The Loadout Room
Professional Gear Reviews
The journey to becoming a Special Forces soldier won’t be easy. Special Forces training is rigorous and highly selective, but the courage and strength you will gain as a candidate will stay with you your entire life. In addition to Basic Combat Training, soldiers must have completed Advanced Individual Training and U.S. Army Airborne School […]
I love reading about Special Operations history. It’s amazing what information can be found in published sources if you’re prepared to dig around. There’s a whole hidden history that can only be compiled by doing some deep research and really looking for sources. Thankfully, some former operators penned books that are well worth tracking down. […]
As U.S. Special Forces recently turned 67 years old, it is interesting to take a look back at this public service announcement from the 1960s about the legendary Green Berets. Check out the video to learn more, but you may also enjoy this interview I did with Sergeant Major (Ret.) William Bowles. Sergeant Bowles passed […]
An excerpt from the new book, “Murphyâs Law: My Journey from Ranger and Green Beret to Investigative Journalist“ Another story developed when a fixer we had hired to help translate informed us that there was a big battle going down early the next morning near Kirkuk. No way were we going to pass that up. […]
Col. Larry Perino, Col. Lee VanArsdale, and Command Sgt. Maj. Kyle Lamb recently sat down with the Modern War Institute at West Point to discuss the Battle of the Black Sea. They participated in Operation Gothic Serpent which the public is largely familiar with through the book and film “Black Hawk Down.” The interview contains […]
Editor’s note: This piece was written by NEWSREP Editor-in-Chief and Special Operations veteran, Jack Murphy. You can purchase his new memoir, “Murhpy’s Law,” here. The âCall of Duty: Modern Warfareâ video game series has always included scenes that are intentionally controversial. In âModern Warfare 2,â one level sees the protagonist acting as an undercover operative […]
Some sharp eyes over at The Drive recently spotted a modification to the MH-6 Little Bird helicopter in a USASOC-released video. The footage shows the Little Bird configured with external pods designed for ferrying special operations soldiers to their targets, but underneath one can see a rectangular attachment that appears to be an additional fuel […]
Four years ago, NEWSREP reported that United States Special Operations Command (SOCOM) developed the Tactical Assault Light Operator Suit (TALOS)âa hardened exo-skeleton suit for special operatorsâand it was really a sham, but promising technologies emerged in the process. From 2015’s “TALOS: Special Operations Powered Armor or Just Another Boondoggle?” Initiated under Admiral William H. McRaven […]
Editors note: MACV-SOG was organized and functioned as the first true joint special operations task force (JSOTF). Formed during the Vietnam War, the unit conducted special operations, to include providing intelligence, psychological operations, and personnel recovery, in support of the theater campaign plan. From Johnâs book Across The Fence: The Secret War In Vietnam, hereâs […]
M4 w/EO Tech, LA-5, Pentagon Light, Magpul stock, SOPMOD foregrip 6x additional 5.56 magazines M9 pistol Safariland drop holster Sordins 4x additional 9mm magazines Mossburg 500 12-guage shotgun Approx. 12 additional 12-guage rounds MICH helmet PVS-14’s 5x Flashbangs 1x Fragmentation grenade MBITR radio Flexcuffs Merrill boots Penflare gun and flares spare batteries Camelbak Platecarrier w/ […]