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Archive for the ‘SOF’ Category

USSOCOM Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) – Digital Projection Close Quarters Sight (DP-CQS)

Wednesday, March 27th, 2024

This upcoming USSOCOM Small Business Innovation Research topic is pretty exciting.

The objective of Digital Projection Close Quarters Sight (DP-CQS) is to develop applied research toward an innovative solution that will provide a compact, close-quarters sight that has multiple user-selectable and user-configurable ballistic reticles, while eliminating mechanical adjustors to improve system stability under thermal and mechanical shock by utilizing a digital screen projected onto a transparent surface for the user to look/aim through.

On 01 April, SOFWERX will host a virtual Q&A session for the DP-CQS area of interest. Soon after, on 10 April 2024 12:00 PM ET (Noon), submissions will open.

As a part of this feasibility study, the proposers shall address all viable overall system design options with respective specifications to innovatively design a 1x (non-magnified) direct view optic that projects a digital screen/reticle onto a transparent surface for the operator to look/aim through. The DP-CQS shall allow the user to configure and store at least 3 different digital reticle configurations with different types of ballistic features and shall include the ability for the center dot/aim point to be brighter than other displayed features. The DP-CQS shall have no mechanical boresight adjustors and shall be designed as a sealed optical system with low Size Weight and Power (SWaP) with a 72-hour continuous battery run time, utilizing no more than 1x CR123 or L91 battery. The DP- CQS shall communicate with external devices to receive range/ballistic data, and user configured/updated reticles. The feasibility study should consider technologies to eliminate scattering of light to provide a sharp edge to all reticle features, while also minimizing unwanted color shift of the direct-view scene. The DP-CQS shall mount to a MIL-STD 1913 Rail.

Visit events.sofwerx.org/sbir24-4r5 to sign up and answer any questions.

3rd Special Forces Group Takes First Place in Special Operations International Best Sniper Competition

Monday, March 25th, 2024

FORT LIBERTY, N.C. – The U.S. Army John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School hosted the U.S. Army Special Operations Command International Best Sniper Competition at Fort Liberty, North Carolina, March 18-22.

In its 15th year, sniper teams from the special operations force from across the U.S. Special Operations Command, the Department of Homeland Security, and international partners were challenged during a 23-stage, multiple-day competition to demonstrate skill and capability through performance.

“Snipers (were tested) on their skills in intense events that look, feel, and sound like modern-ground combat,” said Lt. Col. Scott Elliott, the 2nd Battalion, 2nd Special Warfare Training Group, commander. “The instructors of the Special Forces Sniper Course, the premiere U.S. military school for long-range marksmanship and sniper options, designed events that will challenge the three-person teams’ ability to work together.”

This year’s competition saw 20 sniper teams that represented seven countries including Belgium, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, and the Netherlands.

Sniper teams from 1st, 3rd, 5th,7th, 10th, and 19th Special Forces groups, as well as the 75th Ranger Regiment, represented the U.S. Army Special Operations Command. Both U.S. Marine Forces Special Operations Command and Naval Special Warfare Command had two sniper teams each, and one team from the U.S. Coast Guard completed the roster of competitors.

Cadets from Virginia Tech were on hand to watch the competition. This was a chance for the cadets to watch some of the world’s best SOF snipers. One cadet had a special interest in the competition and the SOF community.

“I’ve had the wonderful opportunity to come witness the International Sniper competition here at Fort Liberty,” said Cadet Brindle from the Virginia Tech Reserve Officers’ Training Corps. “I’ve always wanted to pursue a career in special operations. I’m just glad to get some insight and meet some amazing people.”

Virginia Tech ROTC cadets were able to watch the competition and see realistic military training with U.S and foreign allied partners. The events in the competition were based on real-world scenarios and were taken from historical and current sniper missions conducted around the globe.

Sgt. 1st Class Lin, a sniper team member from the 1st Special Forces Group (Airborne) and a competitor in this year’s competition, spoke of the reality of the scenarios.

“In this competition specifically, there are a lot of practical applications,” Lin said. “It’s a lot of real-world application, a lot of SOF sniper techniques, tactics and procedures are incorporated into these stages and experiences.”

Lin added that it was a complete group effort for special operation snipers. We must be able to operate independently, but also as a team, directly integrating with each other.

The competition offered the competitors precision training that would be performed in real-world scenarios while comparing their skills against the best for friendly international competition.

This year’s USASOC International Best Sniper was the team from 3rd Special Forces Group. The French Team finished in second and 10th Special Forces Group was in 3rd place. Congratulations to all the sniper team competitors.

Following the International Sniper Competition, SWCS will host the Best Combat Diver Competition at the Special Forces Underwater Operations School in Key West, Florida, in June.

For more information about the U.S. Army John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School, visit www.swcs.mil.

By Steve Morningstar, USAJFKSWCS Public Affairs

Emerald Warrior Tests Air Commandos Mettle

Monday, March 25th, 2024

HURLBURT FIELD, Fla. —  

Air Force Special Operations Command’s 17th annual Emerald Warrior exercise concluded recently having exercised in three extreme cold weather environments throughout the midwestern U.S. with many firsts.

This U.S. Special Operations Command-supported exercise aligned with the Special Operations Command-Europe exercise Trojan Footprint under the large-scale global exercise construct to demonstrate Special Operations Forces value to the Joint Force and strengthen military relationships with U.S. and partner forces.

“Our Nation has entered a new era of competition,” said Lt. Gen. Tony Bauernfeind, AFSOC commander. “We must continue to innovate and transform to remain the most capable, most lethal Air Force in the world…and that’s exactly what AFSOC is doing.”

Air Commandos trained on chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear readiness incorporating new decontamination systems like the CBRN MRZR that supports decontamination during infiltration, exfiltration, tactical movement and maneuver where force size and composition constraints exist.

A continued focus area this year was building autonomy through mission command to ensure Special Operations Task Groups and Special Operations Task Units are trained to operate in today’s dynamic operating environment.

“Every Emerald Warrior, we build on lessons learned from previous iterations and this year was no different,” said U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. David Allen, Emerald Warrior exercise director. “We further developed the Agile Combat Employment concept through Mission Sustainment Teams by successfully relocating two Special Operations Task Groups, to multiple locations. These SOTGs exercised flexible response options conducting strategic fires, air-to-ground integration with close air support and non-kinetic effects to deter aggression.”

In addition to kinetic effects, EW exercised non-kinetic effects and capabilities like space, cyber, public affairs and information operations. They employed technical and deceptive activities in support of exercise objectives for the participants to enhance overall combat operability.

“From strategic messaging to incorporating effects in the gray zone, Emerald Warrior provides the joint force the ability to adapt and create dilemmas for tomorrow’s adversaries,” said Allen.

Emerald Warrior ensures preparedness of Special Operations Forces, conventional force enablers, partner forces and interagency elements through realistic and relevant, high-end pre-deployment training encompassing multiple joint operating areas.

By 1st Lt Cassandra Saphore, Air Force Special Operations Command Public Affairs

Command Sergeant Major JoAnn Naumann: ‘I Pushed Until I Got the Opportunities’

Sunday, March 24th, 2024

WASHINGTON — Command Sgt. Maj. JoAnn Naumann, the senior enlisted leader at Army Special Operations Command, says good leadership traits are taught by good mentors, handed down from one generation of NCOs to the next.

Such a philosophy is part of what ultimately led Naumann to stay in the Army for the last 28 years instead of pursuing her initial dream of becoming a Foreign Service officer.

Naumann enlisted in the Army in 1996 after earning a dual-major degree in American Studies and Government from the College of William and Mary. She wanted to go to the Defense Language Institute to learn Arabic.

“I had a plan to learn another language and to get a clearance … and get some experience to increase my likelihood of being hired by the Foreign Service,” she said.

She didn’t seek a commission because she had no intention of staying in the Army.

When she finished language training, however, the Army threw her a curveball, assigning her to the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault).

“I had never in my life considered the fact that when I joined the Army as an Arabic linguist that I might go to a light infantry division. But that’s where I wound up,” she said.

She completed Air Assault School and training as a rappel master. Then she went to the Basic Airborne Course and the Military Freefall School for parachuting.

Naumann discovered that she enjoyed being in an infantry division. She enjoyed the Army.

“I feel really fortunate to have had amazing leaders in my time at the 101st, who made me really understand what I could do in the Army and how to be a good leader, and how the Army just takes care of people and feels like a family,” she said.

“More than anything, it was the leaders that made me want to stay in the Army,” she said.

As a sergeant at age 25, Naumann was NCO of the Year in the 101st Division.

“I was the only woman competing. I saw that I could compete with the men, and I did it the same way that I approached my job,” she said.

She knew there were some events that she couldn’t win.

“I just made sure I won every event I could win, and then I just held my own…”

Naumann can trace that attitude back to her youth, when she ran cross country and track in high school.

“I was never the most talented runner on the team. I was probably always the runner most willing to suffer on the team. The way I would break other runners is by being more willing to be in pain at the end of a race than other people were, and I think it’s that kind of attitude that just has allowed me to succeed,” she said.

Recruited by Special Operations Command in 2001, Naumann faced a dilemma in the aftermath of 9/11 when she was a staff sergeant and squad leader.

“I felt like I couldn’t leave my squad. It would be their first time going into combat, and I didn’t feel like I could let them go without me,” she recalls.

She sought guidance from division Command Sgt. Maj. Clifford West.

“He looked at me and all he said to me was, ‘Sergeant, if you’ve done your job, they don’t need you.’”

After SOC training, Naumann had assignments to special mission units and completed 14 deployments throughout Central Command and Africa Command.

In those years after 9/11, being a female Arabic translator paid off.

“It made me far less of a threat … being underestimated is a superpower,” she said.

Naumann said she never sought a job or promotion to be a trailblazer and doesn’t really think of herself as one.

She thinks she developed her drive, in part, from her mother, who retired as the pilot of a Boeing 747 after years in the cockpit.

“I never realized that it made a difference to me,” Naumann said, but being the daughter of such a professional meant that no one told her women couldn’t succeed.

“It never was in my head that I couldn’t do whatever job I wanted to do, because no one ever told me that there were things girls didn’t do. And so, I just didn’t hesitate to do things that I wanted to do,” she said.

She said people often thank her for advancing career possibilities in the Army, whether it is because she is a woman or because she rose in the ranks from a non-traditional specialty.

“If me being here makes other people see that they have the same possibilities, then I’m glad that it does,” she said.

For anyone, she said, the biggest challenge is convincing yourself to try.

“Everyone has challenges, right? These [Army] programs are not easy for anyone,” she said.

Naumann said there were certainly times when people told her she could not do a job because she was female.

When confronting that attitude, she would respond, “I graduated from the same course you did. So, tell me again, why I can’t do that job?”

She demanded better reasons why a woman could not grow and advance in the Army.

“It turns out there weren’t better reasons. So, I pushed until I got the opportunities I thought I should have. That’s my personality,” she said.

That is also reminiscent of how she ran track and cross country.

“I’m still not going to be the best at everything,” she added.

There are times when she relies on others to help out.

“I focus the majority of my energy on the things that I singularly can do,” she said.

People can often succeed if they make others be the ones to say ‘no,’ she explained.

“Sometimes we talk ourselves out of doing things,” Naumann said. We say “I’m not going to try it because I don’t know if I’m going to make it, I don’t know if I’m good enough. I don’t know if I’m smart enough, or strong enough. I don’t know if I’ll do a good job.”

Her message? Don’t sell yourself short.

Naumann says the best moments of her career are likely when she has held a promotion board and been able to reward someone who worked hard and stayed out of trouble and earned advancement.

“That’s the moment, when you tell them: ‘Congratulations, I’m recommending you for promotion.’”

By Jonathan Austin, Army News Service

“Tell Them Yourself”

Friday, March 22nd, 2024

Coming Soon from the Journal of Special Operations Medicine/Breakaway Media, LLC.

Debuting at SOMA, “Tell Them Yourself: It’s Not Your Day To Die,” by Frank Butler, Kevin O’Connor, and Jeff Butler is an extraordinary, true account of how a small group of world-class trauma experts joined forces with America’s best combat medics to rewrite the battlefield medicine rule book and then sell these revolutionary new concepts to a disbelieving medical world.

This is the definitive record of how TCCC came to be and how these protocols forever changed the way care is provided to those wounded in combat, written by the men who fought for the change.

Look for it on the JSOM website and via Amazon soon.

JSOU Press Presents: Competing for Advantage: The Chinese Communist Party, Statecraft, and Special Operations

Thursday, March 21st, 2024

“Competing for advantage means accruing power and influence in such a way that the adversary’s plans cannot be realized. This volume focuses primarily on appreciating the Chinese Communist Party’s worldview, interests, and political culture while promoting a strategic vision for the future—a future where SOF will need to reinterpret their value from providing a military effect to providing a political effect through military means.”

The JSOU Press is pleased to announce its latest publication “Competing for Advantage: The Chinese Communist Party, Statecraft, and Special Operations,” edited and with an introduction by Dr. David Ellis. This edited volume highlights key challenges the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) faces in its rise and contextualizes the potential contributions of special operations to compete for advantage based on the CCP’s interests and vulnerabilities.

Learn more about this and other JSOU Press publications by visiting jsou.edu/press

AFSOC to Resume CV-22 Flight Operations

Sunday, March 17th, 2024

Following the March 8, 2024 Naval Air Systems Command flight bulletin returning the V-22 Osprey to operation with safety controls in place, Air Force Special Operations Command is implementing a multi-phased approach to ensure our aircrew, maintainers and aircraft are ready to resume flight operations.

Lt Gen Tony Bauernfeind, AFSOC Commander, directed the operational standdown of the CV-22 fleet December 6, 2023 in response to preliminary investigation information indicating a materiel failure following the November 29, 2023 mishap near Yakushima, Japan. This was followed by NAVAIR issuing a flight bulletin grounding the V-22 enterprise.

Phase one of AFSOC’s return to fly plan includes ground and simulator training integrating planned flight controls, safety briefings, a review of maintenance records and refining by-squadron training plans to implement the new safety protocols.

Phase two is a multi-month program for aircrew and maintainers. Aircrew will focus on regaining basic mission currency and proficiency then expansion to full mission currency and proficiency. While maintainers have remained engaged conducting maintenance necessary to sustain the CV-22 during the standdown, they will receive training in line with the maintenance protocols directed by the NAVAIR return to fly bulletin. Each squadron will progress through this phase at different speeds based a variety of factors including maintenance requirements for aircraft, experience level of personnel in the squadron and weather impact to flight schedules.

Phase three will include resumption of full mission profiles, multi-lateral exercises and operational taskings and deployments.

This phased approach affords AFSOC the time required to maximize opportunities to learn as much as possible from the Safety Investigation Board and Accident Investigation Board to mitigate risk to our aircrew, maintainers, and joint partners. 

The NAVAIR flight bulletin announcement can be found at: www.navair.navy.mil/news/NAVAIR-returns-V-22-Osprey-flight-status/Fri-03082024-0553.

Air Force Special Operations Command Public Affairs

75th Ranger Regiment Medics Prove They’re the ‘Best of the Best’

Saturday, March 16th, 2024

Fort Liberty, N.C. — The 2024 Command Sgt. Maj. Jack L. Clark, Jr. U.S. Army Best Medic Competition was held from March 4-8, at Fort Liberty. This year’s winners are Staff Sgt. Patrick Murphy, 75th Ranger Regiment, and Staff Sgt. Ryan Musso, 75th Ranger Regiment, both of Hunter Army Airfield.

The Army Best Medic Competition is a two-Soldier team competition that physically and intellectually challenges the Army’s top medics in a three-day event that includes a realistic simulated operational environment. The competition pushes Soldiers to their limits to test their tactical and technical operational medicine capabilities — the skills required to bring the injured, ill or wounded warfighter home. More than 50 competitors squared off in teams of two for this year’s competition.

“This is about our Soldiers having combat ready care on the battlefield [in order] to be the most lethal force,” said Lt. Gen Mary K. Izaguirre, Surgeon General of the Army and commanding general of Army Medical Command, at the finish of the competition’s mystery event. “[Soldiers] are going to need everything we ask of you.”

The course tests medical skills and physical capabilities. However, the rigor prepares medics for combat deployments or any other demanding assignment the medics needs to do.

The competition is designed to simulate a realistic environment that includes emerging threats and to represent real-world combat conditions.”

“This competition makes me want to train harder,” said Musso. “To bring my [Soldiers] up to the level where we had to be over the last few days.” Musso said the hardest part was pushing himself farther than he had before.

The competition included events such as were foot marches, prolonged field care, weapons qualifications, day and night land navigation, knowledge test, and a mystery event and of a series of tasks the medics might face on the battlefield.

“Really glad to see all the hard work paid off,” said Murphy. “The hardest event for me was the dragging the Skedco for more than two miles.” (Editor’s note: A Skedco is a stretcher system used for transporting patients.)

Command Sgt. Maj. Timothy Sprunger said to the competitors at the conclusion of the final event, “We were here to find the best of the best. Congratulations.”

Army medics serve as the first line of care for injured, ill or wounded Soldiers and ensures medical readiness. They must be ready when called upon to deploy, fight and win in combat.

“They put it all out there,” said Sprunger. “They did a great job.”

The Command Sgt. Maj. Jack L. Clark, Jr. Army Best Medic Competition is dedicated to the 13th command sergeant major of the U.S. Army Medical Command. Clark was one of the most respected leaders and noncommissioned officers in the history of the command who understood the important role of medics in the Army and the trust Soldiers and leaders of units in combat must have in the Army Medical Department.

The competition is open to all active duty, Army National Guard and Army Reserve medical soldiers who have earned the competitive Combat Medical Badge or Expert Field Medical Badge.

Both Musso and Murphy agreed that future medics considering the competition should, “put themselves in really hard situations and force themselves to not quit.”

By Ronald Wolf