101st Deploying. The 2nd Brigade Combat Team (BCT) (Strike) of 101st Airborne Division is heading out on a deployment to Iraq. The Army has announced that 400 Solders from the 101st Airborne Division will deploy to Iraq this summer in support of Operation Inherent Resolve. There are already about 1,600 members of the division already deployed to Iraq. Read the announcement in “Department of the Army announced upcoming deployment”, Army Public Affairs, August 5, 2016.
Delta Force Story. Read a short history of Delta Force describing mission, formation, history, current operations, and more. See “Behind Delta Force, the most secretive unit in the world”, Spec Ops, August 5, 2016.
NATO Explainer. With the North Atlantic Treaty Organization in the news a lot lately (there is the Russian bear emerging from its cave once again) a little knowledge of how NATO started and why it exists is helpful. Fortunately the Council on Foreign Affairs (CFA) has put together a little backgrounder for us. (dated Feb 2016).
COIN Primer. Counterinsurgency is one of the “key activities” of the United States Special Operations Command (USSOCOM). In a large COIN effort (such as Iraq and Afghanistan) it is also a primary mission for the U.S. conventional forces as well. Vince Tumminell, a former advisor during Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) and Marine has penned a paper about counterinsurgency. He says that there are three counterinsurgency approaches: population-centric COIN, enemy-centric COIN, and punishment COIN. An interesting and educational article with lots of great footnotes. Read “A Primer on Counterinsurgent Warfare”, Small Wars Journal, August 5, 2016.
MARSOC Vet Gets Award. U.S. Army CPT Emily R. Bingham, the force veterinarian with the U.S. Marine Corps Forces, Special Operations Command, was awarded the 2016 U.S. Army Veterinary Corps Exceptional Officer Service Award. The ceremony took place at Camp Lejeune, NC on July 29, 2016. Read more of this story.
