The killing of General Qassem Soleimani by a U.S. drone just after he arrived at the Baghdad International Airport in Iraq on January 2, 2020, raised the stakes in the Middle East. The Iranians responded with rhetoric and a relatively ineffective missile attack against two military installations that housed U.S. and coalition forces. While it appears tensions have subsided and a ‘war’ has not ensued the conflict is not over yet. It will continue to be fought over the next months and years in the shadows, using proxy forces and engaging in ‘political warfare’.

Who Is Qasem Soleimani?

General Soleimani was the commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps – Quds Force (IRGC-QF). He was one of the most powerful and important figures in Iran and one of the leading generals of the Iranian military. Soleimani was considered the driving force behind Iran’s ‘external military operations’.

Increasing Tensions over Past Year

U.S. and Iranian relations have been mostly confrontational since 1979 when the Shah of Iran was removed from power and the U.S. embassy in Tehran was occupied and its embassy officials and workers held hostage for more than a year. Since 1979 the U.S. has regarded Iran as a threat to U.S. interests in the Middle East.

Iran Has Escalated Activities in Region. Relations have gotten more heated between the U.S. and Iran in the past few years. Iran’s escalating attacks against U.S. installations in Iraq since May 2019 are part of a campaign to secure sanctions relief and push the U.S. out of Iraq. Iran has been implicated in the attack on commercial shipping, oil facilities, and other terrorist activities. It recently downed a very expensive U.S. drone. It has backed the Houthis in Yemen and is allied with the Assad regime in Syria. It’s proxy forces in Lebanon, Iraq, and elsewhere are engaged in activities adverse to U.S. interests in the region.

The U.S. is engaged in a campaign of applying ‘maximum pressure’ on Iran. The intent of the U.S. is to block Iran’s path to the development of a nuclear weapon and limit the ability of Iran to export terrorism.

The United States has been increasing pressure on Iran over the past few years. In April 2019 it declared the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a Foreign Terrorist Organization. It has incrementally increased sanctions against Iran. In addition, additional military forces (air, ground, and naval) have been sent to the Middle East region. Currently (Jan 2020) there are about 60,000 to 80,000 U.S. troops in the Central Command area of responsibility (including 5,200 in Iraq and 13,000 in Afghanistan). [1] These numbers include deployments during 2019 and early 2020.

Iran Attack on U.S. Bases In Dec 2019

Rockets launched by an Iranian-affiliated militia group attacked a U.S. base near Kirkuk in Northern Iraq on February 27, 2019 killing an American contractor. The contractor was a naturalized U.S. citizen who was born in Iraq. He was working as an interpreter for U.S. forces. The rocket attacked also wounded four American service members. The U.S. retaliated two days later with air strikes against five facilities located in Syria and Iraq killing members of the Iranian-backed Kata’ib Hezbollah (KH) militia group responsible for the attack.

Storming the Embassy

Iraqi ‘protesters’ (with very strong ties to Iran) swarmed the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad breaching the outer perimeter. The U.S. immediately responded sending 100 Marines to secure the Embassy. In addition, U.S. Rangers were flown to the region followed shortly after with the deployment of a significant number of troops from the 82nd Airborne Division.

Killing of Gen Qassem Soleimani

The U.S., going off intelligence indicators that Iranian proxy groups were going to continue attacks against U.S. personnel and facilities, took out a leading Iranian general – Qassem Soleimani – just after he arrived at the Baghdad airport on January 2, 2020. Also killed in the attack was KH founder and Iraqi Popular Mobilization Forces leader Abu Mahdi Al Muhandis as well as other Iranian and Iraqi individuals.

Additional Targets in Region

The same day a U.S. drone attempted but failed to kill another top Iranian commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard’s elite Quds force in Yemen. the attack was directed at Abdul Reza Shahla’i – a commander and financier. He was reported by the State Department to be at the center of a botched 2011 plot to assassinate a Saudi ambassador on U.S. soil. (Fox News, Jan 10, 2020). He also is implicated in many other actions throughout the region. One of these was a January 20, 2007 attack in Karbala, Iraq that killed five American soldiers and wounded three others.

Missles: Iran’s Response

Iran responded to the killing of Qassem Soleimani with the launch of 16 missiles – eleven of which hit on or near the Al Asad airbase in Iraq. The attack caused no casualties (Gen Milley says defensive measures were key) and caused minimal material damage. The losses in the attacks on Al Asad included a Black Hawk, aerial drone, damaged runways, maintenance shelters, and some pickup trucks.

Token Response. Some observers believe it was a ‘token’ strike that would allow Iran to say it responded but which was intentionally conducted so as to not cause any deaths. Others believe that the strike was largely ineffective due to the inability of Iran to accurately put missiles on target. The end result, however, is that the tensions were ‘reduced’ for the time being and open conflict averted.

Additional Sanctions Against Iran

After the launch of the 16 missiles by Iran the White House intensified sanctions on Iran. The U.S. has a long history of using sanctions against Iran. [2] There are a number of ways to impose these ‘additional sanctions’ on Iran that affect its economy as well as its ability to export violence in the region. [3]

Iraq Caught in the Middle

Members of the Iraqi parliament were not happy with the U.S. air strikes and this could cause problems down the road. The Iraqi parliament quickly called for the departure of U.S. military forces from Iraq; however, Sunni and Kurd representatives did not vote. Rumors of a rapid departure by the U.S. from Iraq are being played down by the U.S. State Department. In the meantime NATO has suspended its training mission in Iraq. The U.S. has also stood down operations as it takes a protective posture in anticipate of future aggression by Iran. Time will tell how the Iraqi public and government will respond to this latest conflict between Iran and the U.S. on Iraqi soil.

2nd and 3rd Order of Effects. Although tensions are now reduced the strike has fostered a number of consequences throughout the region. Relations between the government of Iraq and the U.S. have significantly deteriorated. Some of this is rhetoric and some is substantive. Iraq lawmakers reacted quickly passing a non-binding resolution for the withdrawal of U.S. forces. Iraq’s government is exploring a larger role for the NATO training mission – moving away from dependence on the United States. The training mission suffered a temporary halt and some counterterrorism operations were put on hold. In addition, it is possible that the strike diluted the protest movement that was – in part – focused on Iran’s meddling in Iraq; and which then turned its attention to the U.S. activities in Iraq. [4]

Accidental Downing of Airliner by Iran

In the immediate aftermath of the killing of Qassem Soleimani a civilian airliner was downed near Tehran. Over 170 passengers and crew were killed when the Iranian military accidentally shot down a Ukrainian airliner that had just taken off from Tehran airport. At first the Iranians stated that there were technical difficulties but soon it was apparent to the regime that they would have to acknowledge their own military shot the airliner down.

Map: Iranian-supported groups in the Middle East. Source: “Iran Military Power: Ensuring Regime Survival and Securing Regional Dominance,”, Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA), November 2019.

What Comes Next?

While America has the Air Force and Navy to outfight Iran some worry that Iran’s use of asymmetric, proxy-based warfare is the biggest threat. Iran has developed robust proxy armies and organizations throughout the Middle East. Most of these proxy groups will follow the lead of Iran although some may strike out against the United States even if Iran does not direct them to do so. U.S. personnel – government employees, members of the military, and U.S. civilians are at risk. There are a number of embassies and military bases scattered throughout the Middle East that are at risk.

Iranian retaliatory measures in the future will likely include the use of its regional militias to attack U.S. forces and U.S. interests across the region. It may increase its attacks on oil production facilities, disrupt shipping lanes, and use asymmetric or unconventional tactics to execute operations in other regions of the world. Iranian proxy groups and organizations include the Hezbollah in Lebanon, pro-Asad forces in Syria, armed Shia groups in Iraq, the Houthis in Yemen, and other groups in the region.

Hybrid Warfare. The United States is likely to be engaged in a hybrid, irregular conflict with Iran for many years. Iran will be able to have plausible deniability for the actions of its many proxy groups, criminal networks, and other nefarious actors in the Middle East region. One question that is raised by many national security observers is will the United States retain enough of a special operations and ‘irregular warfare’ capability in light of its strategic shift to ‘great power competition’ and focus on the Indo-Pacific region.

UW? An unconventional warfare capability is one thing to consider when sizing up the participants in ‘hybrid war’. Certainly, the United States has tremendous UW assets within USSOCOM, the CIA, and other agencies and organizations. However, having the capability and using that capability in a coherent and strategic fashion are two different things. Iran has established long-enduring relationships with its proxy forces throughout the region. Iran’s proxies can count on long-term support. Can America’s allies in the region do the same?

Iran may have satisfied domestic pressure to respond to the U.S. killing of General Qassem Soleimani with its launch of 16 missiles against targets in Erbil and Al Asas. However, its real response will be of a hybrid nature that involves the use of their proxy forces in the region.

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Footnotes:

[1] The 2019-2020 Iran Crisis and U.S. Military Deployments, Congressional Research Service (CRS), January 9, 2020.
https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/IF/IF11403

[2] Iran Sanctions, Congressional Research Service (CRS), November 15, 2019. According to this 110-page report “Successive Administrations have used economic sanctions to try to change Iran’s behavior. U.S. sanctions, including “secondary sanctions” on firms that conduct certain transactions with Iran, have adversely affected Iran’s economy but have had little observable effect on Iran’s pursuit of core strategic objectives such as its support for regional armed factions and its development of ballistic and cruise missiles”.
https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/RS/RS20871

[3] Possible Additional Sanctions on Iran, Congressional Research Service (CRS), January 8, 2020. This 4-page CRS report outlines additional sanctions that the U.S. could impose upon Iran.
https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/IF/IF10801

[4] Elias Yousif of the Center for International Policy explores the consequences in his article – “What it cost to kill Soleimani”, The Hill, February 9, 2020.

References:

“Can America Win an Unconventional War Against Iran?”, Haaretz, January 10, 2020.

“Iran’s Proxy Threat Is the Real Problem Now”, by Sulome Anderson, Foreign Policy, January 10, 2020.

U.S. Killing of Qasem Soleimani: Frequently Asked Questions, Congressional Research Service (CRS), January 8, 2020, 22 pages.
https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/R/R46148

Photo:

SOF News Update 20180313 – AFSOC Air Commando recognized, UW in Lithuania, American Freedom Distillery, SF in Africa, Ranger School and life lessons, 1st SOW and Facebook, female Rangers talk on career, SF medic receives award, SEAL takes Gold in PyeongChang Paralympics, moving (?) AFRICOM HQs, and more.

Air Commando Recognized for Life Saving Act. Senior Airman Gregory Ward provided life-saving assistance to a woman after she fell two stories. He coordinated with rescue personnel and went to the hospital in the ambulance with her. Read “AFSOC Air Commando Rescues Woman”, Air Force Medicine, March 9, 2018.

SF in Africa. Joe Penney, a photo-journalist based in West Africa and co-founder of a news site covering sub-Saharan Africa, provides his perspective of U.S. Special Forces activities in northern and west Africa. “Africa, Latest Theater in America’s Endless War”, The New York Review of Books, March 12, 2018.

Possible Move for AFRICOM HQs. For some reason U.S. Africa Command is located in . . . Europe. Some U.S. Senators are thinking maybe it should be on the African continent. (Military Times, Mar 13, 2018).

Ranger School and Life Lessons. Wes Cochrane graduated from Ranger School several years back. As he reflects back on his experience he has come up with 7 lessons that have stuck with him. (LinkedIn, Mar 8, 2018).

1st SOW and Facebook. The commander of the 1st Special Operations Wing, Col Thomas Palenske, uses a social media account to track issues in his command and to inform his personnel and their families. See “Air Force taking notice of local commander’s social media”, NWF Daily News, March 12, 2018.

SF Medic Receives Award. 1st Sgt. Jarrid Collins of Special Warfare Center and School has been awarded the Maj. Gen. John K. Singlaub Award. His contributions to Special Operations Forces during the last few years embodied the physical bravery, visionary leadership, and strong intellect associated with the award. Read more in “USASOC Presents Prestigious Award to Special Forces Medic”, Army.mil, March 12, 2018.

Female Rangers Talk on Career. Two women who passed Ranger School talk about their post-Ranger School careers. “First Female Ranger Grads Open Up About the Aftermath and Joining the Infantry”, Army Times, March 13, 2018.

SEAL Takes Gold. Navy SEAL Daniel Cnossen won gold in this year’s PyeongChang biathlon event. “SEAL, double amputee takes gold in PyeongChang Paralympics”, Navy Times, March 12, 2018.

American Freedom Distillery. Ten retired Green Berets are entering into an endeavor to get into the whiskey business in the Tampa Bay area. See “Green Berets portrayed in movie to open distillery”, Spectrum News, March 8, 2018.

UW with Lithuania KASP. During a routine NATO exercise held in Lithuania U.S. Special Forces and members of the Lithuania National Defense Volunteer Forces (KASP) conducted training in unconventional warfare. Read more in “U.S. Special Ops and Lithuanian Reservists Practiced Waging Guerrilla War Against Russia”, The War Zone, March 12, 2018.

UW or Political Warfare – Is it time to update Special Operations doctrine?

Unconventional Warfare (UW) is one of the five primary missions of U.S. Army Special Forces. [1] Most Special Forces (SF) veterans associate the term UW with guerrilla warfare where an SF detachment infiltrates behind enemy lines to train, equip, advise, and assist indigenous forces in denied areas. A typical scenario would be an SF team working with a resistance movement that has guerrilla force, underground, and auxiliary components. (Think OSS Jedburgh teams linking up with the French resistance in World War II).

By doctrine an Unconventional Warfare operation could last months or even years. Various types of missions would likely be conducted (in conjunction with indigenous forces) to include intelligence collection, armed attacks against enemy forces or infrastructure, sabotage, subversion, and unconventional assisted recovery.

UW and SFQC. Currently the seven phases of UW are taught at the basic level to Special Forces students during their training in the Special Forces Qualification Course (SFQC). Completion of the Robin Sage exercise in the later part of the SFQC exposes the Special Forces candidate to the basics of UW. The successful graduate will then be exposed to the advanced UW skills required of the Special Forces Soldier through unit training exercises and advanced academic courses within the military educational system.

Flintlock. 10th Special Forces veterans of the 1950s – 1980s era will fondly remember yearly Flintlock training exercises with an isolation phase at an English airbase, infiltration in the middle of the night by parachute into a German farmer’s field, linkup with a guerrilla force, a training period with the guerrillas, and then the conduct of combat operations. While the focus of the recent Flintlock missions has shifted to Africa (and CT / COIN) other more contemporary exercises conducted by the various special operations units put into practice advanced UW skills.

UW Beyond SF. Of course, the conduct of UW is not just the domain of U.S. Army Special Forces. It is a core activity of Army Special Operations (ARSOF) and the United States Special Operations Command (USSOCOM). There are also a few three-letter agencies that dabble in the art (or science) as well.

Recent UW Campaigns. A very recent (and successful) UW operation was the infiltration of Special Forces detachments into Afghanistan to topple the Taliban regime. SF teams from the 5th Special Forces Group linked up with the Northern Alliance in the north of Afghanistan as well as resistance forces in the south of Afghanistan. Joined by Air Force special operations airmen (who controlled airstrikes) and the occasional CIA agent (with bags of money) the SF teams were able to quickly assist the resistance movements in routing the Taliban from the major cities of Kabul, Mazar-e Sharif, and Kandahar. And one shouldn’t ignore the success of 10th Special Forces teams linking up with the Kurdish Peshmerga in northern Iraq prior to and during the 2003 invasion.

Little ‘Green Men’. The United States is not alone in its use of Unconventional Warfare. Russia, China, Iran and other nations are very adept in the use of UW. However, these countries use of UW is as a function within a larger construct – often referred to as Hybrid Warfare or Irregular Warfare. Some military observers have pointed out the successful use of ‘little green men’ by Russia in the Crimea and western Ukraine as examples of modern day Hybrid Warfare. [2] There are a number of other terms that could be used to describe this type of warfare to include UW, Political Warfare, Gray Zone, Asymmetric Warfare, Irregular Warfare, and more. For many people the complex set of terms are bewildering.

UW or Political Warfare. One writer, Douglas Livermore, has penned a paper that suggests the special operations community is handicapped with the UW term. He believes that senior policy makers have trouble understanding UW and that the broader concept of Political Warfare needs to be introduced (or reintroduced). He also thinks that the SOF community should move away from the unhelpful doctrinal term of Unconventional Warfare and replace it with the more descriptive term of “support to indigenous resistance”. This term would be a function within the broader concept of SOF support to Political Warfare. Livermore believes the UW term served us well during the Cold War (think Flintlock) but that over the course of time the term has been distorted. He thinks the more comprehensive ‘whole of government’ concept of Political Warfare “. . . incorporates all elements of U.S. national power . . .” and is more useful for senior policy makers in the support of U.S. national objectives.

Author. Douglas Livermore is a Special Forces Officer with Special Forces Detachment – NATO (SOD-N) in the Maryland Army National Guard. He also works for the Department of Defense as an operational advisor and has had multiple deployments to Iraq, Afghanistan, and Africa. His article (link provided below) is a good read and would be very informative for the special operations practitioner.

“It’s Time For Special Operations to Dump ‘Unconventional Warfare'”, by Doug Livermore, War on the Rocks, October 6, 2017.
https://warontherocks.com/2017/10/its-time-for-special-operations-to-dump-unconventional-warfare/

Footnotes:

[1] The other core missions are counterterrorism (CT), direct action (DA), foreign internal defense (FID), and special reconnaissance (SR).

[2] A great concern of the Baltic States and Poland is the use of Hybrid Warfare by Russia to expand its influence and control into eastern Europe. NATO is taking a very proactive stance in signaling their opposition to Russia’s aggressive moves by the forward staging of air and ground assets into Poland, Lithuania, Estonia, and Latvia and through the conduct of numerous exercises in eastern Europe. However, the likely threat from Russia will not not be conventional but a form of Hybrid Warfare (or Political Warfare).

References:

A listing of documents, publications, and articles about Unconventional Warfare can be found at the following link:
https://national-security.info/topics/unconventional-warfare-uw.html

UW Pocket Guide, United States Army Special Operations Command (USASOC), April 2016.
www.sof.news/uw/uw-pocket-guide/

Special Warfare Magazine July December 2016  Volume 29, Issue 2 has been published and is posted online. Some of the articles are listed below:

“A History of Assessment and Selection”

“Small Unit Tactics: A Foundational Skill Set”

“SERE: Doing More and Giving Back”

“The Relevancy of Robin Sage”

“Combat Diving in Special Warfare”

“Operationalizing Cyber to Prevail in the Competition of Wills”

“U.S. Special Operations Forces in Cyberspace”

“Counter-Messaging Daesh”

In addition there are other features such as training updates, education updates, professional development, and some opinion articles.

www.soc.mil/swcs/SWmag/archive/SW2902/JUL-Dec_2016.pdf

SOF News Update for 20161218 – Iraq’ Golden Division, OSS veterans honored by Congress, Navy SEALs in Serbia, Navy SEAL for Interior secretary, Fox News video on ‘shadow warriors’, Navy SEALs and what Hollywood gets wrong, SOCEUR re-enacts D-Day parachute drops, Russian SOF in Aleppo, and more.

Iraq’s 1st Special Operations Brigade. The “Golden Division” (once called the “Golden Brigade” and “Dirty Division) is part of the Iraq’s Counter Terrorism Service (CTS). It is in the lead for the fight for Mosul – as it has been in the lead for the fight against the Islamic State for other cities of Iraq over the past two years. However, there is a price for being good. The Iraqi regime continues to overuse the Golden Division and its losses are appalling. Soon it will be – some say by the end of the Mosul fight- combat ineffective. So while Mosul will go down as a political and military victory there is concern of what unit will exist to keep the peace among the different factions of Iraqi political landscape. Read more in “How Iraq’s Army Could Defeat ISIS in Mosul – But Lose Control of the Country”, Politico Magazine, December 15, 2015.

Fox News Video on “Gray Zone”. Watch a short (2 min) video by Fox News on the U.S. shadow warriors fighting across the globe.
http://video.foxnews.com/v/5251445694001/

Russians Targeting UK with ‘Hybrid Warfare’. It appears that senior members of the United Kingdom government are getting concerned with some aggressive maneuvering on the part of the Russians. Read more in “Russia wages unconventional warfare on Britain”, The Weekend Australian, December 17, 2016.

Russian SOF in Aleppo. Russian special operations forces are heavily engaged in the ground fight for Aleppo, Syria. Read “The elite Russian special forces who took over Crimea are doing the same thing in Aleppo”, Business Insider, December 16, 2016.

Navy SEALs train with Serbian Unit. Members of U.S. Naval Special Warfare Unit 2 – assigned to Special Operations Command Europe (SOCEUR) – spent two weeks on a Joint Combined Exchange Training (JCET) with the Serbian Special Anti-Terrorist Unit (SAJ) this past November / December. Read more in “Navy SEALs builds relations with Serbian forces”, DVIDS, December 15, 2016.

SOCEUR and D-Day Jumps. Over a year ago, in July 2015, special operations forces from Special Operations Command Europe conducted parachute jumps over Sainte-Mere-Eglise, France in an observance of the D-Day parachute drop 71 years earlier. Watch a little bit of history and some present day parachuting in this 3-min long video in SOCEUR D-Day Drops, DVIDS, posted 16 Dec 2016.

Navy SEAL to be Secretary of Department of Interior. A retired Navy SEAL and congressional representative from Montana has been selected to be the secretary of Interior by President-Elect Trump. “Who is Ryan Zinke?”, Voice of America, December 15, 2016.

OSS Veterans Honored by Congress. President Obama signed legislation that honors veterans of the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) with the Congressional Gold Medal for their service and contributions during World War II. The OSS was the predecessor to the Central Intelligence Agency and the U.S. Army Special Forces. Read more in a news report by Augusta Free Press, Dec 16, 2016.

Hollywood, Movies, and SEALs. There’s lots of movies that have been made about the U.S. Navy SEALs. Some are near factual while others are . . . well, entertaining. Listen to “Former Navy SEALs reveal what Hollywood gets wrong about them”, Business Insider, December 17, 2016.

SOCSouth Members Recognized by Colombia. Three SOCSouth members received the “Military Medal” during a ceremony at the U.S. Embassy in Bogota, Colombia for their efforts in supporting a Colombian military institute. DVIDS, Dec 6, 2016.

(Featured image at top from USSOCOM 2016 Factbook)

Every year a group of U.S. Army Special Forces Soldiers conduct a Green Beret wreath laying ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia to honor the late President John F. Kennedy. Senior level defense officials and a representative of the Kennedy family also take part in the ceremony.

President Kennedy was a keen observer of modern day conflict (1950s – 1960s). He had a strong appreciation of how insurgencies had grown – whether anti-colonial (nationalistic) or communist (supported by the Soviet Union) in nature – to confront the interests and goals of the United States around the world. Much of the non-traditional conflict that the United States was faceing in this time period was a result of the competition between the United States and the Soviet Union -known as the “Cold War”.

To deal with these “national wars of liberation” that threatened U.S. interests and it’s allies President Kennedy set out to ensure that our military forces embraced the concept of Unconventional Warfare.  He ensured that elite units like the U.S. Army’s Special Forces and U.S. Navy SEALs received the support from their parent service in terms of resources, money, and equipment.

As President Kennedy was a huge supporter of the Special Forces community. Part of the legacy of the Green Berets can be attributed to JFK – which is why after all these years the SF community continues to honor this late president in the Green Beret wreath laying ceremony.

Read more in “John F. Kennedy Wreath Laying Ceremony 2016”, DVIDS, October 19, 2016.

Going back in history we can see that World War II UW or unconventional warfare took place in a number of theaters around the world. Most notably in France, the Balkans, and Southeast Asia. In France the Special Operations Executive (SOE) of the United Kingdom and the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) of the United States worked in conjunction with the Free French to form up, train, and parachute into France three-man Jedburgh teams. These teams linked up with the French Resistance to assist in the training, direction, equipping, and coordination to assist in the allied invasion of France.

Ben Jones, the author of Eisenhower’s Guerrillas,  recently spoke (October 28, 2016) at the Special Operations Association Symposium in Alexandra, Virginia on the topic of World War II UW. He recounts how the Jedburgh teams were formed and employed but also takes a careful look at the strategic arena and the diplomacy involved in the conduct of unconventional warfare during World War II.

He is especially keen to point out that the French Resistance had its own way of doing business and its own set of goals and objectives. The allied generals recognized this and worked within this environment. One statement by Ben Jones is key and applicable to the United States attempt (thus far somewhat haphazard) to establish resistance movements in Syria (to fight either the government regime or ISIS or both) using unconventional warfare.

“The fact that the United States seems to have no clear aim or post-war vision for the middle east today, is in my view, why we have confused our friends and can’t attract guerrilla allies. A clearly understood aim is vital in order to bring guerrillas to our side. After all, people have to know what they are fighting for, before they will be willing to fight.”

Read more about the lessons of World War II UW in “The Jedburghs and Unconventional Warfare”, The Foreign Policy Initiative, November 2016.

Tough Week for the Special Forces Regiment. One SF Soldier (7th SFGA) died during training at the Combat Dive Qualification Course (CDQC) at Key West, Florida. Two SF Soldiers (10th SFGA) died in Afghanistan conducting combat operations against the Taliban. In addition, three Special Forces members(5th SFGA) died in Jordan.

SOF News Update for 20161106 – Parachute jumps into combat, security contractors in the overseas traveling mode, technology and USSOCOM, SF Association HQs flooded by Hurricane Matthew, what is a “Quiet Professional”, The Drop (publication of the Special Forces Association), “Special Ops Leadership”, SF in Afghanistan, Intel (I&CI) training of non-U.S. persons, review of “Rogue Heroes”, defense contractors thriving, and more.

Stories about combat jumps. The West Point Center for Oral History interviewed four Army members (past and present) about their experiences during a parachute jump into a combat zone. The jumps took place in northern Iraq (2003), HALO jump into Afghanistan (2001), and Holland during Operation Market Garden (WWII). Watch the one-hour long video interview in “Video: Opening Shock: Four Combat Jump Veterans Tell Their Stories”, July 21, 2016.

Security Contractors and Overseas Travel. You know who they are. They wear there 5.11 trousers, a web belt, Merrill hiking shoes, Oakley sunglasses, and carry a Blackhawk 3-day pack. But don’t be that guy. Read Ed Thompson’s article on “How to Travel Grey”, LinkedIn Pulse, November 30, 2015.

Preparing for War. A Special Forces NCO writes about his deployment with an SFODA in Afghanistan in “Nothing Prepares You For War”, The War Horse, November 2, 2016.

USSOCOM and Technology. How can the United States Special Operations Command outfit partner forces working with U.S. SOF with commercially-available items or open source software? This is a challenge for SOFWERX – USSOCOM’s collaboration workshop. Read “USSOCOM Rapid Prototype Event Rodeo”, DVIDS, October 21, 2016.

“The Drop”. The Special Forces Association has a quarterly publication that is mailed out to its membership every three months. Some interesting tidbits about the SF community are enclosed. You can read past issues of The Drop at the link below:
www.specialforcesassociation.org/the-drop-archive/

Lockheed going for $8B USSOCOM contract. The U.S. Special Operations Command Global Logistics Support Services contract is up for recompete. Lockheed Martin is putting in for it. Read more in “Lockheed aims to retain incumbency on $8B recompete”, Washington Technology, November 2, 2016.

Dangerous SOF Raids. Read a short history on the most dangerous special operations raids by We are the Mighty.

SOF Leadership and the World of Business. Gil Limonchik offers his perspectives on how commando techniques work in the business world. Read “Secrets of Special Ops Leadership”, LinkedIn Pulse, October 23, 2016.

Studying College Athletes to Help SOF Teams. An Air Force laboratory based at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio is studying the athletes (wrestlers, football players, etc.) to gain knowledge that will benefit special operations teams in action. Read more in “Air Force applying study of OSU athletes to Special Forces”,  Daily Progress, October 30, 2016.

Fat? Stoned? Tattoed? The military has a job for you. The Pentagon is looking for tech-savy talent for its ranks and it is lowering standards to recruit the new generation of American youth. Read “Overweight, tattooed, stoned? The Pentagon may still want you”, Los Angeles Times, November 3, 2016.

New Pub on Intel & CI Training of Foreigners. The Department of Defense has issued a new instruction that outlines policy and assigns responsibilities for the training of non-US persons in intelligence and CI. Read DoD Instruction 3305.12, Intelligence and Counterintelligence (I&CI) Training of Non-U.S. Persons, October 14, 2016.

3rd SFGA Rigger Dies. A parachute rigger from the 3rd Special Forces Group at Fort Bragg, NC died from injuries suffered when struck by a vehicle while conducting physical training on Fort Bragg. Read more in “Fort Bragg soldier dies after being hit by vehicle”, Fayetteville Observer, November 1, 2016.

Book Review – “Rogue Heroes”. Max Boot provides a review of a book about the British Special Air Service (SAS) during World War II. Read “The Story of the SAS, Britain’s First Special Operations Unit”, The New York Times, November 2, 2016.

AFSOC and South Korean SOF. U.S. Air Force aircraft from the 353rd Special Operations Group (based at Kadena Air Base) and U.S. and South Korean Special Forces recently took part in an exercise in South Korea. (The Japan Times, November 5, 2016).

Defense Contractors Doing Well. “Sales are up, earnings are strong, and the guidance to shareholders is for positive trends in coming quarters.” Despite the Pentagon’s decreased demand for weapons systems the defense industry is doing okay. Read a news report by Loren Thompson in Forbes, October 31, 2016.

SFA Association HQs Damaged. Hurricane Matthew caused extensive damage to the Special Forces Association compound in Fayetteville, North Carolina. Read more in “Matthew’s floodwaters wipe out Special Forces Association records, artifacts”, Fayetteville Observer, November 1, 2016.

What is a “Quiet Professional”? The buzz word has been around the Special Forces community for about twenty years (maybe a little more). It is about being superb at your job without telling everyone about it (SEALs: please take note). Read more in “What Does it Mean to Be a Quiet Professional”, LinkedIn Pulse, October 4, 2016.

The Middle East is still ablaze. Russia is confronting the U.S. in Syria, Assad’s regime is hanging on and actually surviving, Turkey is now engaged in northern Syria and northern Iraq, and Iraqi government forces (assisted by the Peshmerga, militias, and other international partner nations) are on the verge of capturing Mosul back from the Islamic State. Yemen, not much in the news, is still ablaze. This is especially true where one of the combatant forces is the Islamic State.

Analysis of US Covert Action in Syria. Jack Murphy, managing editor of www.sofrep.com, Iraq war vet, and ex-Special Forces is interviewed in a 15-minute long video from Damascus. He discusses the frustrations of Special Forces members involved in training the Syrian rebels, the differences between Title 50 (CIA) and Title 10 (SOF) activities, the lack of quality recruits for the Free Syrian Amy (FSA), weapons falling into the hands of jihadist groups, and “chickhawk armchair analysts” promoting a go to war attitude with the Assad regime and confronting Russia in Syria. Listen to his thoughts on the inability of the U.S. to conduct a successful UW campaign in Syria.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=o5rUBysKQtA

CIVCAS in Mosul Fight. Urban combat is nasty and destructive – and has a significant adverse effect on the civilian population residing in those towns and cities where the combat takes place. Read more in “Civilian casualties are starting to rise as Iraqi forces push into Mosul”, The Washington Post, November 4, 2016.

Battle for Mosul and SOF. U.S. Special Operations Forces are heavily engaged in the current battle by Iraqi government forces (aided by the Peshmerga and militias) to wrest control of the northern city of Mosul from the Islamic State fighters. Read “US troops backing Iraqi attack in Mosul”, Stars and Stripes, November 1, 2016.

Iraq’s Special Forces. The leading force in the battle to take Mosul from the Islamic State is the “Golden Division”; officially known as the Iraqi Counter Terrorism Service. The Iraqi special forces are country’s most professional and least sectarian fighting force. Read all about this very effective fighting force in “Baghdad’s Finest: A look at Iraq’s vaunted special forces”, Daily Mail, October 20, 2016.

Future of Northern Iraq? Douglas A. Ollivant informs us that there are a host of concerns in the liberation of Mosul and the aftermath. The various organizations that are fighting the Islamic State in Mosul include the Iraqi government’s Army, Federal Police, and it’s “Golden Division” (Counter Terrorism Service). The Peshmerga (Kurds), Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), and other Sunni Arab forces are also in the fight. Each of these groups pose a political problem in the aftermath of Mosul’s liberation. Read more in “The Bigger Issues at Play: Mosul and the Future of Northern Iraq”, War on the Rocks, November 1, 2016.

SOF News Update for 20161030 – Ukrainian Special Forces, Journal of Special Operations Medicine, mercenaries, fallen Navy CPO takes final voyage home, Malaysian SOF, new deadlier technologies for MARSOC, and more.

Ukrainian Special Forces. The conflict in the Ukraine continues to grind on. Russia is not the only side of the conflict to employ Little Green Men – its version of unconventional warfare. The Ukrainian Special Forces are busy as well. Read more in “Inside the Covert War in Ukraine”, Vice News, October 4, 2016.

MARSOC Seeks Deadlier Technologies. “The Marine Corps is sending some of its Raiders on a new mission: developing new technologies to make MARSOC even deadlier”. Read more in a news report by Marine Corps Times, October 4, 2016.

Program on Mercenaries. BBC World Service recently (Oct 7, 2016) aired a 50-minute long broadcast entitled Mercenaries: Guns for Hire.
www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p049gt5h

CPO Returns Home on Final Journey. Chief Petty Officer Jason Finan was recently killed in action in Iraq by an Improvised Explosive Device (IED). He is on his way home for memorial services in the San Diego area. Finan was supporting a U.S. Navy SEAL unit when he was killed. Read “Body of Fallen Coronado-Based Sailor Returns Home”, NBC San Diego, October 28, 2016.

JSOM Info. For those who are working in the special operations medical field there is an online magazine that provides a wealth of knowledge in this area. Visit the website of the Journal of Special Operations Medicine at www.jsomonline.org.

Tech Update – Flying Motorcycles for SOF. So a Special Forces battalion has its Combat Dive Team, HALO Team, and Mountain Teams. Is a “Flying Motorcycle” team in the near future? How many specialized teams will we need to have before the day of the “Rucksack Team” goes away? Read more in “Here’s An Idea: Give Special Forces Some Motorcycles”, Wired.com, October 28, 2016.

USAJFKSWCS Honors 12 SOF Members. Twelve former members of Special Forces, Civil Affairs, and PSYOP were honored by the SWC recently for contributions to the SOF community. Read more in a news report by The Fayetteville Observer, October 28, 2016.

SFA Chapter 2 Throw Blankets. The Special Forces Association on Okinawa is selling limited edition blankets for current and former members of 1st Battalion, 1st Special Forces Group members. (LinkedIn, Sep 29, 2016)