SOF News Update 20170106 – SEAL died from exposure and drowning while off-duty, Russian SOF aviation, “Peacemaker” – CA pub, trailer on SEAL Team “SIX”, what’s wrong with SOCOM, PRISM – SOF edition of NDU pub Dec 2016, 10th SFGA gets new skis, and more.
Navy SEAL Dies in Off-Duty Drowning. An East Coast SEAL recently died during a kayaking accident. A medical examiner says that he died from drowning with hypothermia as a contributing factor. Read more in a news report by Military.com, January 3, 2017.
Russia Forming Helicopter Squadrons to Support SOF. Special units of rotary-wing aircraft are being organized to support Russia’s special operations forces. Read a blog post by Defense News Alert Blog, January 3, 2017 on this topic.
SF Surgeon Seeking Release from Jail. Only old-timers will remember the Jeffrey MacDonald case from the early 1970s. He was a SF group surgeon convicted of killing his wife and children. Now, after all these years, he is still maintaining his innocence and seeking release from prison. Read more in an article by People.com, January 5, 2017.
History Channel Show. Watch a trailer about a new show called “SIX” about SEALs in action. MAXIM, January 5, 2017.
History Channel: “The Selection”. A bunch of civilians experience a little bit of what SOF guys go through to get picked up for elite unit training. Read more in “Horrific drowning test on The Selection: Special Operations Experiment”, Monsters & Critics, January 5, 2017.
Ten Big Missions by SEALs. We know about the raid that killed Osama bin Laden. Do you know about the other nine high-profile missions conducted by the SEALs? Read “Navy SEALs: 10 Key Missions”, History Channel, Janaury 5, 2017.
Australian & Indonesian SOF with Panties in a Bind. An Indonesian language instructor training Australian Special Air Service (SAS) personnel in Australia found some Aussie training material derogatory to Indonesia’s military. Looks like a small matter getting blown up to be a big deal. See “Indonesia suspends all military co-operation with Australia”, The Australian, Januay 4, 2017.
PRISM – Dec 2016. This edition, Volume 6, No 3, is entitled “Special Operations in a Chaotic World” and has a number of informative and interesting articles that would take an entire day to read.
http://cco.ndu.edu/PRISM-6-3/Article/1020239/the-sof-experience-in-the-philippines-and-the-implications-for-future-defense-s/
What’s Wrong With SOCOM – Part IV. The final article by “Sadcom via Happycom” has been posted on Small Wars Journal (Jan 4, 2017). It certainly is interesting reading and much of what the writer presents is valid. I found many instances, however, where I was in disagreement.
http://smallwarsjournal.com/jrnl/art/what-can-be-done-about-socom
Latest Issue of Peacemaker. Volume 1, 2016 of the Peacemaker is now posted online. It is the official magazine of the U.S. Army Civil Affairs & Psychological Operations Command. Articles include “Operation Toy Drop”, “Languages in Djibouti”, “Army Skills, Lifetime Passion”, “CJTF-HOA Works Toward Peace in East Africa”, and more.
https://www.dvidshub.net/publication/issues/31395
10th SFGA Gets New Skis. Crested Butte custom ski company ROMP got a contract to build skis for the 10th Special Forces Group in Colorado. Read more in “ROMP Skis Lands Military Contract”, Crested Butte News, December 29, 2016.
Luftwaffe SF to Join Army. The chief of the German defence staff, General Volker Wieker, has ordered the German H145M Light Utility Helicopter Special Operations Forces (LUH SOF) crews to become part of the Bundeswehr’s special forces in 2017. Shepard Media, December 27, 2016.
SEAL and TV Host Dies. Richard “Mack” Machowicz, a TV star and former SEAL recently died after a year-long battle with brain cancer. He was the host of Discovery Channel’s “Future Weapons”. He passed away on January 2, 2017. Machowicz also hosted other TV programs to include Spike TV’s “Deadliest Warrior: Legends” and programs that aired on the History Channel, Bravo, and the Military Channel. See “Navy SEAL Vet and TV Host Dies at 51 from Brain Cancer”, Task & Purpose, January 3, 2017.
