US Army Special Forces

Preparing for Selection? Squats are Important and Overlooked

Over time, the longer you are around Special Forces units and troops the more you will hear the latest catch phrases and words that essentially re-invent the wheel. Everyone while trying to build a better mousetrap is giving us a new vocabulary to learn, which is fine as long as we don’t lose sight of the ball.

When we’re talking about fitness and preparing not only for Selection but for a career in Special Operations it is building a complete level of fitness which will carry you thru a career and get you back again. To carry close to the insane amount of gear around all day long and be able to fight while carrying it requires strength, stamina, and speed.

And the best exercise to prepare for all of that? The squat.

Squats are probably the most misunderstood and least taught exercise in the military. Why? I have no idea but there is no better exercise for helping build overall fitness…oh, yeah the correct catchword now is functional fitness. The conventional military steers soldiers away from those exercises and they shouldn’t be. It should be in everyone’s pre-Selection program.

I’m no exercise physiologist or personal trainer but after a long time in the saddle, I know what works. Squats build strength, and that is what you’ll need. If the man beside you goes down and you have to carry him, his gear for 100 meters at a dead sprint, that isn’t going to take a marathon runner, it is going to take a guy who has the strength and stamina to do just that.

The operators in the units know this. They incorporate squatting now in their physical training programs because they build overall strength and muscle, increase flexibility, and prevent injuries, build core strength, build healthy bones and joints and helps you maintain mobility and balance. The special operators today are training smarter and doing the workouts that give them the most benefit to doing their jobs.

No one likes leg day at the gym because it is frequently the hardest workout of the week. Squats are a functional exercise for special operations because so much of what you do is tied in directly with the movement itself.

And squatting will improve your speed, just take a look at the best world class sprinters. They all have the maximum development of their glutes, quads, and hamstrings. It isn’t a coincidence that they are all built like that.

The issue is doing them correctly, and many people don’t. One guy that I swear by (and this isn’t a paid endorsement by the way) is Dr. Aaron Horschig. He’s a regular on Twitter @SquatUniversity as well as Instagram and YouTube. His videos are a must watch and he regularly goes thru the questions and issues that most people will have.

He also shows video demonstrations of other core stability exercises that will help with your overall “functional fitness”. His book, “The Squat Bible” is out on Amazon.com and is worth checking out. He’ll help you achieve your goal, even if you’re a not-so-young guy with arthritis in both knees.

Professional athletes have the luxury of off-seasons, and preseasons where they get to train up and get their bodies prepared for the rigors of their season. In Special Operations, every day is the World Series or the Super Bowl.

The individual units and the operators must get creative and take advantage of any kind of down time away from missions to keep themselves in peak condition. This is especially true when it comes to rest and sleep as well as nutrition.

Squatting should be a regular part of any pre-Selection workout along with other core building exercises. It will increase your overall functional strength and mobility, increase your vertical jump and explosion, increase your sprint times, as well as your balance and upper body strength.

So, it is Friday and it must be Leg Day at the gym….Let’s go do some squats.

Photo courtesy DOD

SOF Selection PT Preparation 4.7.2017

Continue to prep for the UBRR. A second Leg Day this week as we’ll blast them good today in the gym. Make note of your times in the run and your workouts in your workout log book.

Training:

3 x 10 Pullups

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

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

3 x 10 Barbell Squats

3 x 10 reps Standing Arnold Press

3 x 10 Romanian Lunges

30 x “V” ups

3 x 1 mile run with 1-minute rest in between. Run those as fast as you can

Stretch well after completion

Capture of Kony No Longer a Priority for US Special Operations

United States Special Operations Forces will no longer be hunting for the African warlord Joseph Kony. Kony, the head of the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) has seen his number of followers dwindle down to around 100 is no longer a priority to capture for US forces.

Kony was branded a “specially designated global terrorist” by the International Criminal Court, based out of Geneva, in 2005 for war crimes and crimes against humanity. Particularly heinous was his abduction and forcing into the sex-slave trade of thousands of children.

A spokesman for the U.S. Africa Command said that troops were being withdrawn because of the apparent weakening of Kony’s fighting force, which reportedly has dwindled to about 100 soldiers from a peak of 3,000.
The U.S. will “transition to broader-scope security and stability activities that continue the success of our African partners,” the military group maintained.
Prior to the announcement, Michale Omona, a key aide to Kony, surrendered to Ugandan forces. This proved the “degraded capacity” of the rebel group, said a Ugandan military spokesman. Omona was in charge of communications for Kony.
The LRA, which began in the 1980s, was internationally reviled for its cruelty towards civilians in Uganda, Congo, Central African Republic and what is now South Sudan. Some 20,000 children were reportedly abducted.

With the United States’ withdrawal, the onus on stopping the remnants of Kony’s forces falls to the soldiers of the Ugandan Army. The troops assigned to hunting his forces down number around 1500.

A member of President Trump’s transition team reportedly said that Kony had never attacked US interests so the US shouldn’t care about him and that since the Ugandans no longer view him as a threat due to his force structure dwindling, that the United States should no longer view him as one either.

To read the entire article from the Wilmington Journal click here:

Photo courtesy DOD

With Operational Tempo, Already High, SOCOM Readies For Higher Commitment

Despite taking the brunt of the operations in the wars in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Syria while only being a fraction of the total force in the US military, the Special Operations forces are readying for even more responsibilities in the wars ongoing.

General Tony Thomas on Wednesday was speaking to a large group at the SOCOM Patriots Awards ceremony and stated that “We are an approach short of a lot heavier U.S. military commitment.”

Thomas’ comments come at a time when many leaders of the US in Congress are already wondering if the force is being pushed too hard, too far to keep up with operational commitments. Thomas and the SOCOM staff, however, are already in the contingency planning phase of sending, even more, troops into the fray.

Thomas said special operations forces are not “redlining,” but they are “pushing a hard tempo.”
“We may be making it look easy, it’s anything but easy … We’re not redlining but we’re pushing a hard, hard tempo. There hasn’t been a peace dividend for Special Operations lately and there’s not going to be, more than likely, for the next few years,” he said.
“We’re a valuable commodity that ironically, that keeps this nation from going to war more wholesomely, you know – more completely – with more folks on the ground. I’d like to think we keep the nation from sustaining more casualties by the very nature of our activities,” he added.
“Their biggest concern – Secretary Mattis [said] to me the other day, ‘How are we going to slow the tempo down for you? … [Senator Sen. John McCain was] adamant that we are burning SOF too hard: ‘You’re going too fast. How do we throttle this thing down?’” he said.
“It is absolutely a concern of our leadership. We want to be able to control the tempo, the pace, and the prioritization for our special operations forces — that they are being used appropriately, effectively across-the-board. We are not looking to sit back and not be used, but we want to hit that right balance.”

So, regardless of how hard the operational tempo has been for Special Operations Forces across the board, that is due to increase. Right now, there are “officially” 5262 troops in Iraq and quite possibly much more due to some units being there on a temporary basis., and 503 in Syria, and that isn’t counting Afghanistan, Yemen, and other countries as well where Special Ops personnel are working.

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

Photo courtesy DOD

Remembering SGT Brian Buker MOH From Vietnam KIA April 5, 1970

It was 47 years ago, today that US Army Special Forces SGT Brian Buker would lose his life in a battle for a Viet Cong mountain stronghold at Nui Khet. For his actions in the three-day battle, Buker would posthumously be awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor.

Buker was killed by a combination of rocket and mortar fire while leading numerous charges against a bunker complex at the top of the mountain while acting as a platoon leader with the 513^th Company of the 5^th Mobile Strike Force Command (Mike Force).

Buker was born on November 3, 1949, in Benton, Maine and came from a military background. His three older brothers Victor, Gerald, and Alan had all enlisted and gone to Vietnam and had returned home. Buker joined right after high school at the age of 17, he also went to Vietnam returning safely. But he went back for a second tour.

As the story goes, Buker arrived in Vietnam and was told he was going to be diverted from the 5^th Special Forces Group to the 4^th Infantry Division. Buker, as young soldiers are prone to do, took matters into his own hands.

He hitch-hiked across Vietnam to Nha Trang, where the 5th Special Forces Group had their headquarters. He went with his hat in hand to the Mobile Strike Force Command (MIKE Force) compound next to the Group Headquarters and got an interview with the Company Sergeant Major.

He voiced a compelling argument in his interview and his orders were immediately changed to the 5th SFG(A) MIKE Force – Detachment B-55, immediately.

It was here that he’d find himself at the end of March of 1970 during Operation INTREPID, the code name for the storming of the Nui Khet mountain fortress which was part of Seven Mountains.

The 513^th Company was assigned to be flank security. The 511^th and 512^th Companies began the assault after an intense bombardment on April 3. They managed a toehold at the crest of the mountain but were driven back by concentrated rocket and mortar fire and hidden troops from 12 concealed reinforced bunkers on the peak.

A second attack that began at dawn on April 4, supported by Cobra gunships from the 7^th Cavalry and the SF mortar crews again managed to make the top only to be pushed back a second time. The companies dug in short of the summit.

Buker volunteered to bring two platoons to ferry water and ammunition to the dug in companies. Halfway up the mountain, his men were ambushed. Buker led the first of many counterattacks into the VC positions and he and his men made it to the dug in companies. Another VC attack was thwarted when Buker personally led a second counterattack thru heavy rifle and B-40 rocket fire.

On the morning of April 5, Buker’s 513^th Company was ordered to replace the beleaguered 511^th on the west side of the mountain. At 0900 they spearheaded a final assault on Nui Khet. The assault cleared several VC bunkers by firing point blank and flushing them out with grenades.

The 512^th and 513^th companies linked up on the summit just after 1200 hours and began flushing out the numerous bunkers on top of the mountain. Two American SF soldiers SGT Strode and SFC Parker were wounded by mortar fire during this time. It was Parker’s third wound of the engagement.

The final bunker complex held out despite four Cobra gunship rocket attacks, forty rounds of direct fire from 106mm recoilless rifles and captured Viet Cong urging their comrades to surrender via loudspeaker systems.

Buker moved his men forward to knock out the last of the bunkers braving machine gun fire and B-40 rockets. During this move forward, Buker spotted a previously unknown bunker that would catch his men in a devastating crossfire if they attempted to withdraw. With his men channeled into a narrow kill zone, he charged.

Miraculously he was unhurt and pitched four grenades into the newly found bunker, neutralizing the threat. But upon regrouping his men, B-40 rocket fire severely wounded him.

While bleeding profusely from his wounds, he still crawled forward to yet another VC bunker and eliminated it with a grenade. It was then shortly after that when Buker was killed by mortar and rocket fire. The final bunker was taken at 5:45 p.m. that evening and Nui Khet was secure. It was one of the last major Mobile Strike Force operations of the war.

For his gallantry, Buker was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor. He was just 20 years old at the time of his death. He was buried at Brown Cemetery in his hometown of Benton, Maine. His Medal of Honor citation reads:

For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action at the risk of life above and beyond the call of duty. Sgt. Buker, Detachment B-55, distinguished himself while serving as a platoon adviser of a Vietnamese mobile strike force company during an offensive mission.
Sgt. Buker personally led the platoon, cleared a strategically located well-guarded pass, and established the first foothold at the top of what had been an impenetrable mountain fortress. When the platoon came under the intense fire from a determined enemy located in 2 heavily fortified bunkers and realizing that withdrawal would result in heavy casualties, Sgt. Buker unhesitatingly, and with complete disregard for his personal safety, charged through the hail of enemy fire and destroyed the first bunker with hand grenades.
While reorganizing his men for the attack on the second bunker, Sgt. Buker was seriously wounded. Despite his wounds and the deadly enemy fire, he crawled forward and destroyed the second bunker. Sgt. Buker refused medical attention and was reorganizing his men to continue the attack when he was mortally wounded. As a direct result of his heroic actions, many casualties were averted, and the assault of the enemy position was successful.
Sgt. Buker’s extraordinary heroism at the cost of his life are in the highest traditions of the military service and reflect great credit on him, his unit, and the U.S. Army.

On September 15, 2010, in accordance with his mother’s wishes, the Buker family donated his Medal of Honor and other memorabilia to his alma mater, Lawrence High School in Fairfield, Maine for display.

His awards and decorations include the Congressional Medal of Honor; Bronze Star Medal; Purple Heart; Vietnamese Gallantry Cross; Combat Infantryman Badge. The Buker Learning Center in Fort Devens, MA is the Digital Training Site (DTS) for Distance Learning for Reserve training.

Photos Courtesy US Army

SOF Selection PT Preparation 4.6.2017

After a swim day, it is back to a heavy day of UBRR preparation with pushups, sit-ups, crunches, and a ruck march. Once again, ensure that you’re keeping a log of your times on your runs and rucks and you should be noticing a decrease in the times as time moves along.

Don’t forget your stretching and have you started breaking in the second pair of boots yet?

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

25 x V-ups

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

Stretch well after completion

Passing Selection, Land Navigation Without the Use of a Protractor

We covered a variety of subjects during our Land Navigation articles and one of the points we made was to tie down all of your equipment as to not lose track of any of it. This will play into our hands-on video this morning.

I have received some questions on my Twitter account, which I normally use for my NFL football writing. However, if any of our readers have any questions about Selection or the SFQC in the future feel free to shoot me a message on Twitter @SteveB7SFG or email me at [email protected] and I’ll be happy to answer them.

The question I received from Twitter this week was as follows: “you wrote about not losing any of your gear. …you caCan you plot your points and navigate without the use of a protractor?” The answer is yes… you can but it obviously isn’t the preferred method.

In the attached video below, I use my spare US Army Lensatic Compass. Which is teaching point #1. During my days in Panama, another unit jumped into Gatun Drop Zone, probably en route to the Jungle Warfare School at Ft. Sherman.

Part of the Gatun DZ had tall elephant grass that would be burned off. Obviously, someone (probably an officer or senior NCO) jumped in and didn’t have their compass tied down to their LBE. And moving thru the elephant grass it pulled it right off on the edge of the cleared area.

A couple of days later we did a jump there and on my way off the drop zone, I found it, all wet from the previous day’s rain. It has been my backup compass ever since. I say this as we spoke about the draws of Hoffman where the Land Navigation portion of SFAS is conducted in. And the same thing can easily happen to you. Tie it down. Tie everything down.

And the question takes into account a candidate either dropping his protractor on the ground or not securing it inside his map case. More hands-on training pieces including some video will be forthcoming.

Check out the video here:

Photo courtesy of DOD

SOF Selection PT Preparation 4.05.2017

Back to the pool today for some swimming after hitting the gym for some work on the shoulders and back. After the longer rucksack march on Sunday, this couple of days with shorter runs and a swim will have given your feet a break. But we’ll get the ruck back on tomorrow.

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

300-meter swim in fatigues and boots

Stretch well after completion

Trump Expanding Special Operations To Target Militants in Somalia

President Trump is expanding the Pentagon’s ability to and the US Africa Command to launch a more effective offensive campaign against the al-Shabab militant group in Somalia. This signing off by the President should clear the way for more airstrikes and a more active presence of U.S. Special Operations Forces on the ground.

This move should also mark a shift in policy where in the past, Special Operations forces were forced to act in a defensive posture or “self-defense” of US advisors and their Somali counterparts. Now they will be able to take a more offensive role in helping Somali units recapture territory from al-Shabab and putting more pressure on them.

American forces have been increasingly active in Somalia in recent years. The Obama administration never abandoned its “signature strike” bombing program in either Somalia or Yemen, which allowed for U.S. drones and manned aircraft to target groups of men who merely showed signs and behaviors of belonging to terrorist groups. The largest of those strikes came in March 2016, when U.S. warplanes bombed an al-Shabab training camp north of Mogadishu, killing what the Pentagon estimated were about 150 militants.
Late last year, the Obama team declared Shabab an “associated force” of al Qaeda, putting the group under the same tenuous legal umbrella that allows the U.S. government to wage war in Iraq, Syria, Afghanistan, and Yemen.
U.S. commandos on the ground in Somalia accompany government forces on patrol, and have the authority to shoot back or call in airstrikes if threatened, under rules set down by the Obama administration.

General Thomas Waldhauser, commander of Africa Command has said that welcomes the ability to call for attacks and airstrikes from his command HQs rather than have to wait for approval by Washington.

He said the shift in policy from the Obama administration will give his commanders the ability to launch offensive strikes that would allow his ability “to prosecute targets in a more rapid fashion.”

To read the Foreign Policy entire article click here:

Photo courtesy of US Africa Command

SOF Selection PT Preparation 4.4.2017

Continue to prep for the UBRR Leg Day is a fun day with a trip to the gym today. Make sure you keep track of your times on the run in your workout log book.

Training:

3 x Pullups 10 reps

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

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

3 x 10 Leg Extensions

3 x 10 reps Standing Arnold Press

3 x 20 Sit-ups

30 x “V” Ups

3-mile run

Stretch well after completion