Special Operations

The Aircraft of the Air Force Special Operations Command

The United States Air Force has some of the most sophisticated aircraft in the world. And some of the most feared aircraft by our enemies aren’t the sexy, sleek fighter jets, but the fat, slow converted cargo aircraft. The AC-130U gunship, “Spooky” as the pilots call it strikes more fear in the hearts of the Taliban than any other aircraft.

In 2009, Norwegian journalist Peter Refsdal embedded with the Taliban in Afghanistan during Operation Enduring Freedom, the United States’ attempt to uproot al-Qaeda and remove the Taliban from power. One of his most interesting observations: The Taliban do not fear fighter jets.
“All the time there’s jets, the sound of jets flying around, and the Taliban, they don’t care about it,” Refsdal told Anderson Cooper in a 2010 interview for CNN. “But there’s one plane that scares them. … It was the sound of this transport plane that scared them. And this is a plane equipped with a lot of heavy machine guns, even a cannon. And the thing is, the Taliban, they know that this gunship is used when there are some Special Forces operations. It’s used as a support, air support during these kind of operations.”
Refsdal is talking about the AC-130 gunship, a variant of the C-130 that is absolutely brimming with firepower. “It’s the four fans of freedom, as we call it,” Major Eric Forsyth, an HC-130J pilot, told Popular Mechanics.
SPOOKY
The AC-130 is only operated by Air Force Special Operations Command, or AFSOC, and the currently deployed model is the AC-130U “Spooky.” The Spooky can unleash hell with a variety of weapons, including the M102 105-mm howitzer fired from the left rear-side door. It’s the largest gun ever operated on a USAF aircraft.
“The psychological effects of the gunship—the Taliban just go home and wait until the gunship has gone away,” says Forsyth.

The AC-130U is a tremendous weapon that all of the Special Operations Forces have at their beck and call. And they’ve gotten the grudging respect from the enemy. But the next generation of “Spooky” the AC-130J is rumored to be the premiere AFSOC (Air Force Special Operations Command) ground support aircraft for the next 50 years.

But AFSOC also flies a variety of other airframes as well including the V-22 Osprey, the Air Force version carries 588 more gallons of fuel to increase its range, the C-146A Wolfhound, the U-28A, the MC-12W Liberty, the C-145A and the unmanned MQ-9 Reaper, drone.

To read the entire article from Popular Mechanics, click here:

Photo courtesy US Air Force

US to Arm the Kurds with Heavier Weapons, Against Wishes of Turkey

The United States is going to provide the Kurd forces in Syria with heavier weapons as they prepare to attack the key Islamic State stronghold of Raqqa, U.S. officials said Tuesday.

The Trump Administration’s decision is not being met with much happiness in Turkey as the government of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan views the Syrian Kurdish group also known as the YPG is an extension of Kurdish terrorist organization that operates in Turkey.

The U.S. sees the Kurds as its most effective battlefield partner against IS in northern and eastern Syria.
After lengthy deliberations, the administration approved plans to provide additional weaponry to the Kurds. A full list wasn’t immediately available, but officials had indicated in recent days that 120mm mortars, machines guns, ammunition and light armored vehicles were possibilities. They said the U.S. would not provide artillery or surface-to-air missiles.
The U.S. officials who disclosed the Trump administration decision weren’t authorized to publicly discuss the matter and demanded anonymity. They described no firm timeline, with the American intention to provide the new weapons to the Syrian Kurds as soon as possible.
Senior U.S. officials including Gen. Joseph Dunford, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, have met repeatedly with Turkish officials to try to work out an arrangement for the Raqqa assault that would be acceptable to Ankara. The Turks have insisted that the Syrian Kurds be excluded from that operation, but U.S. officials insisted there was no real alternative.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is to visit President Donald Trump in Washington next week. An Erdogan adviser, Ibrahim Kalin, met on Tuesday with Thomas Shannon, the State Department No. 2 official.

Back in April, the Turks launched an airstrike on the Kurds’ bases in Syria and Iraq. The Turkish military said it killed at least 90 militants and wounded many others. The Kurds released a statement saying that 20 of its fighters and media activists were killed in the strike, which was followed by cross-border clashes.

US military officials feel, and rightfully so, that this won’t help the cause of moving the ISIS group out of Raqqa.

To read the entire article from the Business Insider click here:

Photo courtesy Reuters

United States Focusing on the Wrong Enemy in Afghanistan?

The US and their Afghan allies have been hammering the Islamic State offshoot in recent weeks including dropping the MOAB (Mother of all Bombs) recently on tunnel strongholds where the terrorist group has been hiding.

But according to an OPED in the New York Times, the US may be focusing on the wrong enemy and not the Taliban in Afghanistan.

The battle being waged in Nangarhar Province in recent weeks has claimed the lives of two American Special Operations Force soldiers and at least one top leader of the terrorist group. The US has issued a statement that they’re trying to wipe out the group by the end of 2017.

But the United States’ obsession with the Islamic State in Khorosan – a minor group in Afghanistan – distracts attention from a more urgent task: negotiating a peace deal with the Taliban which controls close to half of Afghanistan.
Two years after its emergence in Afghanistan, the Islamic State affiliate is still struggling to consolidate its organizational capacity. The few major attacks it has claimed were mostly sectarian and aimed at soft targets: two gatherings of Shiites and a hospital in Kabul, and, in Pakistan, a Sufi Shrine in Sindh and a hospital in Quetta.
Although the Islamic State in Khorosan and the Taliban follow politically contrasting goals and constitute different types of threats, the Taliban’s manpower is 50 times greater according to estimates from Afghan and Western analysts in Kabul.

While the author here, Borhan Osman believes that a peace treaty with the Taliban is the way to go, that would never work. The Taliban are interested in only one thing and that is absolute power in Afghanistan. To think otherwise is foolhardy. As for the writer’s other theory that the recent MOAB bombing by Trump will cause more fighters to flock to ISIS side there…It doesn’t seem to hold water.

The group is down to 600 fighters from more than 3000 a year ago. Most of their senior leadership have been killed in airstrikes. The strategy seems to be to eliminate the Islamic State affiliate first and then concentrate on the Taliban.

To read the entire article from the New York Times click here:

Photo courtesy Reuters

Colts Hire Ex-SF Officer Brian Decker as Player Personnel Strategist

Brian Decker, the man who revamped the Special Forces Selection and Assessment Course (SFAS), has brought his ability to evaluate a certain indicator of success from the military to the NFL (National Football League). He’s now been hired by the Indianapolis Colts to head a new program to ensure player success.

His metric collects over 1200 different points of data on each player that will point to whether a player will be able to succeed in the NFL. The same traits that the military looks for in Special Operators: selflessness, character, determination, leadership, and grit are the same qualities that can transcend into success in the world of professional football.

“At the time, Decker ran the Army’s Special Forces selection assessment as the commander. He and his men was responsible for evaluating the best Soldiers the Army had to offer. He evaluated the best of the best soldiers, with unbelievable resumes and the ultimate physical specimens. Decker helped pick where each one would fit in to the Special Forces, also known as the “Green Berets.”
“When Decker took over the prestigious selection assessment, he revamped some of the course material and it received rave reviews. Special Forces candidates would take a series of tests designed to be a reliable predictor of success.”
“After three years (serving the Army), Decker had devised a program that collected 1,200 data points on each candidate, from peak physical performance to psychometrics, the science of measuring mental processes. He could effectively predict the profile of a Green Beret: college-educated with an IQ around 122, in his early 30s, probably from a suburb of a major city, someone who responded to trauma in his life with increased self-motivation.”

The Cleveland Browns hired Decker a few years ago as a player personnel strategist but he was let go in a front office purge before he could fully implement his system.

To read the entire article from FanSided click here:

Photo courtesy ESPN

Jordanians, US Kick Off “Eager Lion” Joint Exercise

The government of Jordan with the cooperation of the United States is hosting the annual joint training exercise “Eager Lion” which will take place over the next 11 days.

During a press conference at the Joint Special Operations Command, Director of Joint Military Training at the Jordan Armed Forces-Arab Army (JAF) Brig. Gen. Khaled Shraah said that the drills are being conducted with the participation of ground, naval and air forces, amounting to around 7,400 participants representing JAF and US forces.

US and Jordanian officials said the manoeuvres would include border security, cyber-defence, and “command and control” exercises to bolster coordination in response to threats including “terrorism”.
“Joint efforts and coordination and the exchange of expertise … are needed at the time when the region is facing the threat of terrorism,” Jordanian Brigadier-General Khalid al-Sharaa, who will head the exercise, told reporters.
US Major-General Bill Hickman, deputy commanding officer for the American army in the region, said this year’s Eager Lion exercise – the seventh so far – is “the largest and most complex to date”.
The highlight of this year’s war games, he said, will be that “for the first time ever a global strike mission” will be conducted by “two US Air Force B-1B bomber aircraft” – a long-range multi-mission bomber.

The military exercise will see the participation of Jordan, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Iraq, the UAE, Lebanon, the UK, France, Kenya, Italy, Pakistan, the US, Belgium, Poland, Holland, Australia, Greece, Japan, as well as representatives of NATO.

Last year, about 6000 troops took part in the exercise which has been on-going since 2011. Jordan is a key ally of the United States in the region and has received upwards of $1 billion dollars of aid in the years 2015-2017.

To read the entire article from Al-Jazeera, click here:

Photo courtesy Reuters

Secret US Space Shuttle Mission Lands in Florida After 2 Years

The area around Disney World in Central Florida was rocked by a sonic boom on Sunday as a secret space shuttle mission landed at Cape Canaveral after spending the past two years in space.

The sonic boom set off a ton of social media activity as residents raced to ask what had just occurred in the area.

The U.S. Air Force confirmed that its X-37B unmanned mini space shuttle landed at KSC after spending 718 days in orbit. The spacecraft lifted off from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket on May 20, 2015.
What it has been doing circling the planet all this time is the secret part that military officials won’t discuss, though many experts believe it has intelligence-gathering equipment. What the military did confirm in a news release is that mini shuttle is “an experimental test program to demonstrate technologies for a reliable, reusable, unmanned space test platform for the U.S. Air Force.”
This was fourth space trip for the 29-foot-long, 11,000-pound mini shuttle, but it was the first time it has landed in Florida — which is why Sunday’s sonic boom provided an unexpected wake-up call.
X-37B’s booming return was unexpected. While there were rumors in February that the mini shuttle might return to Florida after its three previous flights ended at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, officials would not confirm any itinerary for the spacecraft.
Sunday morning’s homecoming was announced by the Air Force at 7:57 a.m. in a tweet: “The Air Force #X37B #OTV4 has returned from orbit and landed safely at @NASAKennedy.” Video and photos of the craft’s landing were later released.
NASA and the Air Force had been landing the X-37B in California, but with another scheduled mini-shuttle launch for later this year, the public may once again get another look at the weird smaller version of the shuttle.

The military has a plenty of options for an unmanned piece of equipment such as the X-37B, and if it indeed is an intelligence gathering platform, it will up the ante in the Space Race again.

To read the Orlando Sentinel entire article click here:

Photo courtesy of NASA

US Raising the Stakes in Somalia, Despite Losing Navy SEAL Last Week

The US is going to raise the pressure on the al-Shabab terrorist group despite the loss of a Navy SEAL operator and two other wounded in an operation last week.

U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM) said that the battle took place in Barii, a small town 40 miles west of Mogadishu. It was reportedly a Somali-led operation, U.S. forces reportedly came under fire when American aircraft were used to help deploy Somali commandos. Navy SEALs have been advising the Somali units.

There was also an international conference occurring in London at the same time. This is intended to increase the security and government reform in Somalia. The aim is to create a new international partnership agreement to stabilize Somalia. The aim is to stabilize the country and turn things over to Somali forces with an exit strategy for the allied countries by 2020.

In early March, the Pentagon requested new rules of engagement for its operations in Somalia to remove constraints on airstrikes and raids targeting people suspected of being al-Shabab militants. On March 24, General Waldhauser reiterated the call for more flexibility in decision-making to fight al-Shabab, saying that “it’s very important and very helpful for us to have [a] little more flexibility, a little bit more timeliness, in terms of decision-making process. . . . It allows to prosecute targets in a more rapid fashion. . . . [I]f we were given . . . those permissions and authorities, [it] will be very helpful to us.”
On March 29, President Trump granted wider scope to launch U.S. military operations by designating Somalia an “area of active hostilities” where war-zone targeting rules will apply for at least 180 days. Subsequently, General Waldhauser appeared ambiguous about the new authorities, stating “we have not been given loosened rules for authority to strike. What we have been given is we’ve been given authority to assist AMISOM forces that are on missions where, if they cannot take care of the situation on their own, then we are authorized to assist them there. We are also authorized to develop targets on our own and take appropriate action if required.”
Just a few days later, on April 24, a letter written by USAID’s Office of U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance requested the geographic coordinates of aid groups working in Somalia. “Due to the need for increased operational security in Somalia, and based on best practices in other complex emergencies, humanitarian and development organizations may want to provide information about their fixed locations in Somalia for deconfliction,” it stated.

The US has furnished training and equipment to the Somalis, has helped pay for the security forces and has been conducting raids on located al-Shabab forces. The US is planning on stepping up the tempo despite the loss of the Navy’s special operator to weaken the terror group and to further bolster Somalia’s forces.

To read the Washington Post entire article click here:

Photo courtesy of AP

Pentagon Suspects Iran – North Korea Military Connection

The Pentagon is closely monitoring the recent failed launch of an Iranian underwater cruise missile from a midget submarine as evidence of influence by North Korea with the government in Tehran.

The Pyongyang connection theory has some merit as the design of both the sub and missile closely resemble a design of North Korea.

According to U.S. defense officials, Iran was attempting to launch a Jask-2 cruise missile underwater for the first time, but the launch failed. Nonproliferation experts have long suspected North Korea and Iran are sharing expertise when it comes to their rogue missile programs.
“The very first missiles we saw in Iran were simply copies of North Korean missiles,” said Jeffrey Lewis, a missile proliferation expert at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey. “Over the years, we’ve seen photographs of North Korean and Iranian officials in each other’s countries, and we’ve seen all kinds of common hardware.”
When Iran tested a ballistic missile in late January, the Pentagon said it was based on a North Korean design. Last summer, Iran conducted another missile launch similar to a North Korean Musudan, the most advanced missile Pyongyang has successful tested to date.
Defense analysts say North Korea’s Taepodong missile looks almost identical to Iran’s Shahab.
“In the past, we would see things in North Korea and they would show up in Iran. In some recent years, we’ve seen some small things appear in Iran first and then show up in North Korea and so that raises the question of whether trade — which started off as North Korea to Iran — has started to reverse,” Lewis added.

Midget submarines are small and hard to detect since they run on battery power. And the US no longer has any land-based short- or medium-range missiles because it is a signatory to the Intermediate Range Nuclear Forces, or INF, the treaty signed in 1987. But Iran and North Korea are under no such constraints since neither signed the treaty.

The site of the failed launch, the Strait of Hormuz is where most of the world’s oil passes thru daily and is a source of concern for the US and others.

To read the entire article from Fox News, click here:

File Photo courtesy AP

National Special Forces Green Beret Memorial Planned for Ft. Bragg

The National Special Forces Association has collaborated with artist Rebecca Clark to honor the Special Forces men of past and present with a National Green Beret Memorial.

The advisory board for this project includes five General Officers from the Regiment and officers and NCOs who have also served in Special Forces. The planned location for the memorial is the Ft. Bragg, NC area, home of Special Forces training as well as 1st Special Forces Command (Airborne) H.Q. and the U.S. Army Special Operations Command H.Q.

This historic memorial tribute will portray the Special Forces Green Beret “A-Team”, the Operational Detachment-Alpha (ODA), in 6 different iconic and contemporary action scenes with monumental, 8-foot tall bronze Soldiers and a total of 25 heroic scale bronze figures all together, reflecting the different aspects of the ODA mission.
A Medal of Honor centerpiece and pillar will also be created with the names of Special Forces Medal of Honor recipients, past, present, and future.
Granite walls with bronze relief sculpture panels will be created portraying Special Forces Soldiers through different eras, highlighting Special Forces missions, values, culture, and history. Accent lighting will be added to create a dramatic effect.
Once complete, with each of the bronze sculpture sections brought together in epic scale, this iconic monument will convey the full essence of the Special Forces A-Team (ODA), and provide an enduring tribute to the elite Special Forces “Green Beret” Soldiers of every era, past, present, and future and the legacy of the Special Forces Regiment.
The National Special Forces Green Beret Memorial is planned to be placed on public view, as a premier international tourist destination, near Fort Bragg in North Carolina. Fort Bragg is the home of the 1st Special Forces Command (Airborne) H.Q. and the U.S. Army Special Operations Command H.Q.

The first monument of the memorial is slated to be unveiled in 2019 with the entire project completed by 2024.

Ms. Clark has already worked with the 7th Special Forces Group as technical advisors and retired Special Forces A-Team 726 Soldiers, to create an original limited edition print series to portray and honor Medal of Honor Recipient Colonel Roger Donlon, (Ret.) U.S. Army Special Forces and his A-Team 726 that served bravely in Vietnam.

To read the entire article from SF Green Beret Memorial, click here:

Photo courtesy SFGBMemorial

The Military May Now Have a New Tool To Diagnose TBI

In the multiple conflicts on-going since 2001, there has been a dramatic rise in Traumatic Brain Injuries (TBI) due to the close proximity our soldiers face with explosions, bombs, and weapons.

TBI has been called the ‘invisible wound of war’ as many times the soldiers suffering from its effects won’t notice the toll for months, even years.

Now the military is testing small, coin-sized sensors that can be used on the battlefield to test members for what is now being termed, multiple, mild traumatic brain injuries or mTBI.

Since 2010, there have been more than 361,000 service members diagnosed with some form of traumatic brain injury, according to the US Defense Department’s Defense and Veterans Brain Injury Center. The three different forms of TBI—severe, moderate, and mild—all manifest in different ways ranging from memory loss and extended unconsciousness to a simple headache. Mild TBI tends to go unnoticed. One blast may not cause effects like memory loss or slurred speech, the telltale signs of brain trauma, and, especially while in theatre, there’s really no easy way to diagnose the condition, says Alex Balbir, director of Warrior Care Network and Independence Services at the Wounded Warriors Project.
“The brain has very interesting ways of responding to these mild traumas,” says Balbir. “It’s only after a few [mTBI’s], that’s when you start to see the effects of the trauma” like memory loss and slurred speech.
In an effort to fill that technology gap, Timothy Bentley, and his team at the Office of Naval Research’s Warfighter Performance Department in Arlington, Virginia, have engineered new sensor technology that could give medics on the battlefield a clearer idea of whether or not an injury actually occurred after a blast.
The coin-sized sensors, placed in service members’ helmets and tactical gear, detect the impact of a blast wave—which moves faster than the speed of sound—and assign it a number, a measure of blast strength. The number is then run through an algorithm that computes how a service member was hit by a blast, which sensors were activated based on their placement, and then tells medics if the service member needs to get off the field immediately or not.
If the algorithm shows a possible mTBI, medics in the field have the service member hold a mouse-sized tool—nicknamed the “brain gauge”—that stimulates the fingertips through eraser-sized vibrators. The brain gauge vibrates each finger for a different length of time—if a service member can’t recognize which vibrations last longer, it’s highly likely he or she has suffered an mTBI.

This technology will soon be available to the civilian world as well where its use would be of particular interest in the sporting world i.e. contact sports such as football and hockey.

To read the entire article from Quartz.com, click here:

Photo courtesy Reuters