You can find Part 1 of this series here. Welcome back to the second part of the Top 10 unwritten rules of CQB series. In the previous part we talked about the first two rules about sight fixation and flashlights. Lets continue to our next two rules. But before, we would like to remind you […]
Special Operations
An Israeli special operator’s top unwritten rules of close-quarters combat (Part 1)
This series of articles isn’t meant to offer concrete, hard-and-fast rules about close-quarters combat. Like anything in life, there are dozens of paths to this destination—it’s efficiency and safety that make the difference. These ‘rules’ are more a reminder of things that many forget or are simply not aware of. In this series of articles, […]
Surviving SAS selection (Part 1): From the hills into the trees
The time I spent in Hereford was hell on my body, even though it was almost healed from my ordeal on the hills. I had no toenails left, and the blister scars on my feet were still visible and hurt a little bit, especially when I put them in my new jungle boots to break […]
Navy SEALs and backpack nukes: US special operators once carried the fury of the atom in a sack
Thanks to decades’ worth of cultural pressure on the international stage, most nations view the use of nuclear weapons in war as a reprehensible act. Today’s nuclear nations, by and large, ascribe to a model of deterrence: Put simply, our nukes stop them from using their nukes. Although posturing can get quite a bit more […]
Check out this Former Delta Force operator’s loadout for taking down human traffickers
I work in counter human traffic (CHT), running street operations in “the Q,” Albuquerque, New Mexico. Here, the season on traffickers is open all year long, and there is no bag limit. Just don’t step up to the line dry (1). My current self-preservation posture is best described in my statement to my boss, words […]
WATCH: Russian arms maker appears to fire live rounds at soldiers during demo
Just about every special operations command in the world uses live fire drills to give its operators realistic combat experience before actually getting into the fight, though as numerous videos around the web have shown, not every nation’s military adheres to the same safety standards. This video, which appears to show Russian special operations troops […]
Stories from Delta Force: The time I worked submarine operations with US Navy SEALs
How does a man who is not a Navy SEAL manage to tag along with a SEAL team for a week of submarine operations? Mostly dumb luck, is my sterling response. I was a combat diver assigned to a Green Beret A-Team when my boss caught me in his crosshairs with an invitation from West […]
Navy SEALs and backpack nukes: US special operators once carried the fury of the atom in a sack
Thanks to decades’ worth of cultural pressure on the international stage, most nations view the use of nuclear weapons in war as a reprehensible act. Today’s nuclear nations, by and large, ascribe to a model of deterrence: Put simply, our nukes stop them from using their nukes. Although posturing can get quite a bit more […]
No sh*t, there I was: The time a US Army combat diver nearly became shark food
Large creatures under the sea give me the creeps. Grouper startle me, barracuda give me the heebie-jeebies, and sharks…well, sharks make masonry bricks come out of my ass. I wish like hell they didn’t scare me; I would have a bad-boy T-shirt printed up that says, “Ain’t Scared of Sharks.” I could rotate wearing it […]
Watch: What does it take to become a Delta operator?
While covering a story recently, I had the opportunity to tour some facilities with a number of current and former elite operators hailing from various military branches and government agencies. Although these men may have different abbreviations on their identification cards, the community of people with their unique skill set and level of expertise is […]