Air Force Special Operations

Starship Troopers? Trump Calls for New Military “Space Force”

President Trump spoke in front of thousands of military members in California on Tuesday and heaped lavish praise on their dedication and successes and promised that his administration is planning on bestowing the “largest pay raise in over a decade,” and even suggested the creation of a new military branch — the “Space Force.”

The president spoke to thousands of military men and women at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar in San Diego, Calif., Tuesday, following his visit to review border wall prototypes.
“I have a message for you straight from the heart of the American people, and you know what that is — we support you, we love you and we will always have your back like you have ours,” Trump said, also praising military spouses and families for their service.
“For too long, the men and women of the United States Armed Forces have been asked to do more with less,” Trump said, listing “underinvestment,” deferred modernization and maintenance, old equipment and having “fewer ships than we should, fewer planes than we should, and fewer of you than we should.”
“Today I am very proud to report that all of that is changing, and as you have seen, all of that is changing quickly,” Trump said, noting that his administration sees “peace through strength.”
“We are finally going to lead again. Very soon, we’re going to Mars —you wouldn’t be going to Mars if my opponent won. You wouldn’t even be thinking of it,” Trump said, in a swipe at Hillary Clinton.
That’s when the president went on to introduce his “new national strategy for space.”
“Space is a war-fighting domain, just like the land, air and sea,” Trump said. “We may even have a Space Force — we have the Air Force, we’ll have the Space Force, you know, the Army, the Navy.”
He added: “I said, maybe we need a new force, I was not really serious, but now I’m thinking that’s a great idea. We’re making a Space Force. Tremendous.”
The president noted that astronauts have been “soldiers and sailors,” and said that service members will be “vital” to “ensuring America continues to lead its way into the stars.”

The president then went on to praise the work of the military in defeating the Islamic State stating “ISIS never thought this would happen.” It was a busy day for the President, earlier he fired Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and replaced him with CIA Director Mike Pompeo and tagged career CIA employee Gina Haspel for the top spot in the agency replacing Pompeo.

Democrats in Congress are already aligning against her for her running a CIA site of an “advanced interrogation site” which was accused of torture during the Global War on Terror (GWOT).

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

Photo courtesy Wikipedia

Special Operations Forces Selection PT Preparation Week 16, Day 4

Wednesday is a back and shoulder day at the gym followed by a 6-mile rucksack march. Look to better the time that is the standard (90 minutes) and remember to hydrate throughout the march. Don’t forget to mark your progress in the workout log book

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

6-mile Rucksack march (45-pound minimum, 90 minutes maximum)

Stretch well after completion

Special Operations Forces Selection PT Preparation Week 16, Day 3

Tuesday means Leg Day at the gym followed by sprints to build up speed and explosion. Begin with pull-ups and then squats, lunges and the sled followed by some sprint work.

Sprints will help with the times of your distance runs and your rucking.

Training:

Continue to prep for the UBRR

3 x Pullups 10 reps

3 x Towel pull-ups 10 reps

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

3 x Body Weight Wall Squats with a stability ball, 20-15-12 reps

4 x Sled push heavier weight or Fire Man’s Carry

3 x 10 reps Dumbbell Lunges

3 x 20 Caterpillar Planks

40-yard sprint

50-yard sprint

60-yard sprint

80-yard sprint

100-yard sprint (after each sprint, walk back to the starting point and go again)

Stretch well after completion

Special Operations Forces Selection PT Preparation Week 16, Day 2

Monday starts a new week, and we’ll continue with UBRR preparation. Start off with a mini-UBRR test of pushups, sit-ups, and crunches, then to the bar for V-ups, pull-ups, and dips before a 5-mile run. Remember to stay hydrated and mark your progress in your workout log book.

Training:

More preparation for the UBRR

2 x 20 Pushups

2 x 30 Sit-ups

2 x 30 Crunches

2 x 10, V-ups

2 x Dips as many as possible to muscle failure

2 x Pullups as many as possible or to muscle failure

5-mile run (40 minutes maximum)

Stretch well after completion

Special Operations Forces Selection PT Preparation Week 16, Day 1

Sunday morning rucksack march. Do a quick warmup of pushups and sit-ups before heading out for a 10-miler. Ruck over varied terrain and try to go as fast as you can without running.

Stretch well both before and after the event. Remember to drink plenty of water and stay hydrated out there. Even with the cold, snowy weather of the winter months upon us, you can still go down with a heat-related injury. And if you do it will really set you back in your preparation.

Training:

Warm up

1 x 20 Pushups

1 x 20 Sit-ups

10-mile Rucksack march over varied terrain with a 45-pound minimum. Go as fast as you can without jogging. And mark your times in your workout log book.

Stretch well after completion

Special Operations Forces Selection PT Preparation Week 15, Day 7

Saturday morning is a perfect time to go to the gym for a shoulder and back workout. Pull-ups, Lat Pulldowns, dumbbell presses, raises etc. Followed by a five-mile run. Log your numbers down in the workout notebook

Training:

More Preparation for the UBRR:

3 x 10 Lat Pulldowns, rear

3 x 10 Barbell Dead Lift

3 x 10 Wide Grip Pull-ups

3 x 10 Dumbbell Side Raises

3 x 10 Seated Bent-Over Delt Raise

3 x 10 Dumbbell Shoulder Press

3 x 10 Arnold Dumbbell Press

5-mile run

Stretch well after completion

Turkey Urges US to “Stop Shifting Terrorists to Afrin”

Turkey with their offensive against Syrian Kurdish YPG fighters in full-swing has stated that they expect the United States to stop “shifting terrorists” from Manbij to Afrin, presidential spokesman Ibrahim Kalin said Wednesday.

Speaking to reporters at the presidential complex in the capital, Ankara, Kalin said: “It is particularly expected [by Turkey] that the US must certainly step in and halt the shifting of YPG/PYD forces, which move under its control, in Manbij to Afrin. This is our natural right.
“With this regard, we [Turkey] took the necessary steps via official channels, and we will continue to take [such steps].”
On January 20, Turkey launched a military operation against the YPG militia from Afrin.
Turkey sees the YPG – trained, armed and supported by the US to fight against ISIL – as an extension of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK).
The US has about 2,000 soldiers based in Manbij – 100 kilometres east of Afrin – and, in January, it announced that it will train about 15,000 fighters to be part of a 30,000-strong border force in the region.
As part of its ongoing operation, Turkey said it will eventually launch a military operation against the YPG in Manbij, also.
According to the Turkish General Staff, the operation aims to establish security and stability along the Turkey-Syria borders.

The Turkish offensive in Afrin and the U.S. continued support for the Kurds has been a sticking point between Ankara and Washington as the tensions have rising in the past few years. Thus far, neither side has come into contact with one another in Syria, but the offensive by the Turkish military shows no sign of stopping and it is a matter of time before US forces are facing threats from all sides.

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

Photo courtesy Wikipedia

Special Operations Forces Selection PT Preparation Week 15, Day 6

Back to the gym this Friday morning. It is Chest and Triceps day and then a 5-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

5-mile run (40 minutes maximum)

Stretch well after completion

Special Operations Forces Selection PT Preparation Week 15, Day 5

Chest and Triceps workout in the gym and then hit the trails 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.

If you’re living in the Northeast, you may have to forego the run today until the weather stops snowing. It may be treadmill time.

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

Another Opportunity to Ruck For a Great Cause, “Ruck Your Dog”

For those aspiring Special Operations candidates out there, as they finish their workout today in preparing for Selection (you can find it right here). Here is another challenge for you to pledge some time and effort for a really good cause, while you just add to your preparation time in getting ready to go to the Selection.

The good folks at GO RUCK are running their second annual fundraiser with “Pets For Patriots” and by pledging to do some mileage under a rucksack, preferably with your dog if you have one and buying some of the shirts and patches that they’re offering, then 100 percent of the proceeds will go through Java Forever, GORUCK’s 501(c)(3) non-profit. GORUCK will publish the donation amount upon completion of this virtual fundraiser. And all of it goes to the “Pets For Patriots” project.

From their website, Pets For Patriots gives the gifts of fidelity, joy and love to both veteran and pet through companion animal adoption. Their mission is like no other because they are serving the men and women of the most extraordinary military of the most exceptional nation in the world.

Everything Pets For Patriots does is with a vision to end animal homelessness in the United States while giving military veterans and their families the greatest “thank you” of all: the extraordinary love of a companion pet.

GoRuck has run some excellent fundraisers in the past, a couple of us here, took part in the Rucking for the Green Beret Foundation last fall. They raised quite a bit of money for the folks who so much for our warriors. Now, this fundraiser helps not only veterans but gets dogs in need of a good home, the link-up with families in the military community.

We are all dog lovers in this house, and we have a rescue English Bulldog who is attached to my hip 24/7. If you’ve read some of my earlier rucking posts, you see she was mentioned quite often last spring/summer/fall whenever I was out with the ruck. With the onset of winter here in the Northeast, she’s been on hiatus, but it is time to for both myself and the dog to begin hitting the trails together.

Of course, as I’m saying this, the dog is pushing the mouse to the shorter distance to pledge….slacker. LOL

You can pledge 10 miles, 25 miles, 50 miles, 75 miles or go for the gusto and pledge 100 miles for the cause. For the aspiring SOF Candidates, you guys should pledge at a minimum of 75! (Just kidding, anything is appreciated) It is all on the honor system, you complete the mileage and adjust your own weight…they recommend 25-30 pounds, but being the good SOF ruckers we know that it is always 45-pounds minus food and water…right?

So, add some extra mileage to your SOF Preparation workouts and get the rucks back on for a great cause. Be sure to follow our workout guidelines for rucking and make sure you hydrate…and break in those spare boots. And if you guys are on social media, ensure you tag your posts with #RuckYourDog2018 so that the guys there at GoRuck can keep up with the action. Take a picture of you and your workout partner while out on the trail and we’ll do the same.

We are due for a foot of snow or more today, with some estimates as high as 20 inches here in the Northeast….so I guess my workout partner better get started before it gets a bit too deep and our footing gets slippery.

Keep us informed of your progress and we’ll post updates as well.

Happy Rucking! DOL

Photos: Courtesy of GoRuck Fundraiser