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Special Operations Forces Selection PT Preparation Week 4, Day 6

Friday is Leg Day at the gym which should become your favorite day of the week. The weighted Sled push and the squats help to build up power and speed. The lighter weight dumbbell squats will also build up endurance.

A 3-mile run to finish the workout. Aim for a better time than the standard which is 24 minutes. Continue to prep for the UBRR.

UBRR Training:

3 x 10 Pullups

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

3 x 10 Leg Extensions

3 x 10 Deadlifts

3 x 10 Barbell Squats

3 x Weighted sled push or Fireman’s carry

30 x “V”-ups

3-mile run

Stretch well after completion

Israelis Blast Hamas Targets in Gaza After Latest Rocket Attacks

The Israeli Defense Forces launched a series of airstrikes in Gaza after the latest round of rocket attacks launched by militants in Gaza streamed toward Israel. Tensions are rising in the area as Israel called up some of their reserve Air Force, Intelligence and Special Forces units.

Things began badly on Monday when Hamas launched rockets at Tel Aviv, several Israelis were injured when a rocket hit their house. Israel responded with air attacks on several Hamas military targets.

Then on Tuesday night, around 9 p.m. Israel’s air raid sirens sounded in the southern half of the country when Hamas militants launched a rocket supposedly at the Eshkol Regional Council. Israel quickly responded with a series of blistering air attacks.

Hamas then countered with a barrage of rockets launched toward the southern city of Ashkelon. However, Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad denied responsibility for the rocket barrage and blamed it on “rogue elements” in the Gaza strip.

Meanwhile, the UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process Nickolay Mladenov urged the United Nations Security Council in a rare move on Wednesday to condemn Hamas’ provocations in Gaza.

“A new conflict will be devastating for the Palestinian people, it will have consequences for Israelis, who live in the vicinity of the Gaza perimeter, and it is likely to have regional repercussions. This is why I ask you all today to join the United Nations in condemning the continued indiscriminate firing of rockets by Hamas towards Israel. Such acts of provocation only dramatically increase the risk of escalation and ultimately damage our collective efforts to support the people of Gaza and intra-Palestinian reconciliation. We must also call on all sides to exercise maximum restraint as the situation remains extremely tense.”

The IDF was having any of the talk about “rogue elements” and put the blame squarely on Hamas and held them solely responsible.

“The Hamas terror organization bears responsibility for everything in and around the Gaza Strip,” the army said in a statement. “The IDF is determined to continue protecting the Israeli citizens and is prepared for a variety of scenarios.”

The Israeli Air Force blasted sites of Gaza’s Hamas rulers and the smaller Islamic Jihad group. The targets included a multistory building in Gaza City that reportedly had served as a Hamas military intelligence headquarters and the office of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh. Hamas reported seven casualties in the strikes, all civilians.

This is a dangerous time in the region. We’re approaching the one-year anniversary of the March of Return protests, which began March 30, 2018. During these protests along the border between Gaza and Israel, 190 of the Palestinians were killed and even more wounded in the past year. Now, the terror group hopes to draw hundreds of thousands of Palestinians to the border to riot and try to breach the security fence with their most hated enemy. The goal is to ease the blockade but it has thus far been unsuccessful.

But Hamas didn’t plan on what unfolded just a week ago. Palestinians protested in the streets against Hamas, blaming the terror group for the dire plight the people are in right now. And they were cracked down on badly, Hamas men fired into the crowds, and beat up and arrested countless others.

As Hamas is encountering its worst problem in the 12 years that they’ve been in power, the blockade by Israel and Egypt, sanctions by the Palestinian Authority, and terrible governmental mismanagement by the Hamas leadership have left the region in tatters. Unemployment is running north of about 50 percent.

Also happening in Israel is the upcoming election where Benjamin Netanyahu is locked in a very tight race for re-election. With the election right around the corner on April 9, a new war in Gaza with Hamas could prove to be devastating for his reelection bid. He’s is getting criticism from both supporters and opponents for failing to contain Hamas.

But the savvy Netanyahu also knows that he can’t back down either. He raced home from the United States after the initial rocket attack and has made it clear that Israel will not stand for more.

“Hamas needs to know that we will not hesitate to go in and take all necessary steps, regardless of anything, any date, other than Israel’s security needs,” he said.

He later added, “I can tell you, we are prepared to do a lot more,” he said. “We will do what is necessary to defend our people and to defend our state.”

Palestinians weren’t taking any unnecessary risks after the air strikes, staying at home and indoors. Businesses and shops were closed, schools didn’t open. And if they needed a reminder, it was reported that despite the calm, Israeli drones stayed overhead, waiting for the next rocket launch and ready to pounce.

So with the Egyptian delegation in Gaza in long sessions with Hamas, they’ll try to hammer out something longer than just a ceasefire, but in reality, the peace will only be temporary here for quite some time.

As Israeli troops mass on the border, neither side wants another large scale protracted war, but it seems that their both being thrust into one anyway.

File Photo of Israeli tanks on the Golan Heights: IDF

Special Operations Forces Selection PT Preparation Week 4, Day 5

Thursday is another UBRR training day followed by a 4-mile rucksack march. Are you keeping a log of your times on your runs and rucks? You should mark down your workouts and especially your times on those runs and rucks. You should notice a marked improvement as we progress. Ensure you stay hydrated as well as break in the second pair of boots.

UBRR Training:

More Preparation for the UBRR:

3 x 20 pushups

3 x 20 sit-ups

3 x 20 crunches

3 x 20 dips or until muscle failure

3 x 20 side planks

4-mile rucksack march (45-pound minimum, 60 minutes maximum) over varied terrain, note your time

Stretch well after completion

USASOC Takes Top Honors in 2019 Sniper Competition

Two sniper teams from the U.S. Army Special Operations Command (USASOC) took home the top honors in the 10th Annual USASOC International Sniper Competition.

This year’s event had 21 teams from allied countries around the world, shooting, moving and communicating thru a series of intense events that were intended to simulate combat as closely as possible and push the competitors’ tactical sniper skills to the max.

The two USASOC teams won the top two honors while a Marine Corps team finished in third place.

Every year the Sniper Competition changes slightly as instructors from the US Army JFK Special Warfare Center Sniper Committee designs the events to challenge the two-man sniper teams in their ability to work together as a team and test their speed and accuracy in various types of environments, with the stresses of combat added in.

.“This year we wanted to focus on bringing guys in who may shoot competitively on the side but the core tasks would revolve around a real-world application,” said Master Sgt. Josh, a Special Forces Sniper Course instructor identified only by his first name and rank for security reasons.

Snipers engage targets while wearing night vision.

“We used sounds, artillery simulators, and bunkers to induce chaos and make them think through things.”

Teams competed with sniper systems of 7.62 and 5.56mm, carbines and pistols of various calibers. Several of the sniper rifle systems used in the competition are owned by the soldiers.

The competition was held at Ft. Bragg, NC where it was started back in 2009 by the JFK Special Warfare Center and School’s Sniper Committee, which hosted the competition. The school’s sniper course is used by all of Army Special Operations, including Special Forces and Rangers.

Teams were representing the following units:

USASOC

1st, 3rd, 7th, 10th, 19th, and 20th Special Forces Group (Airborne)

2nd Marine Raider Battalion, U.S. Marine Corps

Marine Corps Special Operations Forces Advanced Sniper Course

Marine Corps Scout Sniper

Naval Special Warfare

Unites States Coast Guard

1st Premier Regiment de Parachutistes d’Infanterie de Marine, France

Kommando Spezialkräfte, Germany

Army Ranger Wing, Ireland

9th Paratroopers Assault Regiment, Italy

International Special Training Center

The winners:

1st place: USASOC

2nd place: USASOC

3rd place: Marine Corps Scout Sniper

The competition was more than just accuracy and distance shooting, but being able to conduct a series of timed challenges that were constructed to mirror real-world missions as well as stress the relationships and communication skills of competitors. One event had the shooter encounter targets with one hand, cuffed behind his back.

A sniper engages targets with a hand, cuffed to his kit

“When guys get put on the clock they go faster. There’s more pressure,” said a Special Forces Sniper Course instructor with the U.S. Army John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School in an interview with the Fayetteville Observer last year. “You have plenty of time to build a durable and steady position. But they rush it and then they start missing.”

“Guys do better when they’re laughing and joking,” the instructor said.

At last year’s event, sniper teams had to move from one firing location to another, engaging targets 12×16 inches in size, 600 meters away while being timed. They had six minutes to engage as many targets as possible.

As the spotter picked out targets, he also relayed to the shooter how to adjust his shots. The shooter would have to pick up the targets while in the prone position while peering thru the reticle of his rifle.

The teams would be taken to a range that required that they navigate around or over numerous obstacles, buildings, and mock vehicles. Each of the targets was marked by a symbol and a color denoting the type of weapon that should be used — pistol, carbine or sniper rifle.

In another event to test the communication and teamwork of the sniper team, the troops would be placed on a raised platform with several different levels that recreate the top of a building. There, the shooter nor the spotter could not see every target from a single position. So, they had to split up to guide each other to a position where they could engage their targets. Added into the equation was that before the event, an instructor would be shown a card by the instructors. They then had to find that symbol in the target area and engage it with the appropriate weapon. That event was designed to get the teams to hurry and distracted, moving faster than they needed to. If a team engaged the wrong target, points were deducted from their overall score.

The old saying “slow is smooth and smooth is fast” was apt at that event. The teams that slowed down and identified the targets were the ones who fared the best.

There was also a physical challenge event. Designed to test the team while carrying a typical combat load, moving and shooting. The team had to run uphill with a 90-pound kettlebell. They would then take turns firing at targets before moving on with their kettlebell a to the next position.

The competition included day and night shooting and would change from open areas to an urban environment. All of which special operators will encounter in any operation in today’s mission environment.

Congratulations to the USASOC teams and all of those who participated.

Photos: DVIDS

Special Operations Forces Selection PT Preparation Week 4, Day 4

Wednesday is Shoulder Day in the gym along with some speed work. The sprints here will help with your overall cardio fitness, build some explosion, and will serve you well with your endurance. It is also a functional part of your job in Special Operations.

There will be plenty of times where you’ll have to sprint short distances with your gear on. It will test you in a different manner than a distance run but will aid in your distance running. This is an event that some NFL teams use to build up their speed.

UBRR 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 Shoulder Press

3 x 8 Shoulder Shrugs

40-Meter Sprint, walk back to the starting point

50-Meter Sprint, walk back to the starting point

60-Meter Sprint, walk back to the starting point

70-Meter Sprint, walk back to the starting point

80-Meter Sprint, walk back to the starting point

90-Meter Sprint, walk back to the starting point

100-Meter Sprint, walk back to the starting point

Stretch well after completion

Remembering Sterling Hayden, Actor, OSS Operative

Today is the birthday of Sterling Hayden, he would have been 103 years old today. Most people when they hear his name think of the crooked cop, Captain McCloskey in “The Godfather”. Working with a rival faction of Mafiosi, Hayden met his end when Michael Corleone shot him in a restaurant. He was also outstanding as Colonel Jack D. Ripper in Stanley Kubrick’s “Dr. Strangelove” which is a classic.

But before those roles, Hayden was an operative in the OSS (Office of Strategic Services), during World War II. OSS was the forerunner of the modern-day CIA and the U.S. Army Special Forces (Green Berets). He completed two overseas deployments working with Partisans in Italy and Yugoslavia.

Early Life:

Hayden was born in Montclair, NJ on March 26, 1916. His father died when he was just nine and his mother remarried. His stepfather, moved the family around the East Coast trying to stay one step ahead of his creditors.

By the time Hayden was 16, he quit school for good. He went to see and quickly learned the hard lessons of sailing. By the time he was just 22, he’d earned his master’s license, and was given the command of a square rigger, the Florence C. Robinson, which he sailed from Gloucester, Massachusetts to Tahiti.

He spoke about his voyage to the Adventurer’s Club of New York and some of the pictures of this young sea captain taken at a race in Gloucester, were published and Hollywood immediately came calling. They offered the young captain a seven-year contract paying him $250 a week, no small amount in those days.

He had made a couple of films and then once the United States entered WWII, he enlisted in the Army.

WWII Service:

Hayden joined the Army and was assigned to the O.S.S. General Donovan sent him to Commando training in Scotland. After completing a course there, he moved on to parachute training, also with the Brits. On his tenth and final jump, Hayden shattered his ankle and injured his back. His injuries were thought to be serious enough to be separated from the service. The Army discharged him and he went back to sailing ships for a short time. But that wasn’t the end of his service.

As soon as he was healed up, Hayden enlisted in the Marine Corps, using a pseudonym, John Hamilton. There, while excelling in boot camp he was selected for Officer’s Candidate School. After his commissioning, General Donovan somehow found out who 2LT Hamilton really was and had him assigned back to OSS. After lounging around Cairo waiting for an assignment, he was sent to Bari, Italy.

OSS had set up a smuggling operation using ships to provide food, weapons and other support to partisans fighting in Yugoslavia. Hayden, never one to mince words, described that operation as the first time he’d met OSS operatives who were actually doing a job. But the British Navy was hampering operations, something the Americans felt the British were trying to ensure they failed.

After being forced to move their operation further down the coast at Monopoli, the American commander was called to Cairo. Hayden/Hamilton went to Yugoslavia in his place, his motor quit and he paddled back to the mainland. He hooked up with Tito’s Communist partisans.

Hayden recalled “We hooked up with about thirty of the toughest bastards on earth. None of them had had a bath in years. All had been in the thick of the fighting and marching all up and down Bosnia and Croatia. They would only take one cigarette at a time, which they passed around in circles.”

The year he spent with Tito’s men left an indelible mark on him. “the crews of planes would leave their shoes, anything they could spare, with the Partisans . . . We knew they were Communists, we knew they had commissars, but there was very little discussion of that.”

Hayden was involved in several close calls during combat operations where one evaluation report said that he had a “reckless disregard of his own life.” His men were attacked by Stuka dive-bombers, he captured a German E-boat, their version of the American PT boats, they were ambushed by the Germans where his jeep driver was shot. He arranged for a rescue of 26 downed American airmen, including 11 nurses who were forced down in German-held Albania by engine trouble.

He was awarded the Silver Star and the Bronze Arrowhead for parachuting into Yugoslavia. He received a commendation from Tito who also awarded him an Order of Merit. His affinity for Tito’s men and fighting beside them made him briefly join the American Communist Party.

House Un-American Activities Committee Testimony:

Hayden’s brief fling with the Communist Party got him on the radar with the FBI and J.Edgar Hoover. After the Communist unions in Hollywood tried to take over the remaining ones, the Red Scare took place in Hollywood and Washington.

He was called to testify and the FBI threatened him with losing his children and even jail time if he didn’t cooperate. Hayden “named names” and later would regret having cooperated. In his autobiography, he wrote:

“I don’t think you have the foggiest notion of the contempt I have had for myself since the day I did that thing.”

He maintained a very lucrative career as a “B” action movie star but he never liked being in the films and did so only enough to finance his seagoing adventures. He considered himself more of a sailor or writer rather than an actor.

Sydney Pollack, the film director put a mention of Hayden and his OSS service in one of his films. In his film “Three Days of the Condor” (1975), two veteran CIA officers were reminiscing about their past exploits. Higgins (Cliff Robertson) asked Mr. Wabash, (played by John Houseman) “You served with Col. Donovan in the OSS, didn’t you, sir?” Wabash replies, “I sailed the Adriatic with a movie star at the helm. It doesn’t seem like much of a war now, but it was.”

Hayden died of prostate cancer in Sausalito, California in 1986, he was 70.

In our own favorite film role, as Colonel Jack D. Ripper, here he tells Peter Sellers (who played three roles) about why he launched a nuclear attack on the Soviets.

Silver Star Citation:

The President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress July 9, 1918, takes pleasure in presenting the Silver Star (Army Award) to Captain John Hamilton (AKA: Sterling Hayden) (MCSN: 0-22085), United States Marine Corps, for gallantry in action while serving with the Office of Strategic Services in the Mediterranean Theater of Operations from 24 December 1943 to 2 January 1944. Captain Hamilton displayed great courage in making hazardous sea voyage in enemy-infested waters and reconnaissance’s through enemy-held areas. His conduct reflected great credit upon himself and the United States Armed Forces. General Orders: Headquarters, Mediterranean Theater of Operations, General Orders No. 145 (July 31, 1946)

Photos: OSS Archives/IMDB

Special Operations Forces Selection PT Preparation Week 4, Day 3

We’ll continue to prep for the UBRR. Tuesday is Leg Day at the gym. We’ll begin with pull-ups, then hit the legs with squats, the sled push, and some other exercises. We’ll finish things off with a three-mile run at a good pace, faster than the standard.

Focus on strict form during the squats, you don’t want to hurt your back or knees in doing these. I like to super-set the Sit-ups and crunches but you can do them as you please. Stretch well and make sure you stay hydrated.

UBRR Training:

3 x Pull-ups 10 reps

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

3 x 10 Deadlifts

3 x 10 Leg Extensions

3 x 10 Sled push heavier weight or Fireman’s carry

3 x 10 reps Dumbbell Lunges

3 x 20 Sit-ups

3 x 25 Crunches

3-mile run (24-minutes maximum)

Stretch well after completion

Green Beret and EOD Tech Killed in Afghanistan Identified

The two Amerian soldiers killed in northern Afghanistan this past Friday have been identified by the Pentagon and both are from Ft. Carson, Colorado.

Green Beret SFC Will D. Lindsay, 33, and SP4 Joseph P. Collette, 29, died from wounds by small arms fire sustained during combat operations in Kunduz province, Afghanistan according to U.S. officials in Afghanistan.

Kunduz was the scene of heavy fighting back in 2015. The Taliban attacked the city and took it from Afghan forces in late September. Afghan government troops aided by U.S. Special Forces retook the city but at great cost to themselves and the civilians there. One hospital staffed by “Doctors without Borders” was hit by fire from an AC-130 gunship and destroyed which supposedly killed 42 people.

Lindsay was assigned to the 2nd Bn. 10th Special Forces Group and is from Cortez, Colorado, while Collette, originally from Lancaster, Ohio was assigned to the 242nd Ordnance Battalion, 71st Explosive Ordnance Disposal Group.

According to SOCOM spokesman LTC Loren Bymer, Lindsay enlisted in the Army in July 2004. He graduated Special Forces Qualification Course (SFQC) in July 2006 and was assigned to 10th SFG.

Lindsay’s deployments include five tours to Iraq supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation New Dawn; to Tajikistan in 2016 supporting the Counter-Narcotics Terrorism mission; and Afghanistan supporting Operation Freedom’s Sentinel.

He attended both static-line and military free-fall parachute training. He also graduated from several other special operations training programs, including the Special Operations Target Interdiction Course, (SOTIC or Sniper Course) and the Special Forces Intelligence Sergeant Course.

Lindsay’s awards and decorations include the Bronze Star Medal with four Oak Leaf Clusters, a Purple Heart, the NATO Medal, the Special Forces Tab, the Combat Infantryman Badge, the Military Free Fall Jumpmaster Badge, the Master Parachutist Badge and the Chilean Airborne Wings.

Colonel Lawrence Ferguson, the commander of the 10th SFG said the entire command was saddened upon hearing the grim news.

“Will was one of the best in our formation, with more than a decade of service in the Regiment at all levels of noncommissioned officer leadership,” Ferguson said. “We will focus now on supporting his family and honoring his legacy and sacrifice.”

Collette, was on his first deployment to Afghanistan but had been in the military for nine years. He and his wife had just been married in December. Colonel David Green, the commander of the 71st EOD Group passed along his condolences to Collette’s extended family.

“The 71st Ordnance Group is deeply saddened by the loss of Spc. Joseph P. Collette,” the unit’s commander Col. David Green said in a released statement. “We extend our deepest sympathies and condolences to his family and friends.”

His widow Caela posted to her Facebook account of his death. “For those of you who don’t know, Joey was killed in action last night while serving our country,” she wrote. “I have no words but so many words at the same time. He was my best friend and I’m so lost without him right now.”

Lindsay was also married and is survived by his wife and four daughters.

EOD technicians often work with Special Operations units, clearing IEDs and roadside bombs that insurgents place in areas where Americans or coalition troops patrol in. Reportedly, the unit was in a firefight with Taliban forces when the two Americans as well as on Afghan soldier were killed in the fighting.

Then, American and coalition Afghan forces began firing accidentally on one another and an airstrike was called in where Afghan civilians were killed. The incident is under investigation. There have been four combat deaths in Afghanistan in 2019 after 13 in 2018 as well as two non-combat related fatalities.

Meanwhile, the Trump administration is trying to come to a peace agreement with the Taliban where the United States can end the longest war in its history. But while negotiations are on-going, both sides push against one another to gain an advantage.

Photos: US Army

Special Operations Forces Selection PT Preparation Week 4, Day 2

We’ll start our Monday doing a mini-UBRR with Pushups, sit-ups, and crunches, with V-ups and dips. Then we’ll focus on some speed work with the shuttle runs rather than a longer duration.

Have you been breaking in the second pair of boots for the ruck march from yesterday? It needs to be done and will be giving you fewer problems in the long run. We’ll address that again as well in some upcoming posts.

UBRR Training:

More preparation for the UBRR

2 x 1-minute Pushups

2 x 1-minute Sit-ups

2 x 1-minute, Crunches

2 x 1-minute, V-ups

2 x Dips as many as possible to muscle failure

10 x 40-meter shuttle run

Stretch well after completion

Special Operations Forces Selection PT Preparation Week 4, Day 1

Best way to start our Sunday before the sun comes up is our Sunday Ruck March. Grab your training partner and hit the trail. A little warm-up and a good long rucksack march. As always be sure to stay hydrated during the ruck march. It should be a habit that will carry over to Selection and training afterward.

Becoming dehydrated during a long training event such as a ruck march or long-range movement is a guarantee for bigger problems and failure, keep sipping on the water during the march. Ensure to mark your times in your workout logbook. You should start to see improvement in your times.

UBRR Training:

Warm up

2 x 20 Pushups

2 x 20 Sit-ups

8-mile rucksack march (2 hours/120 minutes maximum) over varied terrain. Try to keep your pace better than the standard (15 minutes per mile). And mark your times in your workout log book.

Stretch well after completion