Members of the Romanian Special Forces boards a vessel during a visit, board, search and seizure (VBSS) evolution as a part of Trojan Footprint 21 off the coast of Mangalia, Romania on May 7th, 2021. Trojan Footprint 21 is Special Operations Command Europe’s annual exercise to demonstrate proficiencies, assess the readiness and lethality of our […]
Category: Elite Units
MARSOF Full Spectrum: Marine Raiders
Marine Raiders conducted operations during RAVEN unit readiness / certification exercises alongside Marines from across the Fleet Marine Force as well as U.S. Army Special Forces in Nashville, Tenn., Apr. 24-June 1, 2021. RAVEN is a training exercise held to evaluate all aspects of a Marine Special Operations Company prior to a Marine Forces Special […]
Direct Action’s 2021 Catalog Has Dropped
For the past 5 years or so Direct Action has been showing the world that gear designed in Poland can keep up with the best of the West. Their system-oriented design approach, combined with a real understanding of the dynamics and ergonomics of the intersection of operator and equipment, they’re innovations in advanced materials, and […]
Friday Foto
200 British Paratroopers from 2 PARA and the Pathfinders, recently deployed into Qasr Al Hallabat, spearheading as the Lead Assault Force in Joint Theatre Entry Global Response Force. The paras jumped into a desert drop zone in Jordan, which was described as, ‘the biggest jump into this region since the 1956 Suez crisis’ – according […]
Operation Overlord: The OSS and the Battle for France
This is a great short film from The OSS Society that tells the story of Allied special forces, Free French Forces, and the French Resistance. Their daring exploits helped win the battle of Normandy, and change the course of World War II. hat tip to Mykel Hawke for the heads up. […]
5-6 June 1944: The Night of Nights
After preparing their equipment, conducting rehearsals, and receiving their final briefings, the men of the Allied Airborne Forces boarded their transport aircraft and gliders in England to begin a one-way trip to the province of Normandy, France – and a legendary rendezvous with destiny. They were the tip of the spear for the greatest […]
173rd Airborne Raids Bulgarian Olive Oil Factory
The paratroopers of the 173rd Airborne Brigade added another battle honor to their legacy this week – a Bulgarian olive oil factory! Exercise Swift Response 21 got off to a good start for the 173rd Airborne Brigade. They, along with more than 7,000 paratroopers from nine other nations, have been conducting a series […]
Friday Foto
U.S. Air Force Special Tactics operators, assigned to the 352d Special Operations Wing, prepare to conduct a simulated medevac mission on March 2, 2020, near Constanta, Romania, using the 352 SOW’s CV-22B Osprey. The training event was part of a larger special operations air-land integrations (SOALI) exercise with Romanian and Polish SOF. The exercise marked […]
The Invasion of Crete – 80th Anniversay
80 years ago, on May 20, 1941, the skies above the Mediterranean island of Crete became filled with the planes and parachute canopies of the Luftwaffe as Fallschirmjäger of the 7th Flieger Division of the 7th Flieger Division dropped from their Ju-52 transport planes – often right on top of the Allied defences. As a […]
Exercise Swift Response – British Paras and US 82nd ABN Together
Soldiers from 2nd Battalion The Parachute Regiment share their experience of training with their US Army counterparts in Exercise Swift Response, part of the NATO Exercise Defender Europe 21. Soldiers from 2 PARA trained in the USA with 82nd Airborne; they then crossed the Atlantic ocean in Globemaster C-17 aircraft and parachuted into Estonia at […]