SpecOps

McCain Blasts Trump’s Lack of Winning Strategy in Afghanistan

Senator John McCain has been an outspoken critic of President Donald Trump and on Monday, called out the president again, citing his lack of a winning strategy for the war in Afghanistan.

In a statement, McCain cited the recent attack by an Afghan soldier on three members of the 101^st Airborne Division where the soldiers were all killed and stated that he hopes that this will “turn the situation around in Afghanistan.”

“After nearly 16 years of war, we are at a stalemate in Afghanistan,” he added. “Worse, we have no strategy to end that stalemate and achieve victory.”
McCain, who chairs the Senate Armed Services Committee, pointed to testimony last week by Defense Secretary James Mattis, who said that the U.S. is not winning in Afghanistan.
There are 8,400 U.S. troops in Afghanistan involved in training and advising the Afghan military — 2,000 of whom are involved in counterterrorism operations against al-Qaeda and the ISIS affiliate in the country.
Last week President Donald Trump authorized Mattis to increase the military presence in Afghanistan. U.S. military commanders have recommended 2,000 to 5,000 additional troops in the country, according to American officials. Mattis has not yet made a determination on troop levels.
“We cannot keep going like this,” said McCain. “If the administration fails to develop a strategy for success, Congress will need to play a greater role.”

Trump and Defense Chief Mattis hope for an additional 3000-5000 additional troops in Afghanistan to help turn the stalemate into a winning situation. “Defense Secretary Mattis testified before the Senate Armed Services Committee last week that we are not winning in Afghanistan. And yet, six months into the new administration, it still has not delivered a strategy,” McCain said.

Later on Monday Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Joseph Dunford said at the National Press Club Monday that the administration will have a strategic review complete on Afghanistan sometimes in mid-July.

The entire article and interview from ABC News can be found here:

Featured Photo: Getty Images

SOF Selection PT Preparation 6.20.2017

Tuesday is our Leg Day (my favorite) at the gym followed by a run. Begin with pull-ups and towel pull-ups 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 Pullups 10 reps

3 x Towel pullups 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

SOF Imperative #1 Understand the Operational Environment

The Special Operations community under their command element at USASOC were developed back in the 1990s. The joint command looked to define what was a successful Special Operations mission and what factors played a key role in the conducting of their missions. They published a list of 12 SOF (Special Operations Forces) Imperatives to aid in the operational planning of SOF missions.

Before some people get too wrapped around the handle about the word itself, the word imperative comes from the Latin word of the same name which means, “specially ordered.” Oxford’s English dictionary lists it as an adjective meaning “of vital importance,” or a noun that means “an essential or urgent thing.” So there’s that.

While one may not need to accomplish each one of these imperatives for every mission as they will vary, however, they are the guidelines that invaluable during the planning phase of the operation that addresses most, if not all of the issues that need to be planned for.

So, let’s look at the first one and for those of our readers who are aspiring SOFs troops, the one with perhaps the most misunderstood meaning.

“Understand the Operational Environment”:

Unfortunately, many of the young troops especially coming from a conventional forces background think of this as strictly knowing the terrain of their specific operational area. And yes, while this is part of it, in the UW (Unconventional Warfare) environment it is a small portion of the #1 imperative.

The understanding of the environment for the SOF operator involves both internal and external factors. While on the tactical/internal side of things, as with any military operation the operators must know the METT-TC factors of their operational area. But that is where it gets deeper for the SOF troops.

This also includes the UW target audience. While most resistance leaders come from the civilian populace of the operational area, they will know, better than the SOF operators what the customs, culture, beliefs, taboos, goals, and needs of the civilian populace are. But the successful operators will be able to influence the actions of the target UW forces that will not only further the US’ goals of the area but help the target audience succeed in what their ultimate goals are.

The external side of things entails knowing and understanding all aspects of the operational area. That includes the political, economic, sociological, psychological, geographic, and military aspects of the area.

Special Operations Forces must know how the civilian influence on the area will impact operations. Both toward friendly and enemy situations. SOF operators must identify the friendly and hostile decision makers, their objectives and strategies, and the ways they interact. They must know the strengths, weaknesses, vulnerabilities, and power centers of friendly, enemy, and neutral groups and how these groups will interact with mission success.

The conditions of conflict can and will change, as we’ve seen in many of the wars facing us today and SOF must anticipate these changes in the environment and exploit any and all opportunities. Plan for the unexpected and be prepared to see through with a plan that will help the target UW audience reach their objectives.

SOF has been doing these things and that is one of the reasons that they’ve been so successful in the past half-century. The US Army’s Special Forces groups have traditionally been area oriented to their base of operations. Navy SEAL Teams have traditionally been area oriented to allied nations in the Persian Gulf. It has been an invaluable asset that has resulted in far greater situational awareness, battlefield preparation, cross-cultural communications, and cultural sensitivity in the operational areas.

Operators learn the language, the culture, and the ethos of the target audience by being immersed in it. Knowing both the target audience and that of an enemy was exhibited during “Operation Just Cause” in Panama. Retired LTG, then Major Charles Cleveland, the Operations Officer (S-3) of the 3^rd Bn. 7^th SFG stationed in Panama saved untold lives of the Panamanian Defense Forces by knowing their culture and having interpersonal relationships with many of their leaders.

He arranged for many of them to surrender without firing a shot or having a loss of life by knowing how to communicate with their leaders in a way that wouldn’t upset their traditional “machismo” that they were known for. They were facing an unwinnable situation and the results were never in doubt. He saved the Panamanians in certain units from being virtually annihilated for no reason.

Not only did he save lives but it paved the way for bridging the relationship quickly from enemy combatant to back to being an ally in very little time. The transition affected by the 7^th group was remarkably quick and much of that credit should go to Cleveland. Because of that, our follow-on mission, “Promote Liberty” was much more successful and many of the Panamanian soldiers turned National Police involved in it, would not have been there as a result.

The imperative we’ve touched on here is well-known to Special Operators who have been down range and have been on many deployments overseas. To the young aspiring operators, this is something that may sound simple to you but requires a ton of work, study, and preparation before ever deploying. Call it an enhanced Intelligence Preparation of the Battlefield.

Special Operations Forces are not only the premier light infantry experts in the world but they must be experts in language, tradecraft (more to that in the upcoming days), area studies, survival medicine, engineering, and weapons.

And they’ll serve as the primary and very touchy proponents of our national strategy within our own military, which frankly is awful at anything above the battalion level. Our troops continue to win the battlefields at battalion level and below but why are these conflicts dragging on and on?

Our national political and military leaders don’t understand the nature of the wars we’re embroiled in nor will they overcome the biases they have, to these wars. Our leaders continue to push forward with the way they want to fight the current wars rather than the ways the wars need to be fought. It has been that way since Vietnam and the fact that Afghanistan and Iraq continue to drag on is proof that the strategy isn’t working. We could speak for days on this subject but we’ll leave it there.

Photo courtesy DOD

US Airstrikes Causing “Staggering” Civilian Deaths Says UN

The UN is reporting that the coalition airstrikes led by the US is causing a “staggering” number of civilian deaths in the Syrian city of Raqqa. The city was taken by Islamist State forces in 2014 and has been cited by the IS as their “capital” and their “caliphate”.

US-backed SDF (Syrian Democratic Forces) are attempting to wrest control of the city from the IS forces trapped inside in heavy fighting.

Paulo Sérgio Pinheiro, chairman of the U.N. Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Syria, said Wednesday that coalition airstrikes have deepened the suffering in the city held by extremist fighters.
“We note in particular that the intensification of airstrikes, which have paved the ground for an SDF advance in Raqqa, has resulted not only in staggering loss of civilian life, but has also led to 160,000 civilians fleeing their homes and becoming internally displaced,” Pinheiro told the U.N. Human Rights Council in Geneva. He referred to the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), a U.S.-backed militia dominated by Syrian Kurds.
The commission recorded 300 civilian deaths from coalition airstrikes in Raqqa province between March 1 and May 31, according to Karen AbuZayd, an investigator for the Commission of Inquiry on Syria.
Human rights and monitoring groups have warned for months of the rising human cost of the coalition’s air war in Syria and Iraq as Islamic State forces stake out positions in densely populated civilian areas across what remains of the group’s self-proclaimed caliphate.
On March 22, the U.N. commission recorded 200 civilian deaths at an old school building in the village of Mansoura that was sheltering displaced families from across the province.
“These figures have been corroborated by multiple witnesses,” AbuZayd said.
The U.S. military said at the time that it was aware of the reports and was opening an investigation.

Reports of civilian deaths are as high as 484 since 2014 as a result of the US-led bombing campaign but a British watchdog agency, “Airwars” puts the figure much higher, at more than 3800.

Meanwhile the UN spokesman, Pinheiro stated that the fight against Islamic State forces must not be undertaken at the “expense of civilians who unwittingly find themselves living in areas” where the group is present.

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

Photo courtesy European Press Photo

Revisiting the SFAS Night Land Navigation Course

In previous articles, we’ve touched on the different aspects of land navigation. We’ve gotten a few questions and comments about night navigation which is the hardest part of land navigation because all your skills will be tested to the max in the hours of darkness.

Rather than re-hashing the entire Land Navigation series of articles, we’ll hit upon the high points and get across the rough patches that you’ll need to cross to get a first time go at night navigation. While I’ll be speaking in generalities about the Star Navigation course in Hoffman that is used by SFAS, these tips will help you in any Selection Land Navigation course.

Securing Your Gear: Sounds kind of silly, doesn’t it? I mean, you want to be in Special Operations and you’re here in Selection and this guy is writing that I have to tie down my gear like a noob? Yep. Most definitely. Every class that I was a cadre member for in SFAS had candidates losing maps, protractors, compasses etc. I can tell you that things haven’t changed that much out there. The Hoffman draws will feed on your gear. Tie everything down. And that includes your weapon.

Get a good smaller map case, preferably one with a lanyard and tie it to your gear and then stuff it into your shirt. You don’t need one of those huge ones that the mech guys used to be so fond of. Fold up your map so that the terrain you’re walking in is the only part showing. It makes it much easier to find where you are.

I can’t stress this enough; tie everything down, you think it is embarrassing tying all of your equipment down like a boot? Trust me you don’t want to be the red-faced candidate who has to tell the cadre members that he’s lost his map or compass.

Pace Count: Knowing your pace is very important, and even more so in the dark. What is your pace count with just your web gear? How different is it with a rucksack on? Your pace count will vary between day and night and it will increase as you tire. And depending on the type of terrain that you are operating in.

In time, you’ll become a seasoned pro at this and will know just by the conditions that you are dealing with what your pace count will be. And it will change over time. My pace with just web gear on flat terrain was 62 back in the days of Phase 1 at Camp Mackall.

But with a rucksack and a heavy load, it went up to 73. But I noticed after I had been in Group for a while and your rucksack becomes a part of you, my pace counted lessened to between 68-69 depending on conditions. You’ll find that you will have similar results.

Route Planning: Route planning and selection are even more important at night as opposed to during the daylight as many of the features are invisible or nearly so in the dark. Trying to use dead reckoning for 5-6 clicks in the dark is a very, very tough proposition.

And instead of moving for those 5 (or more) kilometers as a single movement, do a series of short movements and use the checkpoints along the way that you designate on your map and it will be much easier to keep track of and check your pace count.

Set checkpoints and handrails such as ridge lines or streams that you can terrain associate with and move out with a purpose while using your pace count. Use dead reckoning once you get to your attack point. That way if you get turned around, you have a known point you can go back to try it again.

Plot your points on the map using the smallest possible mark and write down all the information on either a small index card or tear a sheet off your notebook and place this inside the map case for quick reference.

Moving Out with a Purpose: One of the things that you’ll have to get good at and quickly is being able to move out in the darkness and cover some ground. Special Operations Forces own the night and the only way to get really good at it is to practice.

And the most useful feature of your compass at night is the bezel ring. If you’re following a basic azimuth, rotate your bezel ring so that your North seeking arrow aligns with the luminous bubble. So, say if you are traveling on an azimuth of 65 degrees, your North seeking arrow will be in the approximate 10 o’clock position, rotate the bezel ring so the bubble aligns with the North seeking arrow and it is a quick way to keep on your azimuth, especially in the dark.

Also, remember that each click in the bezel ring is three degrees. Keeping your compass at waist level now will allow you move out. Once the luminous dot and the North seeking arrow are aligned you are moving in the right direction.

If the terrain and conditions allow it, then shoot a point in the distance and move to it. But as we said above, you don’t want to use dead reckoning for long distances in the dark. Once you get better at it, terrain association is faster, easier and will allow you to find your way without getting lost. Your pace count then becomes just another way to check your progress and reference where you are on your map checks.

Just a few reminders, your visual range estimation is likely to be well off during the darkness. And your pace count, depending on the terrain is likely to vary a bit. And finally, your natural drift will likely be intensified in the dark, you’ll quickly find this out as you find yourself on the course. One way to combat this and I’ve heard this works for many navigators is to change hands holding your compass frequently.

Avoid the draws if you can, but if you have to, cross one check your compass every 20-25 paces as it is easy to get turned around in those things. There have been a ton of students out there, if you see a well-worn path that cuts across a draw, it probably means that the students before you have found the path of least resistance across the draw and I’d take advantage of that.

At Selection, an SFAS cadre member will be at the points to check you in and give you the next point on the course, but occasionally you’ll come across those green Engineer stakes with a tag on them. They’re land navigation points for the SFQC. Take the time, stop, and use the eight-digit grid on them to help you pinpoint your location. That is just like having a built-in GPS on the course. Those are placed in exactly where they’re supposed to be and they’re a great tool to use.

Red lens flashlights only! Don’t talk to other students while on the course but once you are done with the events of that particular event during the practice navigation, sit down and disseminate the information about what you saw and experienced with the other candidates. That is a good way to find out potential trouble spots and avoid them if possible.

Trust your map, pace count, and your azimuth as you move out on the course. And never let doubt creep into your mind. Your map and compass aren’t going to lie to you on the course. Your training and keeping a cool head will get you thru this. Thousands of SOF guys before you have done this and you can too.

You’ll become very familiar with many of the names and places on the map. Several remain from my time but there are a few new ones as well.

Five Points
Puppy Palace
Lake Baggett
Bones Fork Creek
3 Wire Road
Jurassic Park
Scuba Road
Dagobah (I don’t know who named this area in the north, but it is absolutely brilliant.)

Photo Courtesy of DOD

Passing Selection Requires Proper Foot Care and Boots

We’ve been getting a lot of messages regarding the Selection process and many of them from both here in the US and from other countries concern rucking and boot fit. So it is a good time to revisit the care of your feet and the proper boot fit that we touched on a few months ago.

Your feet along with your brain are the two most indispensable parts of your body in Special Operations Forces. I’ve repeated many times what the men who trained me have said over and over. Your feet are your lifeline in Special Operations. Take care of them and they’ll take care of you. Having spent many years in the Special Forces Regiment, care for your feet became second nature and will be a very necessary function.

Anyone who has been in a light infantry or an airborne unit will know these tips already. If you don’t have that background but have senior NCOs or officers that served in these type of units, seek out their advice on the subject before beginning your prep for Selection.

Proper Fitting Boots: Unless things have changed, you won’t be allowed to wear any of the high-speed boots in Selection, only what the military issued you. So, wearing the various boots from Merrell, Asolo, Vasque, etc. will have to wait until you graduate and go operational.

The key for proper fitting boots is ensuring that the boot’s heel sits tightly to the rear of the foot while giving the toes some wiggle room up front. If your foot is sliding around too much, either front to back or side to side, you’ll have friction, which leads to blisters. If your boots are too tight, your toes will be curled up inside and that is a blister waiting to happen. Some people advise buying boots a half-size too large because your feet will swell on a long-range ruck march. I wouldn’t recommend that but if your feet swell that much it may be an option.

Have two pairs of boots ready for your Selection class and break both in like you would a baseball glove. Walk everywhere in them until they feel like an extension of your leg. It is a good idea to get boots that have good ventilation and water drainage as they’ll allow your feet to breathe and dry out when wet which will cut down on blisters

I know I’ve beaten this horse to death in our PT Preparation articles but having a second pair of broken in boots is essential. Without that, you are setting yourself up for failure. You are going to get wet at times during Selection. During the events of that particular day, you just drive on and do what you must.

But that night, allow the boots to dry out and stuff them with paper towels or newspaper and allow them to dry out properly. Wear the second pair the next day and the first pair will be ready after that. And if your boots blow out on you during an event, you will have a second pair of well broken in ones to take their place. Having to use a new pair of non-broken in boots in Selection is not the way to get thru the course with your feet intact.

I recall on February class when I was a cadre member at SFAS. It was cold and damp and rained hard on the candidates nearly every day. The dirt back roads and trails in North Carolina were soupy and under water in many places. The candidates’ feet were wet nearly all the time and compounded by the course’s criteria, their feet suffered.

Nearly all had multiple blister problems and our cadre’s medics were working overtime. Many of candidates had feet that resembled raw hamburger by the end of team week. They were forced into switching out their boots daily and those who didn’t have a second broken in pair suffered the worst of all.

Prepping and Caring for Your Feet: Having been a cadre at SFAS as I mentioned above, I’ve seen all different kinds of foot preparation and care. Another cadre member Doug P. and I used to walk around the candidate’s barracks incognito at night to see how they were caring for themselves and their teammates. (Foot stomp take note. You’re always being evaluated)

You should have a good set of nail clippers with you when attending Selection and ensure that you take good care of those as needed.

Here is where you have to know your own body and what works for you. Everyone is different and works for me, may not work for you and vice versa. That’s where the proper preparation and training BEFORE you get to Selection is invaluable.

Some guys spray their feet or use a roll-on antiperspirant which is supposed to stop the sweating which is the cause of blisters. While I was never a big believer in this, if your feet sweat profusely as mine do, then by all means, try it during your prep phase to see if it works for you.

Other guys I’ve seen use Vaseline or some type of oil or cream to reduce friction. Again, it isn’t something I’d recommend but it does work for some people.

What worked for me (and again everyone is different) was to use just a small amount of Gold Bond powder on your feet and in your socks before going on a ruck march. Not too much, like anything else, if you put half a tin in your socks, it will clump up and create just as many problems. It cuts down on friction which creates blisters. I’d recommend putting some around your crotch as well. If you get rubbed raw “down south” it isn’t pleasant walking for miles that way.

Proper Socks and Fit: Socks are your feet’s last line of defense. Just as proper socks will protect them from blisters, poorly fitted ones will cause even more problems.

So first, what causes blisters? Heat, friction, and moisture. We’ve already covered getting a couple of pairs of boots that fit well, don’t rub, and are ventilated so your feet can dry out quickly and allow some air flow inside.

Initially, get a good pair of tightly fit synthetic or polypro socks that will wick the moisture away from your feet. Rub your feet down with a light coat of powder or whatever you choose and then turn them inside out. Why? So that the stitching inside won’t rub your toes and create hot spots. That stitching can and will cause blisters.

The thick military issued wool socks go over the inner layer of socks and once again inside out to prevent the stitching from rubbing and creating hot spots. The second sock reduces the friction and will absorb the moisture from the inner sock while cushioning your foot inside the boot.

Why do we do this? Good question; the two-sock system is used so that the friction will occur between the layers of socks rather than between the socks and your feet.

Crawl, Walk, Run Approach to Preparatory Training: Like anything else, these are the things that you’ll need to work on in your prep for Selection and all of these issues should be second nature long before you show up to begin your course.

Once you get the proper (proppa eh Kibs?) boots and socks, then begin your rucking prep work. Don’t start off by trying to do a 20-miler or the equivalent of the Brecon Beacons on Day 1. Start slowly and gradually increase your speed and distance. As you get more comfortable rucking, the speed and distance will become second nature.

If you notice hot spots or blisters forming during prep work, stop right away and deal with those. Waiting until completion may result in a much more serious blister which will set your training prep work back. Once the hotspots and blisters are no longer an issue your rucksack training can begin in earnest.

One more thing about your boots and that has to do with the way they are laced. Again, this is a personal preference type of thing but something to just keep in mind. I used to ruck most of the time in my favorite jungle boots. The way the boots were constructed and the way my foot was, there was a bend in my foot that always rubbed during a long-distance ruck march right at the crease of the boot at the ankle.

I’d always skip the eyelet right smack in the middle of my boots right there as it was always a sore spot that would rub. And after many 20-milers under my belt, it didn’t take long to figure out what needed to be changed. You will find certain things that will or won’t work for you. That’s where the prep work is invaluable.

As always, I appreciate the many questions that you have and will always be here to help in any way I can. Any questions or comments can be emailed to me [email protected] or at my Twitter account @SteveB7SFG

Happy Rucking! DOL

Egypt Bans 62 News Websites in Censorship Crack Down

Egypt is cracking down on dissident news websites among them the Muslim Brotherhood but opponents to the move say it is a step by the government to censor all that isn’t the state-run media.

The government has countered and stated that they’re banning sites that express support for terrorism. The media flourished in the final years of President Hosni Mubarak’s rule. But those days seem long ago now.

Journalists see the campaign against them as a step toward banning all but the most state-aligned media, effectively reversing the private media boom that flourished in the final decade of former president Hosni Mubarak’s rule and which they say helped push him from power in 2011.
Though no precise figures on readership are available, Egypt enjoys an active private media that includes widely read print and web format publications as well as popular late-night talk shows. State newspapers still maintain wide circulation.
The spike in censorship has come as a surprise, even to journalists long-accustomed to reporting within strict red lines in Egypt where direct criticism of the military, the president, and judiciary are considered taboo and punishable by jail time.
The government has offered no comment on the reason behind the blockages and the Ministry of Communication and Information Technology had no immediate comment.
Makram Mohamed Ahmed, head of the newly formed Supreme Media Council, a state media regulator, told Reuters he believes “the main reason is how much [these websites] deal with the Muslim Brotherhood or express support for terrorism,” referring to the Islamist group whose president Mohamed Mursi held office for a year before being ousted in 2013 by the military after mass protests.
But the blockages have also hit Mada Masr, a self-described progressive outlet with no Islamist ties, as well as the widely read Al-Borsa, a financial newspaper favored by the largely pro-government business community.
“If they did something more grave like arresting team members or me it would make big noise, whereas blocking the website is the best way to paralyze us without paying a high price for it,” Lina Atallah, editor of Mada Masr, told Reuters.
Some journalists say a presidential election in 2018 means Egypt is doubling down on press restrictions, a move intended to ensure opposition candidates have few spaces to challenge general-turned-president Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, who is widely expected to run for a second term.
“There are people getting ready to nominate themselves for the presidency and they have to make their voices heard or else they won’t be competitive,” said Adel Sabry, the editor-in-chief of Masr al-Arabia, a website blocked last month.
“[The goal] is that it’s just one voice,” said editor-in-chief of Al-Borsa, Hussein Abd Rabo, who said his paper could be closed any day.

The situation there will have to be monitored closely as the government continues to crack down on what they characterize as terrorist sympathizers. The good news is that SOFREP was not among those news sites that have been banned.

To read the entire article from Reuters, click here:

Photo courtesy Reuters

Remembering John J. Kedenburg Medal of Honor Recipient June 1968

On this day in 1968, SPC5 John Kedenburg’s actions would result in his being awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor (posthumously) while on a mission in Laos.

Kedenburg was assigned to Military Assistance Command Vietnam, Studies and Observations Group (MACV-SOG known only just as SOG) as the Team Leader (1-0 one zero) of Recon Team Nevada. He’d be the team leader for more than six months, taking over for TL Dan Wagner who was killed in action in Laos in December 1967.

Operating out of FOB2 (Forward Operating Base) in Kontum, FOB2 was one of six bases that SOG operated out of in their secret war against North Vietnam.

The team’s mission was to conduct counterguerrilla operations deep inside enemy held territory in Laos. Not long after initial infiltration into a particularly hot area, the team was attacked and encircled by a battalion-size North Vietnamese Army force. Kedenburg immediately called for a Spare 39 (immediate extraction). The Covey aircraft (Forward Air Controller in OV-10 Bronco) directed Kedenburg’s team to a couple of bomb craters on a finger about 600 – 900 meters in elevation.

SP5 Kedenburg led the team, which succeeded, after a fierce firefight, in breaking out of the encirclement. As the team moved through thick jungle to a position at the bomb craters from which it could be extracted by helicopter, the team lost one man, a South Vietnamese team member who was thought killed. Kedenburg laid down heavy fire against the pursuing NVA troops and called for tactical air support. Amazingly, after being able to break contact from a sizable NVA force, outnumbering the Recon Team by better than 50-1, the team reached the craters and the landing zone (LZ) intact.

Once in the crater at the landing zone, Kedenburg deployed the team into a perimeter defense against the numerically superior enemy force. He directed airstrikes from Tactical Air Support, keeping the NVA at bay long enough for the extraction choppers to being airlifting out the team. The helicopters would hover over the area and drop ropes where the Recon Team would attach slings to be lifted out. The first half of the team was extracted by helicopter in this fashion.

Kedenburg and the remaining three South Vietnamese members of the team harnessed themselves to the sling on a second hovering helicopter. Just as the helicopter was about to lift them out of the area, the South Vietnamese team member who had been unaccounted for and presumed dead after the initial encounter with the NVA, appeared at the landing zone.

Kedenburg immediately gave up his place in the sling to the man and directed the helicopter pilot to leave the area. He then continued to engage the enemy who were swarming into the landing zone. Witnesses from the helicopter reported seeing Kedenburg killing six enemy soldiers before he eventually went down, mortally wounded. The final airstrike was right on top of his position.

From John Stryker Meyer’s book, “The Secret War in Vietnam”, Kedenburg’s body was recovered later by another team:

Another SOG team, RT Illinois, found Kedenburg’s body sitting up against a tree, where he had apparently given himself two morphine syrette injections and had attempted to place a tourniquet around his left leg.
Kedenburg had attempted to burn his Signal Operating Instructions and his CAC Code that was used to encrypt and decrypt messages. It appeared as though he was killed by a large-caliber round which had blown apart the BAR ammo belt and harness he wore and destroyed his CAR-15. RT Illinois was engaged in heavy firefights with NVA soldiers for approximately four hours before the team could extract Kedenburg’s body from Laos.

It is possible that either a large caliber NVA weapon or the final airstrike caused Kedenburg’s death. From an account written by Sherman Batman Spike Team Illinois, the team who rescued his body was the report that his equipment was torn apart:

“There was an open area at the base of the finger that we had to skirt by remaining inside the tree line. Shortly after clearing this area we started to ascend the hill and after 20 0r 30 meters the Point Man halted the Patrol and passed back to me half of a BAR (Browning Automatic Rifle) belt, with a canteen attached and all pockets full of M-16, 20 round magazines.”
“I knew this belonged to John since I had got the belt for him and helped him set it up and attached/adjusted it to his load-bearing equipment. We continued on up the hill and approximately 20 meters further up the hill we found John, he had apparently given himself two morphine syrette injections one of the syrettes was pinned to his fatigue jacket and the other was on the ground beside him.”
“He had been KIA apparently from a major caliber weapon of some kind because his rucksack had been torn from his body, his BAR belt blown apart and his CAR-15 was a mangled mess of metal. None of this material was found by John’s body but several meters away further up the hill. John was seated in an upright position with his back to a log and had from all appearances attempted to put a tourniquet on his left thigh although there was so signs of a wound to his left leg. He has also attempted to burn his SOI (Signal Operating Instructions) and his CAC Code that was used to encrypt and decrypt messages.”

He was buried in Long Island National Cemetery in Farmingdale, NY.

He was inducted as a Distinguished Member of the Special Forces Regiment on October 28, 2016.

Remember your Regiment.

Photos courtesy of US Army

Experts Doubting that Airstrike Killed Terrorist Leader al-Baghdadi

The reports that Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghadi has been killed in a US coalition airstrike have not been confirmed or denied by US military officials.

The airstrike on late Saturday was broadcast on Syrian state television. But the British and others have reported that no report has surfaced on either state television or the official news agency SANA.

These reports of al-Baghadi’s demise have been premature many times in the past and it would seem that this latest one is another despite US hopes to the contrary. Al-Baghadi would seemingly have nine lives like a cat if half the rumors surround him were true.

Independent experts are expressing skepticism about the fast-spreading claims of the terrorist leader’s death, which reportedly was broadcast late Saturday on Syrian state television. However, the British Broadcasting Corporation’s monitoring service said Sunday it had detected no such report on either state television or Syria’s state news agency, SANA.
A spokesperson on weekend duty at the U.S. Defense Department told VOA she had received queries about the reports but had no information to confirm or deny it.
The British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights has confirmed intense air raids on Raqqa, where anti-IS forces began a major offensive last week. Reports from the region say the Amaq news agency, which is publicly identified with Islamic State, showed video of a body purported to be that of al-Baghdadi.
However, the British newspaper The Scotsman cited a tweet by terrorism analyst Michael Smith saying he has viewed the video and does not believe the body to be that of al-Baghdadi.

Al-Baghdadi has a £20 million bounty on his head because of his sermons that inspired suicide attacks across Europe and his death would be a propaganda win for the Assad government. He also propagated the sex-trade and would sell or give captive Yadizi girls to ISIS fighters as gifts for victories. He personally raped many of them including American aid worker Kayla Mueller who was kidnapped and then killed in a bombing raid by the Jordanians in 2014.

To read the entire article from the Voice of America click here:

Photos courtesy VOA

Syrian SDF Rebels Moving Into Small Neighborhoods of Raqqa

The US-backed Syrian Defense Forces (SDF) are slowly tightening the noose around the Islamic State (IS) enclave of Raqqa. While forward elements are already getting a foothold in the city’s east side, other SDF units are busy securing the areas surrounding the city.

There are reports of US Special Operations troops being with the SDF rebels but only in an advisory capacity and not engaging in close-quarters combat but by staying with the SDF’s command elements as they begin the battle for the IS “capital” of Raqqa.

SDF said they captured al-Romaniya neighbourhood west of Raqqa city early on Monday.
Al-Romaniya is the third neighbourhood of Raqqa city to be captured by the SDF since the launch of the fifth phase of the Raqqa offensive last week.
The SDF, a group of Kurdish and Arab fighters, are currently battling ISIL for control of Sinaaya and Hetin neighbourhoods east and west of Raqqa city, the press release said.
ISIL captured Raqqa from rebel groups in 2014 and has since used it as their home base.
The US-led coalition said 3,000 to 4,000 ISIL fighters are thought to be holed up in Raqqa city, in which about 160,000 civilians remain, according to the UN.
The SDF forces have captured several neighbourhoods in Raqqa city since Tuesday, including the eastern neighbourhood of Mashlab.
Backed by US- coalition air strikes, the SDF began a major offensive on Tuesday to seize the city.
Ahmad, a Tabqa-based activist who would only give his first name, told Al Jazeera that civilians are expecting ISIL to retreat or surrender in a matter of days.
“People are barely surviving inside Raqqa. ISIL basically told residents if they want to leave, they can leave but without taking any of their belongings.
“If the Kurds take Raqqa, displaced people can go back to their homes. We are literally left with just three options: the Syrian government, ISIL or the Kurds. We choose the Kurds,” he said.
Many of those leaving Raqqa are heading north in search of safety towards Ain Issa, Manbij, Mahmoudli and Tal Abyad, all within a 120km radius of the northern Syrian city.
Some, however, have headed for ‘the Berm’– the border area between southern Syria and Jordan, almost 700km away, where humanitarian assistance is almost non-existent, Doctor’s Without Borders (MSF) said in a report released on June 9.

The coalition airstrikes have reportedly killed a number of civilians, who are caught between the Islamist State fighters and the SDF’s mainly Kurdish troops. Thus far, the numbers have been low but as the fighting moves into the neighborhoods of Raqqa, the number of civilian deaths is sure to rise, a thorny subject for the US-backed coalition.

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

Photos courtesy Reuters