Free Republic

Bibi's surprise move today solidifies  political ground for pending attack on Iran... Benjamin Netanyahu is congratulated by former Israeli President Zalman Shazar during a ceremony honoring the elite commandos who rescued the hostages from the Sabena Flight 571. On May 8th 1972 -forty years ago today- the Israeli government faced a volatile hostage situation at Lod Airport (now Ben Gurion) outside Tel Aviv.  Belgian-flagged Sabena flight 571 had departed smoothly from Vienna, yet twenty minutes after takeoff two male and two female Black September terrorists (of '72 Munich Olympics massacre fame) had hijacked the plane. Fortunately their attempts to penetrate the pilot's...

This New Commando 'Mothership' Is Being Rushed To The Middle East Robert Johnson January 28, 2012The Pentagon is wasting no time in modifying its forces to meet the needs of a more specialized and commando-based military. The Washington Post reports the Pentagon is fast-tracking the conversion of the 1960s warship USS Ponce to use as a "commando mothership" base for special forces teams in the Middle East. The re-christened Ponce will hold small Combat Rubber Raiding Craft (Zodiac style boats), and helicopters routinely employed by the SEAL teams that are now becoming famous for their successful clandestine operations. The news...

Netanyahu Repays Obama for Political Ploys “[Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu] expects to hear a reaffirmation from President Obama of U.S. commitments made to Israel in 2004, which were overwhelmingly supported by both houses of Congress.” -- Statement from the Israeli prime minister ahead of his meeting today with Obama.The good news for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu: President Obama’s surprising embrace of the Palestinian demand that Israel return to its borders prior to the 1967 Six-Day War gives Netanyahu additional political security at home. With Obama siding with the Palestinians on this key point, Netanyahu’s hard-line stance will be...

China and Turkey have conducted another military exercise.Sources said China has sent army special operations forces for an exercise in Turkey. They said the exercise in early November lasted a week at the commando school in Turkey. "This was an exercise planned nearly a year ago," a Turkish source said. This marked the second major military exercise between China and Turkey in as many months. In October, the two countries, in the first such mission with a NATO member, participated in a combat air exercise called Anatolian Eagle

Two sons steal dad's '69 Norton Commando, restore it, and return it to him for Christmas.

In a surprising reversal that follows years of effort to design a one-of-a-kind commando rifle, the U.S. military's Special Operations Command has abruptly decided to abandon the new SOCOM Combat Assault rifle – the "SCAR," as the rifle is commonly known – in favor of previously-fielded carbines. Details provided exclusively to Military.com reveal that SOCOM, the Tampa-based command that oversees the training and equipping of SEALs, Green Berets, Air Force Special Tactics Teams and Marine SOC groups, will stop purchasing the 5.56 mm Mk-16 Special Operations Forces Combat Assault Rifle and might require all units who now have them to...

NEW YORK (CBS) Perez Hilton might be in some hot water after posting an uncensored photo of Miley Cyrus' private parts to his Twitter account. Early Monday morning, Hilton posted a picture of the 17-year-old pop star wearing a short white dress and no underwear. In the photo, Cyrus is in the midst of climbing out of an open-topped convertible car with her lady parts exposed.

Israel has signed a deal to buy an American stretched version of the C-130J transport, modified for special operations (commando) missions. This means the aircraft is equipped with night vision gear, more radios, radar warning equipment and counter-measures for anti-aircraft missiles. India and the U.S. are also buying this special operations model. Two years ago, Israel sought to buy nine of the latest model of the C-130, the C-130J. These would cost about $200 million each, and Israel eventually found they could not afford all of them right now. Israel began using the C-130 in 1971, and most of its...

South Korea, alarmed at what appears to be the North Korean use of a Yu-3 type torpedo to sink one of their warships, has undertaken to reform their armed forces to better deal with tactics like this. North Korea officially denies having anything to do with the loss of the 1200 ton corvette Cheonan, but most North Koreans accept the fact that North Korea did the deed, and northerners are proud of that. Examination of the salvaged wreckage made it clear that it was an external explosion, using military grade explosives, that sank the ship and killed 46 sailors on...

WASHINGTON, April 12, 2010 – The NATO training mission in Afghanistan is working with Afghan commandos on the road to self-sufficiency. "We do have a lot of challenges here, but a gem in the Afghan Army are the commandos," Maj. Gen. David R. Hogg, the organization’s deputy commander for Army forces, said during an April 10 "DoD Live" bloggers roundtable. Hogg described the commandos as “high-end” fighters. Seven commando battalions perform the entire spectrum of military work, he said, including increasing counter-insurgency capabilities. “They do the full spectrum that would you expect from a high-end light infantry force,” he said....

Stivi knows about death. The married, father of four has about him the air of mysterious tough guy. IRVINE, California – When the shooter burst through the door, the students were ready. They jumped over and around tables. They rushed the gunman. They screamed and tossed anything within reach; backpacks, books, pens. In less than five seconds, the would-be killer was on the floor, powerless to carry out his planned – and staged – massacre. “How many shots did you get off?” the guest instructor asked after the simulated attack in a University of California, Irvine, classroom. “Two,” the shooter...

Kabul - Afghan National Army commando 1st Lt. Mumtaz, 6th Kandak, receives congratulations from Gen. Bismillah Khan Mohammadi, ANA Chief of Staff, after being presented with an achievement medal, or first class BARYA, during a commando graduation ceremony Jan. 21, 2010. Lieutenant Mumtaz was recognized for his bravery and efforts in helping fight the Taliban who attacked Kabul Jan. 18, 2010. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Sarah Brown/RELEASED) NATO Training Mission Afghanistan Story by Staff Sgt. Sarah BrownKABUL, Afghanistan – Less than five days after he helped stop one of the largest insurgent attacks on Kabul since October,...

Mexico turns to navy to bolster flagging drug war Robin Emmott MONTERREY, Mexico Fri Dec 18, 2009 2:57pm EST MONTERREY, Mexico (Reuters) - Faced with ever-worsening drug cartel violence, Mexican President Felipe Calderon is turning to elite navy troops to help reignite his floundering army-led drug war. WORLD The navy scored the biggest victory yet of Calderon's three-year struggle to stem drug violence when its special forces killed a top drug lord this week, showing how it is breaking out of its traditional role and moving inland. Naval troops shot dead Arturo Beltran Leyva, aka "The Boss of Bosses," in...

Former IDF commandos secretly entered a Palestinian Authority village on Monday and rescued an American woman and her 2 1/2-year-old son from her Muslim husband, who had beaten and and held her captive for three years. The woman and child flew to the United States Wednesday night and are en route to her family’s home in Ohio. The Arab met the woman during a visit to the United States and enticed her to return with him to Israel and to the house where he lives with his first wife and several children, according to Voice of Israel government radio. “She...

There are some common misperceptions concerning the use of the term "commando" with regards to the Iraqi Security Forces. These misperceptions are furthered by the traditional, political, and exaggerated uses in reporting and press releases. Over 100,000 Iraqi Security Force personnel, one-sixth of the forces. are commonly referred to as "commandos" by reporters, US military public affairs, and the Iraq forces. Fewer than 9,000 are "commandos" in the western sense of the term." The western usage of the term "commando" is for highly trained, highly capable shock troops used primarily in small unit raiding. In Iraq, to quote Major Jason...

Camp Striker, Iraq – Soldiers from the 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division (LI), detained nine suspected terrorists in three separate incidents, Dec. 14 - 15. Company D, 4th Battalion, 31st Infantry Regiment detained five men near al Taqa, west of Yusufiyah, Iraq Dec. 14. The Soldiers observed three men near a blue flat bed pick-up truck congregating around a pot hole in the side of the road. The men fled on foot into a house as the Soldiers approached to investigate. The Soldiers entered and cleared the house, detaining the three. As the Soldiers searched the outlying area,...

Shirly Ray Trumps, 84, a retired Army colonel who led commando operations behind German lines in support of the Normandy invasion, died of lymphocytic leukemia Nov. 15 at his home in Annandale. Born along the Bayou Teche in Breaux Bridge, La., in the heart of Louisiana's French-speaking Cajun parishes, he joined the Army in 1940 as a member of the Louisiana National Guard and was commissioned a second lieutenant of infantry in 1942. On a weekend pass to Washington in 1943, he heard that the Army was searching for French-speaking volunteers to train for special missions. He applied for and...

BAGHDAD, Oct. 15, 2006 – U.S. soldiers continue to find multiple weapons caches, some with improvised explosive devices, for a seventh day as part of Operation Commando Hunter. The soldiers from 4th Battalion, 31st Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division, seized 21 caches Oct. 13, bringing the total to 78 caches seized in the area located near Yusufiyah, 20 miles southwest of Baghdad. The 21 additional weapons caches consisted of three blocks of dynamite, 21 120 mm mortar rounds, five 60 mm mortar rounds, 80 7.62 mm rounds, an AK-47 assault rifle, three rocket-propelled grenade launchers, five...

Near to the Town of Obrenovac, at a secret polygon, about ten of former Serbian commandos are preparing themselves for a job in Iraq. The problems they are to deal with today are children's game comparing to what they shall have to go through in organization by the two most powerful world companies dealing with security in the areas of the world affected by the most serious crisis. Agents of these two companies, one American and one British, have concluded a contract with one Serbian private company picking Serbia as a place from where they can get cheap but exceptionally...

WASHINGTON -- In a historic step designed to bolster the military's ability to fight a global war on terrorism, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld said Tuesday he approved adding Marines to U.S. Special Operations Command, the organization in charge of SEALs, Green Berets and other commando-style forces. It is the first time since the command was created in April 1987 that the Marine Corps has been included, and Rumsfeld said the change reflects a need for the Pentagon to continue to adapt to the tactics of an adversary like the al-Qaida terror network that uses unconventional means to counter American...

Like the exploits of 21st-century special operators – including U.S. Navy SEALs, Army Delta soldiers, Force Recon Marines, Air Force commandos, and CIA paramilitary operatives – stories of men like Ortiz are rarely gleaned from books, newspapers, and magazines. Their incredibly dangerous work often goes unseen and is thankless.

For those who have been there, Hell Week is a sleepless, bitter cold, gritty, soaking wet, hell on earth where exhausted candidates – pumped full of antibiotics to ward off a variety of infections – survive on sheer heart, tenacity, seemingly incomprehensible physical courage, and about 5,000-7,000 calories per day (given they can muster enough strength to consume them). Hell Week is a short span of eternity at Coronado, California where the SEAL hopeful comes to a reckoning of the soul. Here, he “realizes,” according to Commander Richard Marcinko (USN, ret.), “the body is only tissue and the mind/brain can...

Where in the world is Osama bin Laden? Let's face it. He shouldn't be hard to find, especially from a Predator, an aerial reconnaissance vehicle that can read the minute hand of a wristwatch from an altitude of 26,000 feet. Bin Laden is very tall – slightly over 6'6" – and incredibly thin, less than 150 pounds. He wears shalwart kameez – the loose-fitting tunics and baggy pants of al-Qaida and Taliban soldiers – and, when the weather is cold, he dons a camouflage jacket. Although he was born in 1957 and far from retirement age, the al-Qaida chieftain appears...

Tehran, Jan 24 - Iran's Intelligence Minister Ali Younesi described American commandos as 'chicks' as they were alledged to have been carrying out covert reconnaissance operations inside the Islamic Republic. "We are eagerly looking for the Americans commandos to come to Iran since they are chicks which would rapidly be picked up by our eagles," he said at a news conference here. The claims were first made in the New Yorker magazine this month by the investigative journalist Seymour Hersh, alleging that US operatives were choosing targets inside Iran for future air strikes. Younesi roundly brushed off the report, saying,...

/begin my traslation S. Korean Commando....Beheads Al-Zarqawi Since that day, many volunteers came.. Able-bodied men were picked. Training started in an uninhabited island, near Inchon. Training was tough and hard.. Nobody quit, though. Probably nobody can quit. They all turned themselves into (lethal) weapons. They were their own weapon.. Can compete their mission under any extreme situations. Their training was finally over. They were sent to their mission. A few days later... The headline of the first newspaper says, 'Al-Zarqawi Found Beheaded', ' Islamic radical group, Monotheism and Jihad, wiped out' The headline of the second newspaper, 'The Last Words...

Patrick Dalzel-Job Patrick Dalzel-Job, who died on Sunday aged 90, had one of those adventurous wartime careers which inspire writers of fiction; indeed, he was said to be one of the models for Ian Fleming's creation, James Bond.Be that as it may - and in later life Dalzel-Job did not entirely discourage the notion - in 1944-45 he served in Europe with Fleming in the undercover Commando 30 Assault Unit, the mysterious special force which would race ahead of Allied front-line troops to seize secret German equipment and documents before they could be destroyed. One of the commanders in...

Carl F. Eifler, who commanded the first OSS covert operations unit during World War II and was dubbed "the deadliest colonel" for his daring exploits and planning of operations behind enemy lines, has died. He was 95. Eifler died April 8 of natural causes in a medical rehabilitation center in Salinas, Calif. Central Casting couldn't have supplied a more imposing figure than the 6-foot, 2-inch, 240-pound, tough-as-nails Army colonel. Eifler, according to his biographer, devised top-secret plans (that were later canceled) to assassinate Chinese leader Chiang Kai-shek and to kidnap Adolf Hitler's top atomic scientist. He was, in a word,...

A FALLEN Australian commando was singled out for special mention by George W. Bush in marking the six-month anniversary of September 11. The President also used the first major anniversary of the terrorist attack to map out the next phase in the global war against terror. With Australia's flag fluttering in a cool breeze outside the White House, Mr Bush offered a moving tribute to SAS Sergeant Andrew Russell and his young family. quot;Last month Sergeant Andrew Russell, of the Australian Special Air Service, died in Afghanistan,quot; Mr Bush told the world from the historic South Lawn. quot;He left behind...