SOF News Update 20170711 – C-130J-SOF, Rick Lamb in Ranger Hall of Fame, SOF operators and off-the-shelf tools, COL Jon Braga heading to CJTF-OIR, BG Bolduc retires, Philippine Army snipers, NSW PO is ‘Sailor of the Year’, how SOF teams find terrorists, info on MARSOC Critical Skills Operators, best Navy SEAL on film or TV, SF officer to command Natick Labs, and more.
C-130J-SOF. The folks at Strategy Page have provided a description of the newly modified C-130J built by the manufacturer especially for special operations forces. The new C-130J has a sturdier fuselage, better landing gear, and additional radar and navigation equipment. Read more in “Special Operations: Too Valuable to Replace”, July 9, 2017.
Rick Lamb and Ranger Hall of Fame. On June 28, 2017 retired Army SGM Rick Lamb was inducted into the Ranger Hall of Fame. He is well know to older soldiers in the Ranger Regiment and U.S. Army Special Forces. Read more in “100% and Then Some”, Global SOF Foundation, June 30, 2017.
Off-The-Shelf Tools for SOF Operators. So what does a quarterback play sleeve, NFL skull cap, fanny pack, sawzall, and Timex watch have in common? Find out in “We Asked Special Operators What Weird Gear They Rely On”, Task and Purpose, February 14, 2017.
COL Jon Braga – SF Officer to CJTF-OIR. Colonel Jon Braga, a Massachusetts native and long-time Special Forces (and other SOF units) officer will soon be working in the Middle East with the Combined Joint Task Force – Operation Inherent Resolve (CJTF-OIR).. He previously served with the 7th Special Forces Group and the Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC). Read more in “Braga’s Defense Extends from Neighborhood to Homeland”, The Sun Chronicle, July 9, 2017.
BG Bolduc (SF) Retires. The former commander of Special Operations Command – Africa (SOCAfrica) BG Donald Bolduc is retiring. He spent most of his career on U.S. Army Special Forces and will soon head home to his home state of New Hampshire. Read more in “U.S. Army Brig. Gen. Bolduc of Laconia Retiring”, Union Leader, July 8, 2017.
SF Officer Takes Command of Natick Labs. LTC Bryan Martin, an SF officer, has taken command of Natick Soldier Systems Center at Natick, Massachusetts. His last post was as an operations officer on the Joint Staff’s Deputy Directorate for Special Operations and Counterterrorism. See “Change of command in Natick”, MetroWest Daily News, July 6, 2017.
Navy Comms Petty Officer – ‘Sailor of the Year’. A Sailor from Corry Station’s Information Warfare Training Command has been named ‘Sailor of the Year’ by Navy Times. Petty Officer 1st Class Justin Sullivan served two combat tours with the Navy Special Warfare Group Two’s communications team. Read more in an article in Pensacola News Journal, July 8, 2017.
Survey – Best Navy SEAL in Film or TV? The United States Navy Institute (USNI) is conducting a survey on the best and worst protrayals of SEAL on television or in the movies. Some of the stars (you can watch the movie trailers in the article if you haven’t seen the movies) under consideration are O.J. Simpson, Vin Diesel, Tom Selleck, Hulk Hogan, Jean Claude Van Damme, Steven Segal, L.L. Cool J, Ice Cube, Mark Wahlberg, Bruce Willis, Charlie Sheen, Alexis Arquette, Matthew McConaughey, Michael Biehn, Bradley Cooper, Rob Lowe, Demi Moore (ugh), and John Krasinski. Read “SURVEY: Who Played the Best Navy SEAL on Film or Television?”, USNI News, July 7, 2017.
MARSOC Critical Skills Operators. The folks at Special Operations.com have published a history of the formation of MARSOC. Read “MARSOC Critical Skills Operators Worthy of Their WWII Lineage”, Special Operations.com, July 10, 2017.
SOF Teams – and Finding Terrorists. A former Delta operator explains how special operations forces (SOF) find terrorists in an article on Fox News. (This is sometimes referred to as F3EAD). See “Special Ops: How to find a terrorist”, Fox News Opinion, July 7, 2017.
Inspiring Story of Green Beret Competing in Warrior Games. Brant Ireland, a Special Forces NCO who lost his left leg in Afghanistan, competed in the Warrior Games. Read his inspiring story of rebounding from a devastating injury in “The story of how Brant became Brant again”, ESPN, July 7, 2017.
Snipers Targeting the Maute-ISIS in Philippines. An interesting news article in the Philippine’s media about snipers fighting ISIS snipers in the Philippine war zone. See “The snipers sniping the snipers”, SunStar Bacolod, July 8, 2017.
