DoD Quarterly Report OIR August 2019

DoD Quarterly Report on OIR (August 2019)

August 7, 2019 John Friberg 0

The Department of Defense Office of Inspector General has posted the quarterly report to Congress on OIR. The report covers the period of April 1, 2019 to June 30, 2019. The report is entitled Lead Inspector General for Operation Inherent […]

Social Media News and the Islamic State

Social Media and Conflict and Influence

January 8, 2017 SOF News 0

Social Media and Conflict – selected articles, papers, analysis, and commentary on the role of social media in conflict and war. The Importance of Counter Influence Operations. History has shown that the United States is vulnerable to an extent by […]

US artillery unit providing fire support to Iraqi government forces in the offensive to take Mosul from the Islamic State.

Mosul Offensive – Now in Phase II

January 5, 2017 SOF News 0

The Fight Continues – Phase II. After a two-week lull in the action in the waning days of December the Iraqi military and its allies (Kurdish Peshmerga, Iran proxy militias, etc.) have re-started the campaign to re-capture Mosul. Phase II […]

Nangarhar Province Afghanistan

Update: Islamic State in Afghanistan

January 4, 2017 SOF News 0

The growth of the Islamic State in Afghanistan had a surprising beginning and then the size of the group quickly diminished. ISIS had a lot of opponents – including the United States (SOF, air attacks, and drones), the Afghan security […]

A New Zealand trainer from Task Force Taji provides instruction to Iraqi soldiers. (U.S. Army Photo by SPC Craig Jensen, 1 Dec 2016).

Middle East News Update

December 22, 2016 SOF News 0

Middle East News Update – Obama’s Syrian legacy, seige of Aleppo, using hybrid warfare against Russia, research into Arab politics, U.S. support to Kurds could be better, and more. Obama’s Syrian Legacy. A former NATO supreme allied commander – retired […]

Destroyed ISIL oil tankers. (Photo by SSgt Charles Rivezzo, U.S. AFCENT Public Affairs, Dec 8, 2016). Targets were struck based on intel from the Target Fusion Cell.

CENTCOM’s Target Fusion Cell (TFC)

December 22, 2016 John Friberg 0

The newly-established Target Fusion Cell (TFC) works within the Combined Force Air Component Command (CFACC) in the CENTCOM Area of Responsibility (AOR). The Target Fusion Cell is “. . . an integrated cell of intelligence analysts, targeting experts and intelligence, surveillance […]

Social Media News and the Islamic State

Social Media News – Papers, Pubs, and More

December 20, 2016 SOF News 0

Social Media News – papers, publications, commentary, and analysis on how information operations is used to influence the population in support or against governments and their security forces. Islamic State and Social Media, the Kremlin’s IO machine, ‘disinformation’ (dezinformatsiya) is […]

Reflective Belts for Physical Training

ISIS Distributes RBs – “Belts of Invincibility”

December 20, 2016 SOF News 0

ISIS Outfitting Special Units with RBs. It appears that the capabilities of the Islamic State fighters will soon grow. Recent news reports indicate that ISIS is outfitting selected specialized units with yellow and orange reflective belts. It is believed that […]

Social Media News and the Islamic State

Islamic State’s Use of Social Media

November 23, 2016 SOF News 0

The Islamic State has expertly used social media to advance its cause. Through the use of information operations it has recruited foreign fighters to Iraq, Syria, Libya, and other areas of the world. It has developed support groups and mechanisms […]