The Definitive Spec Ops Resource
Leg Day our favorite day of the week at the gym. This must mean it is Friday morning. Start off with some Squats – front, dumbbell goblet, and barbell. After the weighted sled push, we’ll finish off with a 4-mile run.
Training:
Continue to prep for the UBRR.
3 x Front Squat 20-15-12 reps (lighter weight)
3 x Goblet Dumbbell Squats 20-15-12 reps (lighter weight)
3 x 10 Barbell Squats
3 x 10 Dumbbell Lunges
3 x 10 Romanian Lunges
3 x Weighted sled push
4-mile run
Stretch well after completion
The government of Turkey in response to the news that the Trump Administration is going to arm the Syrian Kurds with heavy weapons has threatened to take military action against them.
US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis spoke to the media on Wednesday and said that the US and Turkey were having open discussions but was confident that the two sides would work things out.
Mattis also vowed that the US would help Turkey defend its southern border stating that it is “Europe’s southern border” as well.
“Turkey’s message to the Trump administration was that Turkey reserves the right to take military action,” said a senior Turkish official who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter.
Turkey has already conducted limited strikes against the U.S.-backed Kurdish fighters in northern Syria in recent weeks, but it could increase the tempo of those strikes, Turkish officials said. American officials have complained bitterly to Turkey, a NATO ally, about the airstrikes, which have targeted the principal U.S. partner in Syria in the fight against the Islamic State.
Any further military action could also potentially complicate the offensive on Raqqa, the Islamic State’s symbolic capital and its last major stronghold after the Iraqi city of Mosul, which is besieged by U.S.-backed Iraqi forces. U.S. officials are concerned that Turkey could send forces into northern Syria and draw the Kurdish fighters away from the Raqqa battle.
Turkey views the U.S.-backed Syrian Kurdish People’s Protection Units, or YPG, as an existential threat. The YPG, which dominates a U.S.-supported force known as the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), is affiliated with the Kurdistan Workers’ Party.
In a news conference Wednesday, Erdogan said that Turkey’s “patience has ended” and that he hoped the United States would reverse its decision.
“We want to know that our allies will stand not with a terrorist organization but with us,” he said.
This puts the planned assault on the ISIS-held city of Raqqa in jeopardy. The US feels that the YPG group of Kurds is the best available unit to launch the attack.
In an attempt to allay Turkish fears, a Defense Department spokesman on Wednesday at the Pentagon said that any material given to the Syrian Kurds would be carefully monitored to “make sure that it’s being used for exactly the purpose that we intend.”
To read the entire article from the Washington Post, click here:
Photo courtesy Reuters
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
A survival knife is a tool and not a fashion statement but for any guys out there that have been in a survival situation or a school environment as in a training course, you’d know that. So it becomes a case of practicality over all else
While I’m admittedly no expert on knives, I know what works for me and what I’ve used. And as in anything when it comes to gear, much of what we choose comes down to personal choice. I’ve tried a lot of different knives and found some that I’ve liked and some that I didn’t. The one design that I’ve kept coming back to is the Bowie knife design.
Some guys don’t care for them, but it’s been around for about 200 years and it will work in about any situation. For most of the small mundane tasks, you’ll come across, a Swiss Army Knife or a Leatherman will work just fine, I never went anywhere without one of those in my pocket.
And the part of the world you’re going to be working in will have a factor in the decision which one to carry. A heavy-duty knife for working in the jungles of Latin America would be a very different choice than one working in the arid environments of the Middle East. So, with that in mind, you’ll still want a mix of a bigger knife for the heavy-duty tasks and a small one for the more intricate stuff will be the best way to go. Some of the other considerations include:
When looking for a heavy-duty knife, a fixed blade is better than a folding one. I look for one with a full tang, which is the part of the blade that extends down the entire length of the knife. The ones that don’t have a full tang tend to snap off at the most inopportune of times.
Most of the best knives are made from either carbon steel or stainless. Each has their good points. I prefer carbon which holds an edge better but saying that I’ve had a stainless steel one for the past decade and a half.
The handles come in a variety of styles, hardwood, bone, rubber, and polymer. All have their strong points. It just comes down again to personal choice. Blade type and length are the next criteria. I prefer the straight blade rather than a serrated one. It is better for chopping and those serrated blades are much tougher to sharpen. Blade length should be between 6-12 inches. I personally think a 6-inch blade may be a bit too short. A 9 to 10-inch knife is ideal. My Bowie is just under 11 and a half inches and at times is a bit too big for many applications.
The sheath is a very important part of the knife, the design will affect where you carry it and how it is drawn. But a couple of considerations to look for are The strap to keep your knife in place, some are Velcro or snaps but they should be located at the top so as to not allow the knife to slide out. A Belt loop, preferably a wide one is best so that it can be carried on your belt or as part of your kit. And a lower attachment strap or hole is nice to have so that you can strap it to your leg if need be.
Here are a couple of (but not all) good choices for survival knives to pick from:
SOG SEAL Team Elite:
SOG has updated their SEAL knives and has added a nice addition to their catalog. This is a very good heavy-duty knife that is at home with the avid outdoorsman as it would be during an operation. The blade is powder coated black or coated with hard cased black TiNi to prevent rust.
The black handle comes in ballistic nylon or Kydex. The sheath is made of nylon and has MOLLE attachments. Just over 12 inches in length, with a 7 inch partially serrated edge blade. It is a tough customer and will withstand heavy use.
Ka-Bar BK-22 Becker Companion:
Ka-Bar has been putting out quality products for generations and this knife is a nice addition to their line. This offers great value for the money and will be a nice piece of equipment that will last for years.
It is an excellent overall tool that is heavy enough to do the chopping and splitting etc that you’ll need but versatile enough to handle smaller tasks while not being too bulky. It comes with a polyester sheath with MOLLE attachments and a front pocket.
Caraway Cutlery Bowie:
This was a gift from a very good friend of mine nearly 20 years ago and whenever we’re out in the outdoors, this one comes with us. It is the least expensive of the three but is a good quality knife for hunting or camping. The overall blade length is a bit too long for my taste, but it keeps a razor-sharp edge with the stainless-steel blade and is a great chopping tool.
The handle made from bone and has a brass plated guard as well, so injuries are properly prevented when the user gets carried away with chopping in the base camp.
The knife comes with a leather sheath which I never cared for in steamy jungle environments but works just fine in the Northeast. It is just a little too big for most uses.
For those of you who are looking for a custom-made knife, I would encourage you to check out Naylor Forge. Ashton Naylor is a retired Special Forces officer who commanded a battalion of the 5th SFG in Iraq and was the SWC Group Commander. He is a self-taught blacksmith who puts out some tremendous quality knives, tomahawks, and axes.
And he’ll tailor them to your needs and specifications. He can give you some good tips on what will work best for you. And what will fit your needs. Check out his website here:
Photo courtesy YouTube
Chest and Triceps day at the gym today to build upper body strength. Then a 5-mile ruck march with 45-pounds minimum. Remember to stay hydrated and 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 Kip Ups
3 x 20 Sit ups
3 x 20 Cable Push Downs (rope)
3 x 20 Dips or until muscle failure
5-mile rucksack march (45-pound minimum) over varied terrain, note your time
Stretch well after completion
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
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
Just a few short months after Pearl Harbor, the United States was locked in a global war with both the empire of Japan and Nazi Germany. And the country had no formal intelligence gathering apparatus.
So, in July 1942, President Franklin D. Roosevelt created the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) and appointed BG William “Wild Bill” Donovan as its head. It was an agency that fell under the auspices of the Joint Chiefs of Staff to coordinate espionage activities behind enemy lines, conduct special operations, propaganda, subversion, and sabotage.
Prior to the OSS, the business of American intelligence had been done on an ad-hoc basis conducted by various elements of the State Department, Navy, Treasury, and War Departments. There was no joint interaction, control, and no direction. Both the Army and Navy had separate code-breaking units that reported only to the individual services.
Donovan was an interesting choice to lead this ground-breaking unit. To begin with, he was a Republican and Roosevelt a Democrat and the two had many disagreements and political battles in New York prior to the war. One must wonder if a sitting US president today would appoint a political foe in the political morass that plagues Washington.
But Roosevelt had befriended his political foe in the ensuing years and respected his vision of foreign affairs. Donovan had traveled extensively thru Europe and had even been allowed by Benito Mussolini, the dictator of Italy to visit the front line during Italy’s war with Ethiopia. Donovan was sent to inspect US defenses in the Pacific during the time before the war and found them wanting. Roosevelt also sent him on fact-finding missions to the Middle East and the Mediterranean. Donovan had many close contacts with the British and he urged FDR to support Winston Churchill.
Thus, when FDR appointed Donovan the head of the OSS in July 1942 he had already been laying the groundwork from the previous year to build a centralized intelligence program. But they were starting with only their imagination to guide them. Donovan immediately based OSS on the British model of intelligence with their Secret Intelligence Service (MI6) and the Special Operations Executive (SOE). This would prove to be the groundwork for the future.
There was considerable push-back from the FBI, as Director J. Edgar Hoover was openly hostile to Donovan and because of that, operations in Latin America were virtually non-existent as Hoover kept that part of the intelligence area for himself and the FBI. Consequently, the level of sharing of intelligence between the two organizations was zero. Several high-ranking generals held the fledgling organization and Donovan in low esteem, including Douglas MacArthur. It would later keep OSS from helping the liberation of the Philippines, an area that was tailor made for OSS.
Donovan built OSS from nothing to over 10,000 operatives by the end of the war in just three short years. They trained spies, commandos, saboteurs, propagandists and had support personnel to conduct operations all over the globe. At war’s end, Donovan had a plan in mind to bring OSS to the next level and build a post-conflict national intelligence service. But with Roosevelt’s death, President Harry S. Truman disbanded OSS and parceled out its functions to the different services. He then created the Central Intelligence Agency in 1947, but Donovan was not to be its head.
Many of Donovan’s OSS operatives became the face of CIA including Allen Dulles, Richard Helms, William Colby, and William Casey.
Dulles was the agency’s first head and ran a very successful espionage operation against Germany from Switzerland during World War II. Helms, who succeeded Dulles, had run post-war intelligence operations in Berlin against the Russians. Colby who ran the CIA later was an OSS operative who led commando raids in France and Norway. And Casey who was head of CIA during the Reagan administration worked during the war at the Secret Intelligence Branch in Europe under Donovan.
The Special Operations side of OSS later morphed into the CIA’s paramilitary Special Activities Division but it became the backbone of the US Special Operations Command of today. The Special Operations branch of OSS was the basis for many of the Unconventional Warfare (UW), Counter-Insurgency (COIN), and Foreign Internal Defense (FID) tactics and techniques used by today’s U.S. Army Special Operations Forces.
During the war, OSS’ Special Operations Branch fielded units called Operational Groups (OGs) that conducted raids, ambushes, sabotage, and armed resistance groups. These OGs were active in Yugoslavia with the partisans, in Burma as well as France, Italy, and Norway. The most well-known were the Jedburgh OGs which carried out operations in Europe.
Col. Aaron Bank created the 10th Special Forces Group in 1952, he was a Jedburgh assigned to Europe and recruited other paratroopers, OSS operators, and the 1st Special Service Force. Using the training and tactics he learned with OSS, Bank created the Special Forces groups that we know today.
The Navy SEALs are well known to have evolved from the famous frogmen and UDTs of World War II. But they also trace part of their lineage to OSS, although they don’t claim it. The Maritime Unit (MU) of OSS was created to conduct special operations, espionage and to develop special equipment, tactics, techniques, and procedures for other special units. This describes closely to what the Navy’s SEAL Team 6 officially known as Developmental Group (DEVGRU) is tasked with today.
One of the most famous of the MU’s operators was Walter Mess. He had conducted sensitive missions in Poland and Czechoslovakia before heading to the MU. He conducted over 100 secret missions, rescued 220 downed pilots using scout swimmers and PT boats and had 15 jumps into Thailand and Burma.
Although an Army officer, and an honorary Green Beret, Mess fits the bill for a quintessential example of a Navy SEAL. He should be recognized as such by USSOCOM.
While many of Donovan’s intelligence operatives became the backbone of the CIA, the special operations side of OSS became the beginning of the Special Operations Command and the units assigned to it.
And to show the lineage to the OSS, the U.S. Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) wears an adaptation of the unofficial OSS spearhead insignia as its shoulder patch.
From humble beginnings 75 years ago, the United States Special Operations Command and the CIA owe its legacy to a group of free thinking, “glorious amateurs” as General Donovan liked to call them.
Photo courtesy CIA
Happy Hump Day, it is back and shoulders day at the gym. Then a 5-miler ruck march. Remember to stay hydrated during the ruck and 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 Deadlift
3 x 10 Dumbbell Side Raises
3 x 10 Dumbbell Front Raises
3 x 10 Dumbbell Arnold Press
3 x 8 Shoulder Shrugs
5-mile Rucksack march (45lb minimum)
Stretch well after completion
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