Special Forces

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'I've Never Heard of Someone Flying Into a Home Before'

2 Fort Bragg paratroopers crash in NC after missing drop zone; one critically injured

(Newser) - A training exercise for two Special Forces paratroopers went awry this week, sending them both into a North Carolina residential area instead of their intended drop zone 8 miles away. One of the paratroopers crashed into the roof of a Raeford home, in Hoke County, while the other landed in...

Black Soldier's Medal of Honor Nominations Kept Getting Lost

Teammates of Vietnam War hero Paris Davis wonder if race has been a factor in 55-year delay

(Newser) - In the Hall of Valor , Paris Davis, 81, is recognized with a Soldier's Medal for his actions during the Vietnam War on May 13, 1965. A group of veterans, however, including some of his former teammates, say what happened a month later should have earned Davis the Medal of...

Green Beret Who Received Medal of Honor Dies at 41

Ronald Shurer II, who joined the Secret Service after the Army, had lung cancer

(Newser) - He was a Green Beret awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor for his heroic actions in Afghanistan, as well as a Secret Service staffer later in his career. Now, per the Army Times , both those organizations are mourning the loss of former Army Staff Sgt. Ronald Shurer II, who died...

Report: First Female Green Beret Is Coming

National Guard soldier to graduate training within weeks, per 'NYT'

(Newser) - The US Army may soon have its first female Green Beret. The enlisted National Guard soldier is set to graduate from the yearlong qualification course as a Special Forces engineer sergeant in the coming weeks, reports the New York Times , which cites officials as saying her success is essentially guaranteed....

Video, New Details of Baghdadi Raid Released

Compound 'looks like a parking lot now'

(Newser) - The Pentagon has released dramatic video and new details of the raid that caused the death of ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. Footage released by the military shows figures approaching the compound in Syria where the ISIS leader was hiding out, the Guardian reports. The military also released video that...

Pentagon: Turkey Attacked Where It Knew US Troops Were

Meanwhile, a reported ISIS escape and a climbing death toll

(Newser) - As Turkey's push into Syria continues into its fourth day, with further ground and air assaults in the region, news is trickling in on the casualties. Per Reuters , the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reports that 74 Syrian fighters led by Kurds have died so far, with civilian deaths...

Nigerien Soldier: Ambushed Troops 'Ready to Fight Till End'

Meanwhile, officials and lawmakers seek answers in 'shifting narrative' of Oct. 4 attack

(Newser) - New details have emerged regarding the attack that left four US soldiers dead in Niger, labeled by some as a "massive intelligence failure." Per the New York Times , which interviewed military officers, Pentagon officials, and lawmakers, Staff Sgt. Bryan Black, Staff Sgt. Jeremiah Johnson, Staff Sgt. Dustin Wright,...

US Troops in Niger Fought 2 Hours Before Help Arrived

Pentagon has new timeline of 'complex' firefight

(Newser) - American troops and the Nigerien soldiers they were patrolling with fought ISIS-allied militants for two hours before help arrived, the Pentagon says. Gen. Joseph Dunford, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, gave a new timeline Monday of the deadly ambush , the Wall Street Journal reports. "This is a...

3 Green Berets Killed in Africa Ambush

2 others killed in Niger attack

(Newser) - US officials say three US Army special operations commandos were killed Wednesday and two others were wounded when they came under fire in southwest Niger. The officials say the two wounded were taken to Niamey, the capital, and are in stable condition, the AP reports. The officials say the commandos,...

US Destroyed Its Own $70M Aircraft in Doomed Raid

First mission of Trump era went wrong in several ways

(Newser) - President Trump visited Dover Air Force Base in Delaware Wednesday as the remains of a Navy SEAL killed in a Yemen raid were returned to the US, reports AP . William “Ryan” Owens was killed over the weekend during the first special-ops raid approved by Trump, and while early reports...

Green Beret Won't Be Discharged for Attacking Alleged Child Rapist

The Afghan official allegedly kept a boy tied to his bed as a 'sex slave'

(Newser) - The Army has decided not to discharge a Special Forces soldier who beat up an Afghan police official he believed had been raping a young boy, CNN reports. Sgt. Charles Martland and Capt. Daniel Quinn claimed in 2011 that Afghan police commander Abdul Rahman had been raping the boy repeatedly...

Obama Sending 250 Troops to Syria to Fight ISIS

He wants Special Forces additions to keep up 'momentum'

(Newser) - Last week, President Obama announced the US is sending more than 200 additional troops to Iraq to help fight ISIS, and Monday he made a similar declaration regarding Syria, Reuters reports. "Given the success, I've approved the deployment of up to 250 additional US personnel in Syria, including...

US Forces Nab 'Significant' ISIS Operative in Iraq

He's being interrogated

(Newser) - Now that US special forces are again operating on the ground in Iraq, an inevitable first has occurred: American troops have captured an operative of the Islamic State, reports CNN . Not much is known about the militant, though the New York Times describes him as a "significant" figure for...

US Soldier Killed in Taliban Attack

2 others wounded in Helmand province on Tuesday: officials

(Newser) - An American Special Ops soldier was killed and at least two Americans were wounded in Afghanistan on Tuesday, reports Fox News . Officials say forces were taking part in a counter-terrorism mission near Marjah in Helmand province when they were targeted by Taliban fighters, per NBC News , which was first to...

ISIS Video May Show Raid That Killed US Soldier

Thursday's raid led by US and Iraqi troops freed 70 hostages

(Newser) - ISIS has purportedly released a video showing the aftermath of a raid in northern Iraq by US and Iraqi special forces in which one American soldier was killed . The video, released by the pro-ISIS news agency Aamaq, allegedly shows the rubble of the prison raided in the town of Huwija,...

US Special Forces Hit Taliban in Seized City: Report

100 troops reportedly involved in mission near Kunduz airport

(Newser) - Special forces from the US-led coalition in Afghanistan, reportedly including US troops, battled Taliban militants on the ground in Kunduz Wednesday in an attempt to retake the city after Afghan forces were overrun Monday. It marks the first time foreign forces have clashed with the Taliban during the conflict in...

US Tries to Capture ISIS Honcho, Kills Him

Abu Sayyaf helped direct ISIS' oil, gas, financial operations

(Newser) - Last night, US Special Operations attempted to capture a senior ISIS commander and his wife in Syria. The rare raid didn't go as planned. Secretary of Defense Ash Carter today said that Abu Sayyaf fought back and was killed; the US troops involved were unharmed. They did manage to...

VA Chief Lied, Said He Was in Special Forces

Robert McDonald apologizes for remark: 'I have no excuse'

(Newser) - Veterans Affairs Secretary Robert McDonald last year took over a department facing no small amount of scandal—and now he's stirred up controversy of his own. It started when he was being taped by CBS while speaking with a homeless veteran in Los Angeles, the Huffington Post reports. The...

Special Forces Tried to Rescue Foley

US troops landed in Syria, but hostages weren't there

(Newser) - It was nearly a happy ending for James Foley . US special forces mounted a secret rescue mission in Syria this summer to free Foley and other Americans, but the hostages were nowhere to be found, reports the Washington Post . Several dozen US troops landed at the unspecified location and engaged...

US Nabs Suspected Benghazi Mastermind

Special forces capture Ahmed Abu Khattala

(Newser) - US Special Forces captured Ahmed Abu Khattala, the man long suspected of leading the 2012 attack on the US consulate in Benghazi, over the weekend in a secret raid, official sources tell the Washington Post . American troops, working with the FBI, apprehended Khattala near Benghazi, and are currently holding him...

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