, and assisting special mission units of the Ministry of Interior (MoI) in Afghanistan. The 4th Infantry Division is also located at Fort Carson. Both the 10th and the 4th are now going to be aligned and operating together in Europe. Read more in "Army looks to rotating and reserve forces for Europe mission", Army Times, October 8, 2015.

Report - Female Marines a NO for SOF. "A report conducted by the U.S. Marine Corps on integrating women into all military units concluded that even the top female troops likely cannot cut it in the special operations forces . . ." See "Report finds female Marines cannot meet some standards for special operations forces", Fox News, October 7, 2015.

Discharge of Green Beret for Assaulting ALP Officer Postponed. An SFC who was scheduled for discharge from the Army is getting a 60-day reprieve. The Army has agreed to postpone the discharge in order to review the case. The SF NCO received a letter of reprimand for assaulting an Afghan police officer in 2011 who continuously raped a young Afghan boy. The letter was instrumental in a personnel action that was removing the NCO from the Army. The case has received national attention and caused a certain amount of embarrassment for the Army. Read more in "Army agrees to postpone discharge of Green Beret", The Hill, October 6, 2015.

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Bacha Bazi, the ANDSF, and U.S. Advisors

SFC Martland Speaks Out. SFC Charles Martland is being involuntarily separated from the Army for beating up an Afghan Local Police (ALP) commander who was raping a young Afghan boy repeatedly. Unless SecDef gets involved and reverses the decision Martland is out of the Army come November 1st. This is an issue that is not going away. Read more in "Green Beret discharged for beating alleged child rapist speaks out", CNN,  September 28, 2015.

Letter of Reprimand. The then commanding general of Combined Forces Special Operations Component Command - Afghanistan (CFSOCC-A) - which is now designated as SOTF-A - wrote a letter of reprimand accusing Martland and his team leader (CPT Quinn) of "flagrant departure from the integrity, professionalism and even-tempered leadership" expected of Special Forces soldiers. No double a letter artfully crafted by the CFSOCC-A lawyer(s). See "U.S. Soldiers Told to Ignore Sexual Abuse of Boys by Afghan Allies", by Joseph Goldstein, The New York Times, September 20, 2015.

Kunduz - A Problem Area for ALP. The province of Kunduz has seen its share of problems from militias - whether those supported by the National Directorate of Security (NDS), local warlords, or the U.S. sponsored and advised Afghan Local Police or ALP. Part of the current security problems of Kunduz city and the province are attributed to these militia groups and ALP that have been above the law and victimizing the local population - thus providing more support to the insurgents. The 1st Special Forces Group was providing assistance to the Afghan Local Police in Kunduz (as part of their wider Village Stability Operations program). Attempts by SFC Martland and his SF team leader to rein in the ALP backfired on them and they were kicked out of the country. Read more in "One of the best" Defenders show support for ousted Green Beret", Army Times, September 30, 2015.

Due Process? Matthew Weybrecht provides his viewpoint on the legality of two U.S. Soldiers beating up a commander of the Afghan Local Police (ALP). He seems to believe that the Soldiers received due process and got off lightly with a reprimand and not a court marital for their alleged assault. Oh Matthew . . . really? I know you got combat time and served in the Rangers (read your bio); but based on your opinion piece it is readily apparent you will make a good lawyer. Good luck with your studies at Harvard Law School! Read the article in "The U.S. Military and Due Process in Afghanistan", Lawfare, September 29, 2015.

Gen Campbell Speaks Out. The current Resolute Support (RS) mission commander, General John Campbell, has come out strongly against allegations that U.S. forces ignore (or ignored) reports of sexual abuse of young Afghan boys by Afghan police or military members. Read his response in "Gen. Campbell: Any abuse is reprehensible", USA Today, September 28, 2015. Hmmm. While there was 'no such theater policy' there was certainly widespread knowledge of "Man Love Thursday" activities among the Afghan security forces. In addition, there were varying degrees of intervention by U.S. forces from turning a blind eye to trying to fire the offending ANDSF members. However, the leverage that U.S. commanders had at the Ministry of Interior and Ministry of Defense in regards to firing bad Afghan commanders was dismal. So, there's that . . .

SOF News

New SF Facebook Page. The U.S. Army's 1st Special Forces Command has redesigned its Facebook page. www.facebook.com/SFCommand

Harris Radio Contract for SOF. RF Communications Division of Harris Corporation has been awarded an estimated $390 million contract for tactical communications for special operations forces. (Signal, Sep 28, 2015).

U.S. Commandos Back in Pakistan . . . Quietly. Pakistan expelled U.S. Special Forces from their country over four years ago - but now (in a quiet way) the special operators have returned. From 2008 to 2011 the U.S. special operations element was under the command of SOCFWD-PAK or Special Operations Command Forward Pakistan. This unit actively trained Pakistan military elements to improve the COIN capabilities of Pakistan. Now the new organization is called SOCCENT FWD-PAK. Read more in "American Commandos Quietly Return to Pakistan", War is Boring, September 28, 2015.

CA Association Conference. Civil Affairs, at least back in my SF days, used to be an integral part of the Special Forces community (along with the Psyop folks). Somehow we let the CA bubbas slip away from us. At any rate, for those who are interested the Civil Affairs Association is holding a conference 19-22 November 2015 in San Antonio, Texas. Naturally it is along the riverwalk. I can think of a nicer place at a better time of year!

The OSS, CIA, and SF. Douglas Waller provides us with some history of how the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) morphed into the CIA and Special Forces. Read more in "How the OSS Shaped the CIA and American Special Ops", War on the Rocks, September 30, 2015.

SF Dependent Upon CF. Joshua Meservey believes that the U.S. Army Special Forces is a great force with important missions but he worries that cuts in the conventional forces will undermine the USSF's ability to do its job overseas. Read more in "Special Forces Are Great, but They Require a Strong Conventional Military to Operate", The Daily Signal, October 1, 2015.

Paper on Navy IW. A paper has been published by the Congressional Research Service (CRS) entitled Navy Irregular Warfare and Counterterrorism Operations: Background and Issues for Congress, by Ronald O'Rourke, September 25, 2015. It is available here on the website of the Federation of American Scientists (FAS) - www.fas.org/sgp/crs/natsec/RS22373.pdf. If you try to access from a government computer you will get spanked! If you don't know what IW is then click here.

Paper - The Gray Zone. The United States Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) has released a 'White Paper' entitled The Gray Zone. "Gray zone challenges are not new. Monikers such as irregular warfare, low-intensity conflict, asymmetric warfare, Military Operations Other Than War (MOOTW), and Small Wars have all been employed to describe this phenomenon in the past."
www.specialforcestraining.info/docs/GrayZones-USSOCOM-WhitePaper9Sep2015.pdf

Canada's SF & War Crimes in the Dark. The conservatives in Canada, if given the chance, will increase the size of Canada's special forces - adding over 600 members to CANSOFCOM. Yves Engler of Counterpunch (Oct 2, 2015) would like you to think that is a bad thing.

Navy SEALs and Women. It appears that the Navy SEALs are ready to allow women to go through its training. The head of the Navy's special warfare units says that women are welcomed to try but that the training is tough and expectations should be managed. He also worries that outsiders will try to adjust or lower the standards in an attempt to see women pass the rigorous training. Read more in "Navy SEALs ready to open doors to women", Navy Times, September 29, 2015.

SEALs, Silencers, Covert Ops, and Breaking the Law. A senior Navy intelligence official has been indicted in a covert weapons deal. Just a guy helping a brother out. Read more in a news report in The Washington Post, October 2, 2015.

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

SOF News

U.S. SOF Rushed to Helmand Province. The northern part of Helmand province is experiencing some significant security issues. The districts of Kajaki, Musa Qala, Sangin, and Bahgran have seen some Taliban advances - including the capture of a couple of district centers. To help counter this deteriorating situation the American military has deployed about 90 special operations troops to Helmand province. Two were recently killed during a green-on-blue incident. The SOF troops were rushed to Camp Bastion shortly after the fall of Musa Qala district last week and reportedly have taken part in the recapture of the district center this past weekend. Read more in "US deploys 90 Special Operations troops in Helmand province", Khaama Press, August 30, 2015.

Retired SF Officer Killed in Afghanistan. Richard McEvoy was killed by a suicide bomber on Friday, August 22, 2015. He was working as a Program Manager with defense contractor DynCorp International in Kabul, Afghanistan. He grew up in North Brookfield, Massachusetts, graduated from West Point, served in the infantry to include Special Forces. He retired in 2008 as a Colonel (O6). Read more in a news report by Community Advocate, September 2015.

Green Beret sold down River by FBI? An SF officer who helped Hamid Karzai enter Kandahar in the early stages of the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan in the fall of 2001 is getting the short end of the stick because of an investigation by the FBI and the U.S. Army. Read more in "Investigation clears Army of retaliating against Green Beret whistleblower, but scrutiny remains", The Washington Post, September 3, 2015. Read also "Why is the FBI Trying to Bury a Special Forces War Hero?", Newsweek, September 2, 2015.

Diversity in SOF. The U.S. SOF forces are disproportionately white and some folks are wondering why. One simple reason is the mandatory "must pass" rigorous swim test. If you are a non-swimmer you don't get in. There are other reasons as well. Black Soldiers tent to choose support units such as logistics and administration. Other barriers included high test scores (GT, etc.) and clean disciplinary records. Read "Special ops diversity woes dog Pentagon", USA Today, September 3, 2015.

Heroic Day in Afghanistan Detailed. SFC Brendan O'Connor crawled through a 14-inch ditch under heavy fire from the Taliban to save his injured men in a big fight in June 2006 in an area southwest of Kandahar. Read an account of the action that earned him the Distinguished Service Cross. (Task and Purpose, September 3, 2015).

Nerkh District Killings Investigation. In 2013 a Special Forces detachment based in Nerkh district, Wardak province was accused of being complicit in the disappearance and killing of residents of the district. Some reports indicate that as many as 18 Afghan civilians are missing. The incident caused a considerable amount of angst for the Special Forces leadership in the country to the extent that President Karzai ordered all SF teams out of Wardak province (a order later rescinded). The U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Division (CID) recently (Aug 15) reopened the investigation. However, there is distrust among Afghan citizens as to what the final outcome will be of the investigation. Read more in "Afghan villagers skeptical as U.S. reopens probe into 2013 killings", The Washington Post, September 1, 2015.

SOF and Their Toys. SOF units have used All Terrain Vehicles (ATVs) extensively in Afghanistan - not only for base operations but to move to target areas or conduct reconnaissance in remote areas (and also to stay off IED-laden roads). SOF units are now going to get a more advanced ATV. Read more in "US special ops clinches deal for cutting-edge ATVs", Fox News, September 3, 2015.

Indiana to get NG SF Company. A National Guard Special Forces unit now stationed in Chicago is moving to Indiana in 2016. A/2/20th will move to Camp Atterbury. Read more in "Indiana National Guard to house Special Forces unit", Army Times, September 3, 2015.

SOF Flight Data Revealed on Flightradar24.com. It interesting article on how you can track SOF air mission on an unclassified website. Read "How the US Periodically Reveals the Locations of Special Operations Missions", VICE News, August 31, 2015.

SOF News

Paper - SOF and Human Domain Mapping. "One way to develop ways and methods to prepare for the evolutionary change in warfare is to operationalize social network analysis through human domain mapping. This will " . . . provide a richer and more in depth understanding of the societies in which we will inevitably operate." . . . "Some examples include identifying key influencers or brokers, providing early intelligence on the fundamental composition of insurgent networks, or detecting marginalized elites or disenfranchised social groups sympathetic to U.S. strategies". The author, Major Derek Raymond, is with the 5th Special Forces Group and holds a Master's of Science from the Naval Postgraduate School. Read his report in "Human Domain Mapping in 21st Century Warfare", Small Wars Journal, August 22, 2015.

Memorial for SFC McKenna. A memorial was held on Camp Integrity for a Green Beret who died in a recent insurgent attack on Camp Integrity (SOJTF-A) in mid-August.

Manhunting Machine. Sean Naylor provides us with a brief history of special operations - from Panama to the 'Global War on Terror' with his article "Inside the Pentagon's Manhunting Machine", The Atlantic, August 28, 2015.

SOJTF-A Challenge Coin. All good SOF units have a "Commander's Challenge Coin" and the Special Operations Joint Task Force - Afghanistan is no exception. Read more at the link below.
https://commanderschallenge.wordpress.com/tag/major-general-scott-miller/

SF Grooming Afghan Troops. Michael Phillips has penned an article on how special operations units are trying to get their local counterparts ready for combat in "Treading the Line Between War and Peace, U.S. Special Forces Groom Afghan Troops", The Wall Street Journal, August 28, 2015.

Paper - "Advising the Command." Todd C. Helmus, a RAND Corporation researcher, has penned a report that presents best practices from the Special Operations advisory experience in Afghanistan.
www.rand.org/content/dam/rand/pubs/research_reports/RR900/RR949/RAND_RR949.pdf

Paper - "The Dawn of SOWT."  This paper examines the rise of Special Operations Weathermen during World War II, from the founding of the Weather Bureau of the Office of Strategic Services (OSS). The Dawn of SOWT: OSS Weathermen in the Balkans, 1944, 2015. Posted on Marshall Digital Scholar, Marshall University.

Two Females Graduate from Ranger Course

To the applause of almost everyone (if relying on Internet news stories and Twitter tweets is a reliable measure of opinion) two female Soldiers have graduated from the Army's premier infantry training course. The Ranger School finally admitted female Soldiers to start the training. After months of preparation, a few recycles, and a few different Ranger course sequences spanning April through August two of the women made it through the tough training. Both are West Point graduates and will have the honor of wearing the Ranger Tab through the course of their military careers. One is a Captain MP and the other a Lieutenant Apache helicopter pilot. One of the graduates is a veteran of an Afghan deployment. I suspect their future is bright. It won't be long before the special operations community scoffs these two Rangers up. It wouldn't surprise me to hear that one of them is attempting the Special Forces Qualification Course (SFQC) next. More on that below.

Advocates for women taking a greater role in combat arms of the military will point to these two women as evidence that women can cut it in combat units. The test of time will tell if allowing women into infantry squads and Ranger companies is a good idea. Certainly there is a role for women in combat - this has been proven time and again over the past decade in Iraq and Afghanistan. One need only point out their value in programs such as the Female Engagement Teams or FETs (that supported Marine and Army infantry units) and the Cultural Support Teams or CSTs (that supported special operations forces) to recognize their importance in the fight. The Navy has come out with news that the SEALs will open up their training to females. Demi Moore is vindicated!

Some of the Special Mission Units (SMUs) have integrated women into their training and operations for many years - in fact, many feel that special operations has been in the forefront (in a quiet way) for integrating women into their units. (Learn about "Project Diane" and the OSS on the USASOC website). Women as shooters on a Special Forces Operational Detachment Alpha? Hmmmm. It probably won't be long before the Army announces the entrance of women into Special Forces units at the combat level. While Ranger training is two (very hard) months, Special Forces training at the entry level is in excess of one year - and depending on the military occupational specialty - almost two years. Once again, time will tell. Now that MG Scotty Miller (heading up the U.S. Army Maneuver Center of Excellence at Fort Benning) has "led the way" to getting women integrated into Ranger training the spotlight moves onto LTG Ken Tovo (USASOC cdr) and MG Kraft (Special Forces Command) at Fort Bragg.

If a female does attend and complete the Special Forces Qualification Course (SFQC) then she won't be the first. That ground (or camouflage ceiling) was broken years ago - in 1980 (or 1981?). Captain Kathleen Wilder, a military intelligence officer assigned to an Intel position in Special Forces found that there was nothing in the regulation against women attending the Special Forces Officer Course. She pressed Department of the Army to attend (a little Congressional help was instrumental I believe) and was able to attend the Special Forces Officer Course (SFOC). Back then SFOC was different than the Special Forces Qualification Course (SFQC). SFOC was for officers and SFQC was for enlisted. The officer course was way easy compared to SFQC. Wilder's graduation from SFOC changed all of that. Shortly after her graduation the potential SF officers had to go through the training with the enlisted. One of the best things that ever happened to SF!

The Army put on quite a show for the Ranger class graduation. You can watch a one hour long video of a press conference published on YouTube.com on August 21, 2015 by US Army TRADOC.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=vzKN1ZzFiAI

For me, I take comfort in knowing that I was in the last HARD RANGER CLASS! Desert Legion!
www.benning.army.mil/infantry/rtb/Graduates/images/8-83.jpg

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.

SOF News

Special Forces Soldier Killed in Kabul Bomb Blast. The Department of Defense announced the death of MSG Peter A. McKenna of Bristol, Rhode Island. He was killed during a Taliban attack on Camp Integrity (Kabul) at the headquarters of the Special Operations Joint Task Force - Afghanistan (SOJTF-A). (DoD News Release, Aug 9, 2015). The United States Army Special Forces Command (USASOC) issued a press release (August 10, 2015) on his death.

Google Earth and Calling in Air Strikes. For a short period (and maybe even today) SOF advisors to the ANASF kandaks were teaching the tricks of using Google Earth to do Intelligence Preparation of the Battlefield. Looks like this is being done in Syria as well. It appears that Kurdish militia fighters are using Android-powered Samsung tablets and free Google Earth mapping tools to track battle lines and coordinate close air support with the US military. I wonder if our EF 7 advisors are expounding upon the virtues of Google Earth when they interact with the ANA Corps MI kandaks? Read "Google Earth is Helping Syrians Call in US Air Strikes", Defense One, August 11, 2015.

CONOP Process Broke. The Best Defense Blog shares with us the complexity involved for a Special Forces unit to get approval to conduct a relatively minor mission in Afghanistan. Read "Tales of War: Getting 12 approvals for a relatively minor mission in Afghanistan", Foreign Policy, July 22, 2015.

SMW Fleet Maintenance. Most of the maintenance for Special mission Wing (SMW) is now performed by contract technicians. As new Afghan aircraft mechanics complete their training and become more proficient they are assigned to support the maintenance effort. It is hoped that in three to five years, the Afghans can take over the entire maintenance operation. Read more in "Special Mission Wing maintenance training aims at sustaining fleet", DVIDS, August 12, 2015.

Brit SF Still Kicking Down Doors in Afghanistan. Read more in "British special forces back in Afghanistan tackling Taliban and Islamic State terrorists", The Mirror, August 15, 2015.

JSOC ignoring Taliban as Bombings Rise. One news report says that America's most elite troops are largely ignoring the militants who once sheltered al Qaeda. Read "Insurgent Bombings Rise as U.S. Eases off the Taliban", By Sean D. Naylor, Foreign Policy, August 14, 2015.

CSTs and SOF in Afghanistan. Gary Owen provides us his opinion about Cultural Support Teams (CSTs), women in the Rangers, and women in combat in "Of Course the CSTs were Women", Sunny in Kabul Blog, August 14, 2015.

LTG Cleveland Interview. LTG Charles Cleveland, former commander of USASOC and SOCCENT, is interviewed by the Fletcher Security Review on a variety of topics to include special operations. Read "Special Operations Today: FSR Interviews LTG Charles Cleveland", FSR, Vol. 2, No. 2, August 12, 2015.

MG Kraft Now Leads SF Command. MG Jim Kraft, an SF officer who has seen multiple deployments to Afghanistan, is now in command of Special Forces Command (USASFC). Kraft has commanded at many levels to include the CJSOTF-A. In addition, he served as deputy commander of CFSOCC-A recently. Read more in a news report by The Fayetteville Observer, August 13, 2015.

Paper on SOF in Afghanistan

RAND Corporation has published a paper (121 pages, PDF) entitled Building Special Operations Partnerships in Afghanistan and Beyond, July 2015. The paper is extremely detailed and wrote by some long-term observers (and participants) of special operations forces in the Afghan War.

"Building the capacity of Afghan special operations forces (SOF) is a key goal of the United States and its coalition partners. In February and March of 2013, RAND analysts conducted extensive battlefield circulations in Afghanistan and visited multiple training sites for Afghan SOF. The mentors at these sites hailed from a variety of International Security Assistance Force contributing nations, including the United States, Lithuania, Romania, Australia, Norway, and the United Kingdom. This report summarizes key partnering practices across these international partners and presents findings from SOF partnership case studies in Iraq and Colombia. The goal is to identify best practices for SOF partnership that can benefit the development of the Afghan special operations capability. These best practices also have broader applicability for special operations partnerships beyond Afghanistan."

Building Special Operations Partnerships in Afghanistan and Beyond

Security Force Assistance (SFA)

 The July-September 2015 edition of Special Warfare (Volume 28, Issue 3) has several articles related to Security Force Assistance that could be of interest to those Resolute Support advisors currently engaged in the Train, Advise, and Assist mission in Afghanistan. Major Aaron Southard writes "SFA Metrics: Blood and Treasure" where he informs us about the U.S. Army John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School's efforts to develop ". . .a concept and methodology to collect, collage, analyze and quantify SFA operations in order to better educate and inform senior military and civilian leadership as to the value and necessity for continued resources and support." (see pages 26-28). Captain Rachel Rice has provided us with "Security Force Assistance Initiatives" - an article (see pages 29-31) that recognizes that ". . . lessons learned and after action review comments have shown that there is institutional shortfalls surrounding Regionally Aligned Forces pre-deployment training/preparation, interagency knowledge and country-specific requirements". We learn through her article about the Security Force Assistance Deployment Handbook developed by the Special Operations Center of Excellence. (TC 3-05.3, April 2015). The handbook is available at this link but requires a CAC login.
https://armypubs.us.army.mil/doctrine/DR_pubs/dr_c/pdf/tc3_05x3.pdf

The SFA articles are available at this link for Special Warfare - Aug-Sep 2015
www.dvidshub.net/publication/issues/26508

Canada's Secret Soldiers

Canadian SOF, nicknamed "CANSOF" by some, were an early entry in the Afghan War - deploying as early as 2002. A recent news article posted online provides us an inside look at the training and employment of the Canadian Special Operations Regiment (CSOR) based in Petawawa. Read more in "Canada's secret soldiers: Special Forces' work takes place under the radar", The Vancouver Sun, December 28, 2014.

White House Had Hotline to Afghanistan

Much to the dismay of then Secretary of Defense Robert Gates - the White House had a direct link via telephone to the U.S. special operation's headquarters that went to a top White House national security official. Gates was not happy and had the SOF guys tear the phone out on the spot. He told the SOF commanders that "If you get a call from the White House, you tell them to go to hell and call me". To Gates the phone in Kabul symbolized the White House's staff attempting to micromanage the war and the Pentagon. Read more in "White House interference extended to hot line in Afghanistan", Stuff New Zealand, December 1, 2014.

SOF - "The Easy Button"

In an age of austerity the Defense Department and Congress are looking for ways to save money and reduce expenditures on defense. The Air Force is betting on the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter; putting all its eggs into one basket - a one size fits all solution (say goodbye to the A-10). A major part of the defense establishment and the Obama administration have an affinity for special operations forces. Some see danger in that approach. Read "Special Operations for the 21st Century: Starting Over", Army Magazine, November 18, 2014 by Lt. Col. James Jay Carafano, U.S. Army retired.