When many Americans woke up one morning in October to discover that two US Special Forces soldiers and one support soldier were killed in an ambush in Niger, they were incredulous. Why are American troops in Niger? How is Niger important to the United States strategically? How could our highly trained Special Forces soldiers be killed […]
Special Forces
An obscure but revealing novel about Delta Force
In the publishing world’s search for authenticity, they often procure the names of writers who have been there and done that, but generally being a great soldier does not make one a great writer. Because of this, we end up with a slew of ghost-written mish-mashes of fictional memoirs and non-fictional novels. However, a relatively […]
No better team mate, James Hupp
Through the green tint of my night vision goggles, I watched the urban sprawl of Mosul speed beneath my feet, my legs dangling outside the door of a MH-60 Blackhawk helicopter. To my left sat fellow Green Beret James Hupp, both of us anticipating our arrival at the landing zone. Behind us, the helicopter was […]
How the Leahy Law interferes with US Special Forces missions in Nigeria, Syria, and the Philippines
In many ways the battle for Marawi has been a curious event which has seen bandits belonging to the allegedly ISIS affiliated Maute Group attacking a Muslim city in order to raise their public profile and demonstrate their power to the Philippine government. Philippine SOF units and Marines worked hard to cordon the enemy into a small neighborhood […]
Tawi-Tawi: a nexus on the guns and terrorist underground railroad
Following my late night attendance of General Sabban‘s birthday party in Zamboanga, I met the general the following morning at the airport to catch a plane to Tawi-Tawi. I was pretty exhausted, but Sabban looked none of the worse for wear. I had been invited down to Tawi-Tawi for the activation anniversary of 2nd Marine […]
Liaison Control Element: US Special Forces in Marawi
The usual breathless media reports have emerged from the Philippines latest security crisis in regards to American Special Operations units present in the area. To be sure, the siege of Marawi has spun into a serious attack which bares some resemblance to the 2013 siege of Zamboanga. Philippine SOF units such as the Light Reaction […]