Special Operations

USASOC Honors Gold Star Families in Ceremony

The Army’s Special Operations Command Memorial Wall added seven new names to their list of honored fallen soldiers in a solemn ceremony at Ft. Bragg, NC. After each name was read the toll of a bell was heard to honor the sacrifice of the troops.

The command honored Maj. Andrew Byers, Sgt. 1st Class Ryan Gloyer, Sgt. 1st Class Matthew Lewellen, Staff Sgt. Kevin McEnroe, Staff Sgt. James Moriarty, Staff Sgt. Adam Thomas, Staff Sgt. Matthew Thompson during the ceremony that was attended by their respective families.

Outside the U.S. Army Special Operations Command headquarters on Fort Bragg, officials honored each soldier for his sacrifice to the nation over the past year.

Byers, Gloyer, Thomas and Thompson died of wounds received in combat in Afghanistan. Thomas, Byers and Gloyer served with the 10th Special Forces Group. Thompson served with the 1st Special Forces Group.
Lewellen, McEnroe, and Moriarty died after an attack in Jordan. They were each part of the 5th Special Forces Group.
On Thursday, their names were officially added to the USASOC Memorial Wall — an expanse that includes the names of more than 1,200 special operations soldiers who have been killed in combat since the Korean War.
“The roll of honor reflected on this wall includes recipients of 12 Medals of Honor, over 100 Distinguished Service or Distinguished Flying Crosses, more than 800 Silver Stars and numerous other awards for valor and service,” said Lt. Gen. Kenneth E. Tovo, commander of USASOC. “Though there are many heroes on the wall. It is not a monument to heroism. It is a tribute to sacrifice.”
“It honors the incredible sacrifice of 1,206 Army special operators,” the general added. “They’re sons and daughters, brothers and sisters, husbands and wives, teammates and friends. All of these soldiers put aside their personal hopes and dreams to serve our nation.”
The seven warriors honored Thursday were no different, Tovo said.
“Seven unique individuals. Seven very different paths in life,” he said. “They came from the width and breadth of America, from California to New York, from Texas to Minnesota; from small towns to big cities.”

The ceremony underscored the deep price that the Special Operations Forces pay for the freedoms celebrated by the citizens of the US every year and these should be noted every day not just on Memorial Day.

To read the entire article from the Fayetteville Observer click here:

Photo courtesy Fayetteville Observer

FARC Guerrillas With Few Prospects Flocking to Cali Cartels

The former guerrillas of the Colombian resistance FARC (Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia—People’s Army) are having a rough time adjusting to civilian life after a lifetime of armed insurrection with many of the former fighters turning to criminal drug trafficking gangs with few other prospects.

The threat level both from these former guerrilla fighters and against them is high. Many citizens take retribution against the former FARC fighters since the peace treaty was signed. In the city of Cali, always a tough, crime-ridden area, the violence and death rates have risen and the prospects for a solution there seem far away.

Now, after a lifetime of fighting in the mountains and jungles of Colombia, guerrillas like Idarraga face a new challenge: surviving the city.
Retribution is a real issue. According to the Colombian Agency for Reintegration, one in 10 reported cases of violence against demobilised fighters involves homicide or attempted homicide.
Cali is already Colombia’s most violent urban centre, and is expected to receive up to a quarter of all former Farc combatants – a volatile addition to a city where criminal gangs already run rampant. While the peace accord promised each former guerrilla $6,100 for the first two years to help them start anew, large gangs such as the Urabenos have been reportedly offering triple that amount in some areas.
Idarraga says the temptation to take up a life of crime is very real for people like him who are barely making ends meet through legal employment. He spent over a decade fighting for the Farc, eventually becoming an explosives expert who commanded up to 54 guerrillas. But after the birth of his son nine years ago, he left the war for good, and now picks up local construction jobs when he can.
Violence peaked in the 1990s, when the Cali and Medellin cartels waged a vicious war for control of global cocaine distribution. By the mid-2000s, violence had dropped as paramilitary groups demobilized. Many fighters splintered into smaller groups, each scrambling for control of the cocaine trade.
By 2009, Cali’s murder rate began to rise again as desperate ex-paramilitaries and vulnerable youth were recruited into criminal life.

Colombia may have signed a peace treaty with the FARC rebels but the problems they face from the former guerrillas hasn’t disappeared as those former fighters struggle to find an identity in a world that they weren’t prepared to enter.

To read the entire article from The Guardian click here:

Photo courtesy YouTube

British Bring in Military as Threat Increases to Highest Level

The British military has been alerted and has replaced the police in several key sites in Britain as the UK government beefs up security and prepares for another terrorist attack. This move, after the bombing in Manchester earlier this week after an Ariana Grande concert, brings the threat level to their highest level (Critical), in the UK.

The move to bring in the troops will allow the police to step up patrols in the areas surrounding the key areas of Britain as Europe reels from yet another terrorist attack by followers of the Islamic State.

Behind the uneasy calm lay recognition that something important had shifted. Not just in this city — the latest in Britain to be bludgeoned by terrorism — but across the country, people awoke to a frightening new reality. Another attack could be imminent, Prime Minister Theresa May had warned on Tuesday night, as she put the country on the highest possible alert, raising the threat level from severe to critical.
The move meant that troops would be deployed to buttress police activity, part of a plan known as Operation Temperer. May said members of the armed forces would replace authorities “guarding key sites,” freeing police officers to step up patrols. She suggested that members of the military may also be seen guarding major events, such as concerts and sports matches.
The extent of the deployment was not immediately clear. May emphasized that all troops would remain under the command of regular police.
The announcement underscored not just the severity of the attack, the deadliest in Britain in more than a decade, but also outstanding security concerns as investigators worked to determine whether Salman Abedi, the man suspected of detonating a homemade explosive outside an Ariana Grande concert at Manchester Arena late Monday, had acted alone or with accomplices. On Wednesday morning, police arrested three men in South Manchester in connection with that investigation.
May’s decision also showed the depths to which terrorism carried out by adherents of the Islamic State has roiled Western Europe, altering the landscape and rhythms of public life. Soldiers toting assault rifles could prove a jarring addition to the usual law enforcement presence familiar to Britons. British bobbies have mostly forgone firearms in favor of nightsticks.

This isn’t the first time that the British military is patrolling the streets of London. During the 1970s and 80s, the IRA bombings in England forced to the military to act. While most citizens are hoping for a quick return to normal, this latest incident begs the question, is this the new normal?

To read the entire article from the Washington Post click here:

Photo courtesy Getty

Special Operations Aviation Statue Unveiled at Ft. Bragg

The US Army’s Special Operations Aviation Command (ARSOAC) had a statue to honor the men and women of the unit unveiled at Ft. Bragg on Tuesday. The command wanted the statue to be dramatic and unique, rather than the basic helicopter monument or a stone obelisk, they wanted something special. Like the troops in the command.

Judging from the look of the artwork they’ve accomplished that in spades with a very dramatic, one-of-a-kind sculpture. And it has a history as well, with some of the steel coming from a UH-60 Blackhawk that crashed in Mogadishu, Somalia in 1993 during “Blackhawk Down.”

A sculpture depicting the Greek god of war, Ares, riding a pegasus centaur was unveiled Tuesday. The life-size bronze figures sit atop a massive granite block just outside ARSOAC.
Ares, mid scowl, has his sword raised as he appears ready to leap into battle. The pegasus centaur has its bow drawn and aimed at some unseen enemy.
Brig. Gen. John R. Evans Jr., the commanding general of ARSOAC, said the statue was a tribute to the unit and its soldiers.
“It stands as a personification of man and machine, of skill and courage and of duty and sacrifice,” he said.
Before unveiling the statue, Evans said the command could have gone a more typical route but instead chose something unique.
“It’s gratifying to know I will not be met with a museum relic helicopter like those that are all too common in our military air parks. I will not be met by a cold piece of granite with the words of some long dead poet upon them,” he said. “I will instead be met with a reminder that the men and women of the ARSOAC have enjoyed the privilege to fly the best.”
Known as the Volare Optimos statue — for the Latin phrase, “To fly the best,” which is also the motto of the unit — the statue was created by artist Jim Shore and donated to the command. Shore said he was humbled to be able to contribute the work of art.
The statue was cast in bronze, save for the tip of the drawn arrow, which was forged from steel taken from the wreckage of a UH-60 Black Hawk that crashed during the Battle of Mogadishu in 1993.
The statue has other references to the special operations community, including a claymore dagger worn by the centaur and a gungnir on its breastplate armor.

According to the command, the sculpture is supposed to present the coordination between air and ground forces with the centaur representing the special operations aviation while Ares represents the special operations ground forces they support.

To read the entire article from the Fayetteville Observer, click here:

Photo courtesy US Army

Special Operations Painful Coming of Age After 9/11

Mark Moyer’s recent book on the US Special Operations Forces (Oppose Any Foe) is an excellent history of the birth of Special Operations and into the huge command of over 70,000 troops today. He tells it all, with the triumphs, the mistakes and the clashes with the conventional military establishment.

In his latest piece for the National Review, he delves into the love affair Washington has with the SOF and how our leaders really don’t have a clear sense of what special operators can and can’t do and how the rise of the Special Operations Forces hasn’t been clear sailing.

Through the Osama bin Laden raid and other recent victories, special operators had amassed unprecedented prestige both within Washington and in the country more generally.
Special-operations forces seemed not only more exciting, but also more efficient and decisive than the conventional military forces that had been employed in the wars of Iraq and Afghanistan. Hollywood was releasing movie after movie extolling the virtues of the special units, including a film called Act of Valor that starred active-duty SEALs. On the Internet, dating sites were hit by epidemics of men pretending to be special operators in order to win the hearts of unsuspecting women.
Although President Obama relied mainly on subordinates to sell his new strategy to the public, he did cite the special operators while explaining the strategy during an interview with journalist Mark Bowden, who was writing a book on the bin Laden operation. “Special Forces are well designed to deal with the very specific targets in difficult terrain and often-times prevent us from making the bigger strategic mistakes of sending forces in, with big footprints and so forth,” he explained. “So when you’re talking about dealing with terrorist networks, in failed states, or states that don’t have capacity, you can see that as actually being less intrusive, less dangerous, less problematic for the country involved.”
What Obama had called “Special Forces” were in actuality the special-operations forces (SOF) — the official term for all the units dedicated to the conduct of special operations. Special-operations forces include not only the U.S. Army’s Special Forces, but also the Army Rangers, Navy SEALs, Air Force Night Stalkers, and Special Operations Marines, among others. Mixing up Special Forces with special-operations forces was a common enough mistake, and one that might have been unworthy of mention had the president merely been dispensing praise to an obscure federal bureaucracy, on the order of the Japan–U.S. Friendship Commission or the American Battle Monuments Commission.
But SOF had become the centerpiece of Obama’s national-security strategy, and hence the misstep encouraged doubts about the amount of thought that had gone into the strategic redesign. Later events were to confirm that administration strategists had not given adequate consideration to the strengths and limitations of special-operations forces before hoisting them to the apex of the world’s most powerful military.

As usual, Moyar’s take is an interesting read that delves into the slow growth, maturation, and subsequent over-tasking of the United States’ special operations warriors.

To read the entire article from National Review, click here:

Photo courtesy US Marine Corps

Florida Ranked #1 State For Military Veterans to Reside

The military has a big presence in the state of Florida, with many bases being home to a number of troops from all the services. But it isn’t just the active duty troops flocking to the Sunshine State. Retirees and veterans are staying in Florida and for a number of reasons. The weather, the booming job market for veterans, health care availability and housing affordability.

According to WalletHub, Florida is ranked #1 of all 50 states and the District of Columbia for military veterans to reside.

WalletHub used three main categories: economic environment, quality of life and healthcare.
Florida is home to the third-largest veteran population in the nation and is the top state for a veteran getting hired and for state tax on military pensions. Military retired pay and survivor benefit plans are tax exempt in Florida.
This year, WalletHub included two more metrics: the share of population 40 and older and the presence of veteran-treatment courts for mental health and drug addiction. According to the findings, more than half of the state’s veteran population is over the age of 40.
Florida’s VA hospitals, and the number of them, also ranked high.
“For the quality of VA hospitals metric, Florida ranked 19th because patients were more willing to recommend the state’s VA hospitals,” analyst Jill Gonzalez said. A score of 25 is considered average, and lower scores like Florida’s are better, she said.
“Florida ranked high [fifth best] for the number of VA health facilities per number of veterans,” Gonzalez said.
When it comes to jobs, veterans also do well in Florida.
Analysts determined the number of job opportunities for veterans by looking at eligible jobs and subtracting the veteran unemployment rate, Gonzalez said. In hiring for federal government jobs, veterans in Florida may receive preference depending on their disability status and when they were active.

It might be time to start packing boxes and planning the move south. Both Florida and South Carolina are very veteran-friendly states to reside in and for veterans, the factors in their favor make them very attractive. But rooting for the Dolphins? Not so much.

To read the entire article from the Miami Herald, click here:

Photo courtesy DOD

Cell Phone Sized Drone With Big Capability Being Used by US Military

The military is making increasing uses of drones and robotics and the latest from AeroVironment is taking the small scale to the next level. The company’s “Snipe Nano Quad is tiny, about the size of a cell phone and weighs less than half of a pound. But it makes up for it with what it can accomplish for operators in the field.

Weighing in at about 5 ounces, the four-rotor aircraft is equipped with an electro-optical/infrared system that allows it to take photos or live-streaming video both day or night. And its quiet electric motors make it difficult to detect, even when surrounding noise levels are low.
That can be invaluable in close-range military operations where U.S. troops don’t know what’s around the next corner — or at the top of the next hill.
In a video AV posted on YouTube, Snipe Program Manager Jon Ross explains it this way:
“An example for Snipe could be a squad who’s given a mission to do reconnaissance on a structure on the top of a hill,” Ross said. “Apparently, it was abandoned but reports indicate that it could be used by insurgents. So a squad is supposed to go up there and clear that facility. The problem is it’s at the top of a hill and there’s no way to approach it without possibly being seen if someone were inside. Snipe could give that squad a 360-degree view of the target from the rooftop, through any open windows or indoors to give them confidence as they approach.”
The Snipe can fly at speeds exceeding 20 mph and the tiny craft is capable of operating under challenging environmental conditions including winds of more than 15 mph with gusts of up to 20 mph. It has a range of about 3,280 feet and its rechargeable batteries can keep it aloft for 15 minutes at a time although the battery can easily be changed out for extended use

The company is not only manufacturing its product for military use but they’ll extend their product for commercial use as well by first responders, law enforcement agencies, search-and-rescue teams.

To read the entire article from the Pasadena Star News click here:

Photo courtesy AeroVironment Inc.

USSOCOM Partnering with USF in Cube Satellites, A Smart Move

This week at the SOFIC (Special Operations Forces Industry Conference) gathering in Tampa there was more interesting items to see, touch and experience to see in one viewing. After making the rounds thru the marketplace in the upper echelons of the Convention Center numerous times, there was still items to catch the eye.

And one of the biggest developments may be inside one of the smallest pieces of equipment. USSOCOM is collaborating with the University of South Florida for tiny cube satellites. The satellite isn’t much larger than a tissue box and is relatively inexpensive. The tiny satellite runs on a solid iodine fuel cell that produces electricity and creates thrust. But the intriguing part is the military pairing direct with a university to do so.

This is an area that the military hasn’t explored enough, instead of going with companies from the military/industrial complex who recruit some of the best and brightest to come aboard. But by going directly to the source (universities), USSOCOM is making a very smart move. The Russians and Chinese tap into their potential by using universities in their respective countries but their schools are basically extensions of the state.

More than 12,000 people are attending the Special Operations Forces Industry Conference at the Tampa Convention Center.
Part of the event is a trade show with products for the battlefield from everywhere. But there’s a Tampa connection that’s brand new.
It’s a partnership between U.S. Special Operations Command and the University of South Florida on cube satellites. They’re small; not much bigger than a tissue box.
“Just think of a cell phone 20 years ago and how big it was. Now, think of your cell phone now, ” says James Geurts of SOCOM.
They’re so small that one rocket can carry many of them into earth’s orbit. On the battlefield below, troops can connect with the satellites for vital data.
In the new partnership, USF engineering students will work on secondary payloads. The satellites can carry cameras and all kinds of sensors. The work has already begun at USF.
“It’s a lot of work, but it’s really interesting stuff. I want to do it for a living, so I consider it a real industry experience,” says Peter Jorgensen, a USF graduate research assistant.
They plan to launch the satellites in 12-18 months.

The other amazing thing about the USF cube satellite team is there isn’t an aerospace engineer on board. The team is involved in a NASA-sponsored contest to find the best technological cube satellites to be put on the Orion spacecraft. The winner would win $5 million.

But the team has already collaborated with USSOCOM in a win-win for both parties. This is a development that the command should expand. There is an untapped potential that they’re losing out on by not doing more of this. Hopefully, this is just the tip of the iceberg.

To read the entire article click here:

Photo courtesy of Tampa Fox 13

3rd SFG Honors Their Fallen Operators With a 5K Memorial Run

The upcoming week at Ft. Bragg and every other military base in the United States will be a hub of activity as the bases prepare for Memorial Day to honor the fallen of all of the United States’ conflicts.

But the 3^rd Special Forces Group, 3^rd SFG(A) is getting a bit of jump on the activities of the base by conducting a 5K Memorial Run this weekend to honor the fallen members of the unit in their own way. Soldiers and family members ran and walked to show that 3^rd group is a family and many wore shirts honoring the 50 members of the unit that have paid the ultimate price of freedom. Others placed placards along the route with pictures of the fallen warriors.

But in remembering, the unit chose to focus not on loss, but on the legacies that remain.
“We’re doing this because the ones we represent can’t,” said Col. Bradley D. Moses, the group commander. “But none of them would trade places with us.”
Moses said the group, which has more than 2,600 soldiers, was a close-knit family.
“All of us do this job because we love it,” he said. “This is the moment in time to honor that. It’s more celebration than race.”
Because of the relatively small size of the unit, the loss of one soldier echoes deeply within the 3rd Group, officials said. And when that happens, the group promises to keep the memories of the fallen alive.
The run is part of those efforts. Many soldiers and family members wore shirts featuring the names of all 50 3rd Group soldiers have been killed in combat in the unit’s history and the words “Care for the wounded. Honor the fallen. Continue the mission.”
But Saturday’s event was a time the soldiers and their families could pause for fellowship and reflection on 3rd Group’s and the nation’s fallen.
“This is the opener for our memorial week,” Moses said
Moses said that family atmosphere was exactly what leaders hope for.
He said it’s not something that can be created at will, but instead was fostered over constant deployments for the last 16 to 17 years.
“We’ve learned to rely on each other in times of need,” Moses said. “This truly is a family. We love what we do, and we love each other.”

While other events celebrating Memorial Day during the upcoming week will be a somber affair, the run with family members was not. It was a chance for the entire unit, both military and family members to celebrate the lives of those who were briefly a part of the unit and sadly of those gone too soon.

To read the entire article from the Fayetteville Observer click here:

Photos courtesy Fayetteville Observer

United Airlines Charges Soldier Coming Home from War $200 for Overweight Bag

A National Guard officer coming home from Afghanistan was gouged by United Airlines $200 for a checked piece of luggage.

John Rader a 1LT coming home from a deployment to Afghanistan said United Airlines made him pay $200 to check a military-issued bag on his flight to Austin, Texas, from El Paso, the final leg of his trip home, because it was overweight, Fox News was the first to report this.
“I was told point blank that I’d have to pay $200 for the overage or find another bag to siphon stuff off with,” Rader told FOX 7. “Well, I didn’t have another bag so I was caught in a bind.”
Some of the things in his bag included Kevlar vests, two helmets, and boots.
Rader said he was initially required to serve a nine-month deployment, but he volunteered to extend his deployment to 21 months.
United says active-duty military can check up to five bags as long as they are each 70 pounds or less, according to the airline’s website.
Delta has a similar policy, while American and Southwest allow active-duty military to check their bags for free provided that they are 100 pounds or less.
Rader said he tried to work it out with the ticket agent so he would not have to pay the fee but was told his bag was too heavy for the military benefit.
“There was no empathy to the situation. I’m not looking for sympathy, but some form of empathy in the situation. There was none of that. It was just cold. I had to either pay or leave the bag,” Rader said.
He added that another soldier on his flight also had to pay a fee.
United Airlines released a statement apologizing for the incident: “We are disappointed anytime a customer has an experience that doesn’t meet their expectations, and our customer care team is reaching out to this customer to issue a refund for his oversized bag as a gesture of goodwill.”

United Airlines has been in the news recently and not for the right reasons, the airlines just continues to reap in the bad press.

To read the entire article from Breitbart click here:

Photo courtesy SOFREP