SOF

Philippine Insurgents Beheading Civilians in ISIS Stronghold

As the fighting in the Philippine city of Marawi continues, the Islamist rebels have been accused of decapitating civilians. The military has reported that they’ve recovered five civilians who were murdered by rebels and reports that more atrocities are bound to occur as the military wrests control back from the insurgents.

Philippines military members discovered the five decapitated victims among the 17 bodies that have been recovered in Marawi so far. The battle for the city has been ongoing for five weeks as insurgents loyal to the Islamic State are now beginning to try to escape the city as the military noose tightens.

The claim has not been verified by third party personnel yet but that has been the modus operandi for the IS insurgents.

Seventy-one security force personnel and 299 militants have been killed and 246,000 people displaced in the conflict, which erupted after a failed attempt on 23 May to arrest a Filipino militant commander backed by Isis’s leadership.
President Rodrigo Duterte promised to destroy the militants in Marawi and said the Philippines was now dealing with “a very dangerous situation” due to young Muslims inspired by the “mass insanity” of Isis.
“All they do is just to kill and destroy, and killing in a most brutal way,” he said at an event where he received hundreds of sniper and assault rifles donated by China to help the military campaign in Marawi.
“They enjoy decapitating people in front of cameras. They have to be dealt with, with the same ferocity but not the brutality,” he said.
The information about the beheadings came via a text message to reporters from Lt Cnl Emmanuel Garcia of the Western Mindanao Command.

Now fears that the insurgent group is freely crossing into the Philippines from Malaysia and Indonesia have the governments there worrying that the insurgent group may have a larger presence in those two countries than previously thought.

To read the entire article from the Guardian, click here:

Photo courtesy SOFREP

SOF Selection PT Preparation 6.29.2017

Back to the gym this morning for a Chest and Triceps workout before heading out for a 4-mile run. Remember to stretch well before and after and to stay hydrated. Mark your progress down in your workout log book.

Training:

More Preparation for the UBRR:

3 x 12 Bench Press

3 x 10 Dumbbell Flies

3 x 10 Dumbbell Incline Press

3 x 20 Pushups (alternate sets with wide, narrow and shoulder width)

3 x 10 ‘V’ Ups

3 x 20 Sit ups

3 x 20 Cable Push Downs (rope)

3 x 20 Dips or until muscle failure

4-mile run

Stretch well after completion

“Those Green Berets Sure Taught You How to Shoot Straight”

“No, sir. This is the West, sir. When the legend becomes fact, print the legend.”
The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance

Sometimes having a reputation can work against you and then there are others when you just do your job and move on. And then there are those times you get treated like a rock star, say nothing and smile at karma . How so? Read on.

Back in the day, I was on a Mountain Team in the 1^st Bn. 7^th Special Forces Group. Our company was going on a deployment to Honduras. And our team’s mission was to train the Anti-Tank troops of the Sexto (6^th) Infantry Battalion that was deployed near the border of Nicaragua. The Hondurans had requested our support specifically for this unit.

These troops had a real-world mission as the threat of Nicaraguan invasion was very real in those days. In fact, they had a few border skirmishes with their neighbors as the borders were slightly ill-defined. The Nicaraguans had crossed the border inadvertently on several occasions while hammering it out with the Contras. (Remember them? See Ollie North, Iran/Contra) And yes it was inadvertent. We were there for the “invasion” during Operation Golden Pheasant.

Since the Nicaraguans had armor, the Anti-Tank troops were the first line of defense. They were constantly being tested had recently put on a firepower demonstration for the Estado Mayor (General Staff) of the military with their Vietnam-era M-40 106mm Recoilless Rifles that were combined jeep mounted and fixed on the ground and fired 50 rounds down range and hit nothing…not one single target.

Our guys who visited the base for a site survey didn’t get to meet or talk with any of the Anti-Tank unit. They’d been alerted en masse and were sent to the border. They only spoke with the Battalion’s commander and training officer. That was a big detriment to mission planning.

We were told to expect a nightmare. The anti-armor unit that can’t hit water out of a boat with a 106mm. For those unfamiliar with the M-40 106mm RR, it was a great short-range weapon that was actually a 105mm but the designation changed during the Korean War because the ammunition was not compatible with the failed M-27 design.

The M-40 had an M-8C .50 caliber spotting rifle attached to the top. The spotting rifle fires a round whose trajectory is nearly that of the 106mm round and gives off a puff of smoke on impact with the target. The system used a spotting rifle because the back blast of the main gun left such a signature, that a first-round hit was essential.

On the left (gunner’s) side, there is an elevating wheel, in the center of which is the trigger wheel used to fine adjust the elevation and at the same time firing the spotting rifle when pulled, and the main gun when pushed.

The weapon is mounted on a tripod, but the front leg has a wheel. On top of the mount is a traverse wheel. On the center of the traverse wheel is a locking wheel, when the wheel is down, the rifle is locked in traverse, and can only be moved right and left with the traverse wheel. When the wheel is raised, the rifle can be traversed by hand.

The 106mm RR fired HE (High Explosive), HEAT (High Explosive Anti-Tank), and an APERS (High Explosive Anti-personnel) that fired flechette rounds. There were other types of ammunition but no other type was available for the Honduran troops at that time. The rear end of the cartridge case is perforated, to allow the propellant gas to escape through the vented breech, thus neutralizing recoil. The 106mm RR could penetrate 12 inches of cold rolled steel at 300 meters. The .50 caliber ammo was not the standard issue for the M2 machine gun. But was shorter and specially designed to mimic the flight path of the main gun ammunition.

The weapon was bore sighted by using a cut-down 106mm round with a subcaliber .30 caliber round inserted. This would come into play much later.

The team prepared by making some coordination with JFKSWC (Special Warfare Center) Weapons Committee. They gave an excellent block of instruction on the 106 and got every member of the team up to standard on the operation, maintenance, and crew drills. We could each perform all the functions of a crew member, boresight the weapon and were then each comfortable enough to teach it to the Honduran troops.

We got to spend a couple of days on the range and put some steel on targets. Range control got really pissed when they specifically told us that an old school bus was danger close and off limits to us shooting at. And of course, one of our guys (I’ll never tell), put a flechette round into it. When the range control guys returned, the bus was still smoking and looked like Swiss cheese. Range Control was hot enough to spit flames at our team leader, but sometimes it is better to beg forgiveness than to ask permission.

We were ready. Our team nearly filled a C-141 with 106mm ammo with a slew of .50 caliber spotting rounds and we flew down to Honduras to get the mission underway. After a day or so to get settled in and get trucks to pack all the ammo and gear up into the mountains, we were underway.

Our initial training schedule had a couple of days for crew drills since we expected them to be pretty sloppy. We began by doing a quick inspection of the guns and they were all in very good to excellent condition. The troops obviously took very good care of them. Which was an encouraging sign.

Next, we broke down the unit into their mounted (Jeep) and fixed gun crews and had them walk thru their crew drills. They then went thru their crew drill at normal (combat) speed. I was on the gun crew next to the one our team leader was with and we made eye contact with one another. His eyebrows went up and without saying anything, I could tell he wasn’t expecting this. These guys looked incredibly smooth, much better than any regular Honduran line unit we had worked with, especially on Day 1.

After running them thru the crew drills a few more times, we had the crews bore sight their weapons and once again they did it without the slightest hitch. We broke for an early lunch at the range and would commence live fire after their break. Our weapons guys were surprised at how smooth they looked and at they seemed to have their act together, which for the Honduran army back then was no easy feat. And we wondered aloud why these troops couldn’t hit the side of a barn. Our questions would soon be answered.

After lunch, the crews broke down with their respective guns and we readied to see how well they could hit their targets. The targets were dugout areas on the side of a ridgeline 400-500 meters away and had logs laid into the 4’ x 6’ area and were painted white for easy identification.

The first gun crew was readying to fire when our senior weapons leader stopped them. “What the fuck are you doing,” he asked? The crew wasn’t loading spotting rounds for the .50 caliber but the .30 caliber device for bore sighting. “We don’t have .50 caliber spotting rounds,” they said. Apparently, according to their Lieutenant, they hadn’t had any in years.

Some visiting straight-leg officer from the US MILGP (Military Group) in the US Embassy who had zero knowledge of the M-40 had told them in lieu of spotting rounds, the sub-caliber device for bore sighting could be used as a spotting round. Mystery solved. For any target farther than 100 meters, you wouldn’t hit jack shit.

We went into the back of our truck and broke out the spotting rounds and they loaded them up (for the first time) into their spotting rifles. The first gun crew fired the spotting round dead center of a target on the ridge in the distance and then fired their main gun. The target exploded with a direct hit. The unit cheered like they just scored a touchdown at the Super Bowl.

After ensuring that each crew had spotting rounds we spent the rest of the afternoon live firing the 106s and there were very very few misses. These guys were just lacking the proper ammunition for their spotting rifles and taking what an American officer had told them at face value. They did what they were told and had failed miserably. After the first day, their morale was sky high. For most of them, this was the first time, they hit a target with their assigned weapon.

Our training outline would have to be changed…obviously. And we got into more advanced training than we ever envisioned we would be able to accomplish. The support guys who set out the targets were told to start making them smaller. The lesser profiles were much harder to hit.

The mounted jeep sections were quickly getting adept at hitting their targets while racing between firing positions. And the others were getting their guns into action much faster getting them off-loaded from trucks.

Two months later, the Estado Mayor were once again called out to the range. They were briefed on the upcoming scenario, on the ridge line in the distance of 400 meters away was an enemy attacking force of armor. But the targets weren’t sized 4’ x 6’ but just 55-gallon drums painted white and much harder to hit.

The jeeps drove up quickly from the dirt road and took up firing positions. They engaged the first line of “tanks” and quickly destroyed every one of them. While they were moving to their secondary firing position, the fixed guns, which had been camouflaged using the brush and unseen from the VIPs opened fire quickly, covering their movement and destroying many more targets on the opposite hill.

The vehicle mounted sections again hit their targets decimating the remaining 55-gallon drums on the far side. As a final scenario, the Honduran LT called out an infantry attack coming up the draw, 150 meters to their left front. That was simulated by having about 50 rifle silhouette targets on a skid. The first gun sections depressed the barrels and gave them a salvo of flechette rounds. The silhouettes disappeared in a flash of dust and debris. Not a single target was left. What a difference from their earlier disaster just a few months earlier.

Was it great training on the SF part or just getting them the correct equipment? We knew the answer. But the LT begged our commander not to say the real reason why as it would make them look bad he said.

The Estado Mayor approached our Team Leader and asked to address our team. They were very pleased they said with the training. They could see the difference in the soldiers’ confidence and attitude. “A few months ago, they couldn’t hit a thing. Now, they can handle anything that comes at them and we thank you for that. Our border area is now safer thanks to you.” He then told our Captain not to let the Anti-Tank unit fire any more flechette rounds. “Save them for the “perro cacerros” when they cross the border.

They then addressed the Lieutenant. “You and your men did a fantastic job today. We can see how hard you’ve worked.” And then with a smile, he added, “Those Green Berets sure taught you how to shoot straight.”

______________

A sad footnote was that less than a week later, while responding to another alert on the border, one of the jeeps carrying a 106, took a corner too fast and rolled. The gun crushed one of the crew killing him and seriously injured two others.

Photos courtesy Author, US Army

Nikki Haley Tells Congress that Iran Would Supply Nukes to Terrorists

America’s top diplomat at the United Nations, Nikki Haley told members of Congress on Tuesday that the government of President Trump is worried that Iran will not only give nuclear weapons to terror groups but do so with tacit Russia approval.

That bit of news is something that has some Republicans in the House asking if a regime change something that may be considered.

U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Nikki Haley told a House Appropriations subcommittee that she believes the Iran nuclear agreement reached under the Obama administration will only “delay something that’s going to happen,” which is Iran’s achievement of a nuclear weapon. She said that poses the risk that Iran could share that technology with terrorist groups it supports.
“They’re going to continue their nuclear capabilities and we just gave them a lot of money to do it with,” she said. “And my concern is they are associating with are all the groups we’re trying to defeat.”
“So, not only did we give that capability to Iran, we are now giving it to those terrorist organizations we’re trying to defeat,” she added.
Haley told lawmakers that Iran has escalated its support for a pair of terrorist organizations on the borders of Israel, aided by the influx of money that followed the easing of sanctions under the Iranian nuclear agreement. She conceded that Iran is not committing “any violations” of the nuclear deal, but said the regime is defying international resolutions against the development of ballistic missiles designed to carry nuclear weapons.
Haley added that her efforts to rally international opposition to Iran are hamstrung by Russia’s willingness to block U.N. Security Council resolutions censuring Iran. “Yes, we would love to sanction Iran; and, yes we will continue to be loud about it; and, yes, Russia will veto it,” she said.

Although President Trump has stated that the Iran is abiding by the agreement made with the US, he’s considering scrapping the deal that President Obama made with Iran. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson notified members of Congress and stated that Iran is still a leader in state-sponsored terrorism. And he added that the administration is looking into whether the pact is vital to US security interests.

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

Photos courtesy White House

Coalition Accused of Killing Syrians Civilians on Prison Airstrike

An English group that monitors the Syrian Civil War has reported that a coalition airstrike Monday on an Islamic State prison in eastern Syria killed dozens of prisoners.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, claims the dawn strike killed 42 prisoners and 15 militants near Mayadeen in Dair Alzour province. The US coalition has said that it will investigate the claims.

Deirezzor24 news site, which is run by opposition activists, reported that 60 people had been killed, including civilians, Syrian rebel fighters and two militant guards. The prison, near the village of Tayibiya wa Maaharufa, housed those caught fighting Islamic State, including members of the coalition-backed Free Syrian Army and the Al Qaeda-linked group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, once known as Nusra Front.
Mayadeen is a Euphrates River valley city about 30 miles southeast of Dair Alzour, an Islamic State stronghold frequently targeted in recent days by coalition aircraft as militant leaders fled there from Raqqah and Mosul.
A spokesman for the coalition acknowledged it had conducted strikes “on known ISIS command and control facilities and other ISIS infrastructure” in Mayadeen on Sunday and Monday. He said the group was investigating potential civilian casualties.
“The removal of these facilities disrupts ISIS’s ability to facilitate and provoke terrorist attacks against the coalition, our partner forces and in our homelands,” the spokesman said in a statement Tuesday. “This mission was meticulously planned and executed to reduce the risk of collateral damage and potential harm to noncombatants.”
The statement noted the coalition makes efforts to avoid civilian casualties when targeting strikes.
“The coalition strikes only valid military targets, after considering the principles of military necessity, humanity, proportionality, and distinction. We hold ourselves accountable with an open and transparent process to assess allegations of civilian casualties, and we publish these findings on a regular basis for the world to see,” the statement said.

Meanwhile, embattled Syrian President Bashar al-Assad visited a Russian air base at Hmeymim in western Syria on Tuesday, his first visit to the base from which Russian jets have supported his war effort.

Assad posed for pictures in an SU-35 aircraft as well as a tank and later visited wounded soldiers with his wife on a rare trip out of Damascus.

To read the entire article from the Los Angeles Times click here:

Photos courtesy US Navy

SOF Selection PT Preparation 6.28.2017

Shoulders and back day in the gym before doing the SOF (Special Operations Forces) Triathlon. A run, a rucksack march, and a swim with fatigues and boots. If you can do all three of these things well, you will have the inside track for most of the selection courses.

Training:

More Preparation for the UBRR:

3 x 12 Lat Pulldowns, behind the neck (go as heavy as possible)

3 x 12 Lat Pulldowns, front

3 x 10 Dumbbell Side Raises

3 x 10 Dumbbell Front Raises

3 x 10 Dumbbell Arnold Press

3 x 8 Shoulder Shrugs

3-mile Run

3-mile Rucksack march (45lb minimum)

300-meter swim in fatigues and boots

Stretch well after completion

Britain’s Aircraft Carrier Queen Elizabeth Begins Sea Trials

The British Navy has commissioned two aircraft carriers to be built at the Rosyth dockyards at a cost of six billion Euros. The first of which, the Queen Elizabeth is leaving the port to undergo her sea trials.

Queen Elizabeth will carry over 40 aircraft and be able to project British air power anywhere in the oceans of the world.

It is the largest warship ever built for the Royal Navy. The flight deck alone is the size of three football pitches.
Once in service the ship can operate with a crew of 1,000 and 40 aircraft.
The 65,000 tonne warship is the Royal Navy’s first aircraft carrier since HMS Illustrious was scrapped in 2014.
The numbers behind HMS Queen Elizabeth

The project to build HMS Queen Elizabeth and sister ship HMS Prince of Wales cost more than £6bn
The aircraft carrier weighs 65,000 tonnes and has a top speed of 25 knots
Its flight deck is 280m long and 70m wide – enough space for three football pitches
The ship is the second in the Royal Navy to be named Queen Elizabeth
It will have a crew of about 700, increasing to 1,600 when a full complement of F-35B jets and Crowsnest helicopters are embarked
There are 364,000m of pipes inside the ship
Both HMS Queen Elizabeth and HMS Prince of Wales will keep 45 days worth of food in its stores
The entire ship’s company of 700 can be served a meal within 90 minutes – or 45 minutes when at action station
Leaving the Rosytdock will be among the most difficult manoeuvres in the sea trials with just 50cm between the bottom of the ship and the seabed in the port

Commanding Officer Captain Jerry Kydd said the ship was important for Britain’s reputation as a naval power.

“I think there are very few capabilities, by any country, that are as symbolic as a carrier strike capability,” he added.

“Submarines you can’t see, but these are very visible symbols of power and power projection.”

The ship at the conclusion of her sea trials would still be several years from being an operational ship, as it has a scheduled date of 2020 as being ready. Although technical issues were forcing to its trials to begin three months late.

To read the entire article from the BBC click here:

Photo courtesy Royal Navy

Philippines Won’t Negotiate with Rebels That Seized Marawi

The battle on-going in the Philippines has taken an ugly turn as the rebels holding the city of Malawi are resorting to tactics that have been seen in other places. Local residents are being forced to fight government troops, loot homes of valuables and serve as sex slaves for the rebel forces.

On Tuesday, military leaders cited residents of Marawi City who either escaped or were rescued and said some hostages were forced to convert to Islam, carry wounded fighters to mosques, and marry militants of the Maute group loyal to Islamic State.

The claims by the residents haven’t been confirmed by third parties but there is no doubting that the suffering of the citizens has been high since the battle commenced.

The government ruled out negotiations after reports that Abdullah Maute, one of two brothers who formed the militant group carrying their name, wanted to trade a Catholic priest hostage for his parents arrested earlier this month.
The military said on Saturday Abdullah Maute had fled.
Taking advantage of a short truce to mark the Eid al-Fitr Islamic holiday, eight Muslim leaders met briefly on Sunday with Maute. The Philippine Daily Inquirer said he had asked for his father, Cayamora Maute, and influential businesswoman mother, Farhana Maute, to be freed, in a swap for Father Teresito “Chito” Soganub.
But presidential spokesman Ernesto Abella said deals with militants were against government policy, and anyone trying to bargain had no authority to do so.
“The local religious leader-led talks with terrorists last Sunday was one not sanctioned,” Abella told reporters.
“Any demands made inside, therefore, hold no basis. Let us remind the public, the gravity of the terrorists and their supporters’ offences is immense.”
The military’s public relations machine has been insisting that the rebel leadership was crumbling, saying top commanders had escaped or were killed in action, and the group was fraught with infighting, even executing their own men for wanting to surrender.
Military officers, however, accept they lack solid proof of such developments and were working to verify intelligence reports.
The army said there were reported sightings of the departure from the battle of Isnilon Hapilon, Islamic State’s anointed Southeast Asian “emir”, which Abella said showed he was not committed to his cause.

Thus far, official figures show 70 troops, 27 civilians and 290 militants have since been killed and 246,000 people displaced since the battle began in May.

To read the entire article from the Reuters click here:

Photo courtesy SOFREP

When Special Operations Training Takes a Step Back in Time

When Special Operations guys enter the units that they’ve worked so hard to get into, they all have a burning desire to use that newfound knowledge and go out and do great things. Those type of operations that they’ve envisioned inside the recessed part of their brain but never publicly spoken about for fear that it would ‘jinx” their chances.

But sometimes the operations that you’ll get tasked to do won’t be those “high-speed”, high visibility operations using the state-of-the-art gadgets from Q-Branch, but using very necessary and forgotten knowledge from generations before. And now, with the operators of all the services conducting missions in all kinds of austere environments, those forgotten lessons are once again…thankfully being taught at the schoolhouse.

My first team that I was assigned to was a Mountain team and I was thrilled. After high school and while in college, I took up rock climbing and the Northeast has several superb areas to practice your craft. I spent a ton of time climbing in the White Mountains of NH, the Adirondacks of NY including the world famous “Gunks” as the local climbers call the Shawangunks and Crow Hill State Park in Leominster, Massachusetts.

Crow Hill is just minutes from Ft. Devens, MA, which in those days was the home of the 10^th Special Forces Group and they frequently used Crow Hill for training and I ran into quite a few of them back in the day as they conducted their training much to the chagrin of the local climbers who bemoaned (from afar) their use of pitons in the cracks rather than using “nuts” which didn’t scar the rock. The SF guys could care less.

So as the new guy on the team, I was anxious to show, at least in the climbing realm, I already had a lot of experience and would be a definite bonus to the team. And when we got the word that the mountain team was getting alerted for a mission, I had visions of getting the best alpine gear and going on a climbing expedition to the Andes or some exotic locale.

Well imagine our surprise when our team leader announced we were going to mule packing school. Now back then, the JFKSWC (Special Warfare Center) didn’t have an advanced mountain school or have any course where animal packing was done. We’d learn from civilians in Arizona. The Army hadn’t done serious mule packing since the days of Merrill’s Marauders in Burma. A friend of mine from the SF Reserves in New York sent me an Army Mule Packing Manual from the early 1900s.

We had very strict guidelines in what was to be packed and carried by the pack animals and we set off to learn and to experiment on what worked, what didn’t and how we’d go about in altering the pack saddles and panniers to fit what we need to tote along.

We took our mission to Honduras and the mountains in the interior of the country, far from prying eyes. Working with the Airborne battalion in Tamara and the 6^th Infantry Bn. home of “The Centaurs” at Ojo de Agua, commonly known as Ojo de Nada would provide our host nation troops. Some of them had pack animal experience, but most did not.

The animals were a mixed bag, having only a few mules, we worked with tiny burros and horses which aren’t as good as mules when it comes to carrying a heavy load as well as their footing but we used what we had. We spent days working up a solution to what needed to go in a specific load, putting it on an animal, and marching them around the compound. Then take it the pack saddle off, readjust the load and the lashing and do it all over again.

We were basically learning on the fly and everything we tried and tested was put on the computer or filmed as to help the next guys who would get tasked to run this type of operation. Our team Warrant Officer, Rick B. probably was the SME (subject matter expert) on pack animal operations in the military at that point. It truly was a forgotten art at that point in time.

Finally, we were ready to take a mule train across the mountains. We loaded up our rag-tag group of 20 mules, horses, and burros and loaded them down with food, water, mortars and mortar ammunition, Stingers as well as our rucksacks. We’d carry our vests and weapons.

Author with “Samurai” horse getting a drink in a mountain stream

Almost immediately, problems arose. The pack saddles, sized for big Tennessee mules in the states, were too big for their smaller Honduran cousins. Loads were slipping and sliding after a short few steps and the train stopped constantly. Rick was everywhere, moving up and down the train, helping everyone get their loads straightened out. As soon as one would get fixed, another would slide and need fixing.

After pushing out of the battalion soccer field at 0700, by dark, we made about 500 meters…and were still in view of the base guard towers, who shouted out good-natured insults to their soldiers working with us.

The second day started off much the same way, the first few hours were once again spent constantly fixing the shifting loads before everything started to fall into place. By noon time of Day 2, we started trucking and we covered about 20+ kilometers, which thru the mountains was no easy task. The animals handled their loads, once they were properly loaded, without any problems at all. Days 3-4 we blazed across the mountains and reached the point we had initially picked to reach on Day 5 before our problems surfaced at the start.

Our mission was a success and the lessons learned on our mission were turned over to the proper people who needed that expertise in another part of the world. That mission proved to be successful as we watched it unfold from afar and the military took notice.

Pack animals are now used in many places by our Special Operations troops where vehicles can go or are not available. A few years later we watched as a group of 5^th SFG (A) and Air Force Special Operators made the first mounted horseback charge in over 100 years.

The JFKSWC’s Senior Mountaineering Course and the Marine Corps Mountain Warfare Training School both teach the finer points of using animals including horsemanship, animal packing instructions, equipment maintenance in their curriculums.

A Special Forces soldier leads his pack mule down a trail Sept. 18 during the Special Operations Animal Packing Course at Fort Bragg, N.C. The course prepares special operation troops for extended movement in undeveloped areas where motorized transportation is not an option. (Photo by Cpl. Kyle J. Cosner, USASOC PAO)

Graduates can go back to their units and be the subject-matter experts in tactical military operations in mountainous terrain, lead untrained and indigenous forces over mountainous terrain, as well as conduct pack-animal operations.

Sometimes, the “high-speed” isn’t in the equipment being used, but in the manner that the operators use the old ways and tailor them to modern missions.

Photos courtesy of the author, US Army

SOF Selection PT Preparation 6.27.2017

If this is Tuesday, then it must be our Leg Day at the gym followed by a 4-mile run. Begin with pull-ups and towel pullups for those who don’t have access to climbing ropes. Then squats, lunges and the sled followed by a four-mile run

Training:

Continue to prep for the UBRR

3 x Pull-ups 10 reps

3 x Towel pull-ups 10 reps

3 x Front Squat 20-15-12 reps (lighter weight)

3 x Goblet Squats 20-15-12 reps (lighter weight)

4 x Sled push heavier weight

3 x 10 reps Dumbbell lunges

3 x 20 Side Planks

4-Mile run

Stretch well after completion