The selection of John Daniel Caine as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff may signal a new emphasis on irregular warfare, covert and clandestine operations, enabling swifter action with fewer legal constraints and less congressional scrutiny, say former military and senior defense officials who have worked in the intelligence community, special operations, the Defense Department, and the White House.
In Pentagon shakeup, some see bid for more secret actions, less oversight
Tag: Special Operations
A friendly fire death, a platoon’s 20 years of trauma
Bryan O’Neal has spent two decades grinding his way up the U.S. Army ranks, from lowly private to command sergeant major — the highest rank for a non-commissioned officer. He could write a textbook on modern warfare history — and his own unique place in it — but much of what he’s seen and done could be hard for anyone to hear. Significant numbers of the men and women under his command weren’t even born until after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks that inspired him to enlist.
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In the spring of 2004, perhaps the last thing President George W. Bush’s administration needed was another war-related PR problem. No one could find Iraq’s weapons of mass destruction, which the administration had used to build a case for war. Less than a month before Tillman’s death, four contractors for the Blackwater private security firm in Iraq were ambushed and dragged through the streets, and their corpses were hung from a bridge. In April came shocking images of torture at the Abu Ghraib prison.
Related:
Read More »The drownings of 2 Navy SEALs were preventable, military investigation finds
WASHINGTON (AP) — Two U.S. Navy SEALs drowned as they tried to climb aboard a ship carrying illicit Iranian-made weapons to Yemen because of glaring training failures and a lack of understanding about what to do after falling into deep, turbulent waters, according to a military investigation into the January deaths.
The drownings of 2 Navy SEALs were preventable, military investigation finds
Related:
Naval Special Warfare Remembers Two Fallen SEALs
Chambers enlisted in the Navy on May 17, 2012, and graduated from boot camp at Recruit Training Command Great Lakes, Ill., in July 2012. He served with West Coast-based SEAL units since graduating from SEAL qualification training in Coronado, Calif., in 2014. His awards and decorations include the Defense Meritorious Service Medal, the Navy/Marine Corps Achievement Medal with Combat “C,” three Navy/Marine Corps Achievement Medals, the Army Achievement Medal, the Combat Action Ribbon, and other personal and unit awards.
Ingram enlisted in the Navy on Sept. 25, 2019, and graduated from boot camp at Recruit Training Command Great Lakes, Ill., in November 2019. Ingram served with West Coast-based SEAL units since graduating from SEAL qualification training in Coronado, Calif., in 2021. His awards and decorations include the Defense Meritorious Service Medal and various personal and unit awards.
US Military: Two US Navy SEALs Missing Off Coast of Somalia Are Dead
US Officials Claim Two Navy SEALs Missing Near Somalia ‘Fell Into Water’
Israeli Shock and Awe in Lebanon Aims to Create Anger, Fear, Panic, Division
Accompanying Israeli aggression against Lebanon is a central psychological element of “shock and awe” meant to amplify the very real destruction and damage being done to Lebanon and Hezbollah.
It is designed to create fear, anger, panic, division, and desertion among US-Israeli opponents and disrupt the ability to resist military operations.
Independent media, by remaining objective and avoiding sensationalism, creates a bulwark against the effects of “shock and awe.”
Israeli Shock and Awe in Lebanon Aims to Create Anger, Fear, Panic, Division
Related:
2003: Psyops employed to sap Iraqi spirit (shock and awe)
[2003] Psyops employed to sap Iraqi spirit
If the first Gulf War is remembered for introducing the world to smart bombs and CNN, the second one — at least judging by its first two days — may well become known as the “psyops” war.
Read More »
‘Ya Casi Venezuela’ Signifies a Crossroads for the Opposition
With a campaign of intrigue on social media launched on September 16, the US businessman and founder of the infamous mercenary company Blackwater, Erik Prince, promoted a plan to raise funds to prepare an eventual armed invasion of Venezuela and the overthrow of its authorities. Although Prince has not fully claimed responsibility for the campaign, he has been one of its most prominent spokespersons.
‘Ya Casi Venezuela’ Signifies a Crossroads for the Opposition
Related:
Attorney General’s Office Is Investigating ‘Ya Casi Venezuela’ Coup Plot
Venezuela’s Minister of Interior: María Corina Machado is Behind Latest Terrorist Plot (along w/ Erik Prince)
The Venezuelan minister for interior, justice and peace, Diosdado Cabello, emphasized that behind the entire mercenary operation reported on Saturday is the ultra-right-winger María Corina Machado*. Machado is also fighting with the fugitive from justice, Leopoldo López**, said Cabello, for control of the money of the new mercenary operation against Venezuela.
In a special interview with the Telesur channel, Cabello said on Saturday, September 14, “They call it the ‘liberation of Venezuela;’ they are fighting over who controls it.”
Far-right Venezuelans based in the United States have launched a campaign named “Ya Casi Venezuela” (“we are almost ready, Venezuela”) where they announced that the mercenary tycoon Erik Prince will begin a massive fundraising effort to collect US 600 million dollars to organize a mercenary operation to assassinate Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and other high-ranked Chavista leaders.
Prince’s operation, according to many analysts, is directly linked with the new mercenary plot unveiled in Venezuela where US and Spanish intelligence operatives have been captured.
Venezuela’s Minister of Interior: María Corina Machado is Behind Latest Terrorist Plot
Erik Prince’s full interview on Ya Casi Venezuela is here. He says that they’ve currently raised $100 million. More notes are at the bottom of the next page.
Related:
Read More »Army investigating lewd incident during change of command ceremony livestream
The 1st Special Warfare Training Group’s feed was interrupted by “highly inappropriate content” on May 30.
Army investigating lewd incident during change of command ceremony livestream
Truthfully, I laughed so hard that I cried!
USS Mason Sailor Who Went Overboard in Red Sea Declared Lost by Navy
USS Mason Sailor Who Went Overboard in Red Sea Declared Lost by Navy
Aviation Machinist’s Mate 2nd Class Oriola Michael Aregbesola, who was aboard the USS Mason, went overboard on March 20, according to the Navy.
Aregbesola was assigned to the “Swamp Foxes” of Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron 74, which was embarked on the Mason. The ship has been operating in the Red Sea alongside the Dwight D. Eisenhower carrier strike group.
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Without witnesses, it may be difficult for the Navy to definitively determine what led to Aregbesola falling into the water.
The reasons behind most sailor overboard incidents, which unfortunately occur with some regularity, remain unknown.
Aregbesola is not the first sailor to go overboard in the past several months, either.
In January, two Navy SEALs went overboard and were later declared lost while attempting to board a ship that was discovered to be carrying Iranian missile components.
Previously:
US Military: Two US Navy SEALs Missing Off Coast of Somalia Are Dead
US Military: Two US Navy SEALs Missing Off Coast of Somalia Are Dead
The SEALs went missing while boarding a boat carrying a weapons shipment allegedly bound for the Houthis
US Military: Two US Navy SEALs Missing Off Coast of Somalia Are Dead
Ms. Cat’s Chronicles 
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