Category Archives: Special Operations Forces

Panel: Military Needs More Electrical Power to Counter Long-Range Missile Threats

Panel: Military Needs More Electrical Power to Counter Long-Range Missile Threats

Chinese Type 022 Houbei-class Fast Attack Missile Craft firing missiles. People’s Liberation Army Navy Photo

The Pentagon finds itself in the “shocking and eye-opening” position of needing more electrical power to protect distributed naval and ground forces from long-range attack at a time when China dominates the global production of advanced batteries needed to meet that mission, a panel of security experts said Thursday. Read More

New Navy Guidance Will Discharge Sailors Refusing COVID-19 Vaccination Without Exemption

New Navy Guidance Will Discharge Sailors Refusing COVID-19 Vaccination Without Exemption

Hospitalman Christopher Ramirez, right, from Kimberly, Idaho, assigned to PCU John F. Kennedy’s (CVN 79) medical department, administers a COVID-19 vaccine to Lt. Cmdr. George Stegeman, Kennedy’s psychological officer, during USS Gerald R. Ford’s (CVN 78) joint vaccination evolution with Kennedy in Ford’s aft weapons handing area, Sept. 30, 2021. US Navy Photo

This story has been updated with additional information about the Navy vaccine mandate.

All active-duty Navy personnel must be vaccinated by Nov. 28 or face separation, according to a Navy administrative message released Wednesday. Read More

U.K. Royal Marines Want to Acquire Autonomous Hybrid Surface, Subsurface Stealth Vessel

U.K. Royal Marines Want to Acquire Autonomous Hybrid Surface, Subsurface Stealth Vessel

Concept illustration for a shipping container-sized underwater H I Sutton Illustration

Britain’s Ministry of Defense (MoD) has issued a pre-procurement notice for a unique type of vessel to help the Royal Marine Commandos. The document outlines an ‘uncrewed surface and subsurface vessel’ (USSV). The vessel must be multi-payload, have a low signature, and long endurance, according to the notice. Read More

UPDATED: 10 Marines, Sailor Among 13 U.S. Troops Killed in Attacks on Kabul Airport; 18 Injured Being Medically Evacuated

UPDATED: 10 Marines, Sailor Among 13 U.S. Troops Killed in Attacks on Kabul Airport; 18 Injured Being Medically Evacuated

Paratroopers assigned to the 1st Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division conduct security as they continue to help facilitate the safe evacuation of U.S. citizens, Special Immigrant Visa applicants, and other at-risk Afghans out of Afghanistan as quickly and safely as possible from Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul on Aug. 25, 2021. US Army Photo

This story has been updated to include a statement from the U.S. Marine Corps. This post has been corrected to indicate there was only one suicide bombing attack on Aug. 26.

Ten Marines and at least one Navy hospital corpsman are among the 13 U.S. troops dead following a suicide bomb attack on crowds struggling to get into the Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul on Thursday, USNI News has learned. Read More

Limited Coordination Between U.S., NATO Allies in Getting Afghanistan Evacuees to Airport

Limited Coordination Between U.S., NATO Allies in Getting Afghanistan Evacuees to Airport

Marines with the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) search luggage during an evacuation at Hamid Karzai International Airport, Kabul, Afghanistan on Aug. 18, 2021. US Marine Corps Photo

Troops from NATO member states, including the U.S., U.K. and France, are all working in Kabul to remove citizens and Afghans eligible for resettlement out of the country. But there isn’t a coordinated effort between the allies to communicate with the Taliban or ensure people get to the Hamid Karzai International Airport safely, Pentagon officials acknowledged on Thursday. Read More

French Defense Minister: France Stepping Up Security Spending, Expanding Operations Abroad

French Defense Minister: France Stepping Up Security Spending, Expanding Operations Abroad

Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin hosts a meeting with French Minister of the Armed Forces Florence Parly to the Pentagon, Washington, D.C., July 9, 2021. DoD Photo

France’s message to Europe on how to deter aggressive behavior from great powers and counter terrorists requires investment in security and operating abroad, the French defense minister said on Friday. Read More