Courtesy of the “Nightstalkers,” the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment, we bring you some absolutely beautiful close air support provided by the Sikorsky MH-60L Direct Action Penetrator (DAP) and the AH-6“Killer Egg” version of the MD-500E helicopter.

The SOAR is most well-known for its ability to insert and extract SOF units under any and all battlefield conditions, regardless of time of day or weather conditions, utilizing their highly modified helicopters and piloting skill unmatched by any other rotary-wing unit in the world. They’re simply the best, and it’s no wonder their aircraft and skills are in such high demand.

That being said, their “attack” component is equally mind-boggling and badass in its ability to deliver ordnance in a variety of tasty calibers and effects, with devastating accuracy.

Enjoy!

If you enjoyed this video, check out FighterSweep.com.

SEE ALSO: Photos of the Russian Tu-160 Blackjack bombers intercepted by RAF Typhoons

Join the conversation about this story »

Many here on SOFREP— including this author — have expressed emphatic lamentations over the level of suck inflicted on those foolhardy and courageous enough to attend Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL (BUD/S) training. It is nothing new to say the training program is a kick in the proverbial bangers.

BUD/S is, of course, the US Navy's basic training course for men desiring to become Navy SEALs. It is a well-documented fact that the training taxes men physically, mentally, emotionally, and in all other ways one's body and mind can be taxed. The instructors take a substantial levy out of the hides of all those who enter their hallowed training facility in Coronado, California.

They relish their duty as Naval Special Warfare's gatekeepers. They are the sentinels barring entry into of one of the military's most elite forces. Theirs is to protect the integrity of the standards, to guard against the encroachment of mediocrity. Theirs is to beat back the forces of convention and degradation. BUD/S instructors cherish this duty and work tirelessly to guard the integrity and intensity of BUD/S.

One of the evolutions that is most responsible for making BUD/S such a calamitous beatdown of one's physical being is the 5-1/2-nautical-mile swim along the Pacific coastline of Coronado during Second Phase. This brutal undertaking has a maximum time limit, and it falls a short time after the end of Hell Week. To put it in perspective, a "healthy" time frame, post-Hell Week, to accomplish this swim would probably be three or four months, minimum. No such luck.

So, why does it suck so much? In absolute terms, a 5-1/2-mile swim does not sound terrible, does it? It is manageable, right? Yes. Yes, it is. In a scenario in which one does not have 12 to 14 weeks of BUD/S preceding the swim, it would probably be none too gruesome. If only that were the case.

The swim is inflicted upon men broken down and battered by the rigors of not only months of BUD/S training, but by the particularly punishing period of Hell Week, which can take some trainees many weeks from which to fully recover. In other words, BUD/S students are not exactly starting the swim fresh, rested, and ready.

In addition to the fact that they kick off the swim already physically degraded, there are 10 other factors that can, and do, make the swim a Rousey-level smackdown for those going through BUD/S.

• Cold water. That water is chilly, y'all. The temperature can range from some 50 degrees in winter to 70 degrees in summer. It is never warm. It is sometimes "not as cold." The swim took this author about 4 hours to complete. That is a long time to spend in the cold water. But, hey, we got to wear wet suits, right? Yes, that did help some, but also created …
• Chafing. This is one of the most dastardly and insidious evils of BUD/S. Men chafe in spots they never thought capable of irritating. One favorite friction spot is under the arms, near the armpit, when wearing a wet suit. The thought even now makes me shiver. Imagine the friction occurring over the course of four hours, in the same spot. But hey, at least it takes your mind off the …
• Boredom. Few activities are fun to do for four straight hours. Swimming sure as hell ain't one of them. Find your happy place, friends, and set up camp there. It's gonna be a while. One way to prevent boredom, however, is …
• Sharks. Yep, as if swimming 5 1/2 miles did not suck enough already, there is the possibility, however slight, that you may be eaten by one of the numerous great white sharks known to frequent the coast of California. Four hours is plenty of time for a giant finned hunter to find you, sniff you out, and decide to take a bite. It doesn't help that you are chumming for the sharks because you are suffering from …

• Seasickness. Seriously? Yes, seriously. As if it is not enough to be cold, chafed, tired, and dreading having your leg removed from your body by a large man-eater, some also have to deal with vomiting and nausea caused by the rolling swells of the Pacific Ocean. This author was one who suffered from said seasickness. At the time, all I could do was think to myself was, "I am chumming for sharks, and if one eats me, at least my swim will be over." Of course, I had the hope that the vomit would be swept away quickly by the …
• Current. You guessed it, the Pacific Ocean does not remain placid most of the time. The water flows north and south, depending on the time of day and other factors (I am no oceanographer), and you had better hope to God you have the benefit of a friendly current for the majority of your swim. Otherwise you will be struggling to make the time, and relying much more heavily on …
• Finning. Fins make it easy, right? On balance, yes they do. I would definitely rather have them than not. Anyone who has had to swim that far in fins, however, can attest that over time it taxes the leg muscles. It is a workout: a four-hour flutter-kick workout. It can also lead to …

• Cramping. No matter how much water you try to ingest before the swim, some cramping is inevitable. One must simply hope that he does not suffer debilitating cramps during the swim. Minor cramps are unavoidable. If you have bad ones, then you might be relying on a tow from your …
• Swim buddy. Again, on balance, this author would rather have a swim buddy than lack one. At a minimum, he is one other person who might get eaten before you, right? If your swim buddy slows down, gets cramps, or otherwise prevents you from making the maximum time, however, you fail. That blows, and you have to push each other to make it. Fortunately, driving you onward is the knowledge that at the end you can eat. Because, my friends, you are suffering from a mighty …
• Hunger. I do not know how many calories one burns on a 5-1/2-mile swim, but it has to be in the multiple thousands. By the end, you will be ravenous. Thankfully, as you crawl out of the surf zone at the end of the swim, you will be met by an instructor who, for once, is not torturing you. He will offer you two 2,000-calorie (each) Meals Ready-to-Eat, and you will wolf down every bite. They will never taste so good again.

SEE ALSO: We are witnessing 'the most significant new Russian military foothold in the Middle East in decades'

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: Watch this incredible video of a seal narrowly escaping a shark attack

The Internet has no shortage of basement-dwelling commandos beating at their keyboards like chimpanzees as they forcefully insist upon one incorrect factoid or another regarding Special Operations units. All SEALs are considered Tier One, right?

No. Rangers pull security for Delta, correct? Time to throw away that scratched-up “Black Hawk Down” DVD, hero.

Since the Internet stupidity goes on and on, two of the SOFREP staff decided to team up and write a definitive article about the differences between SEALs and Rangers. This article was co-written by Brandon Webb, who served in SEAL Team Three, and Jack Murphy, who served in 3rd Ranger Battalion.

SEa Air Land. It always amazes me how many people that acronym is lost on. They think water, Navy and marine mammal.

History

The history of the modern day SEAL team dates back to the 1940s and WWII. They began as the Navy construction and demolition units (NCDUs) and then saw a transformation with Draper Kauffman (great story here) and the Underwater Demolition Teams (UDT). JFK would officially welcome the first SEAL teams: SEAL team one and two in the 1960s. The U.S. military desperately needed a maritime Special Operations fighting force; the SEALs were the answer. Come from the water and fight on land or sea.

For the UDTs, the operational pace in the combat zone frequently found two of their platoons–approximately 30-men forward deployed to a particular Amphibious Personnel Destroyer (APD) for periods of six to eight weeks. Embarked UDT platoons usually ran between 10 and 20 demolition or beach reconnaissance missions while aboard the APDs; depending on weather and enemy activity. Moreover, individual UDT personnel were often away on temporary duty with other military or CIA units; usually for advisory and training duties. This included the forward-basing of small teams on islands close to the North Korean coastline, where they stood alert duty with UN Escape and Evasion organizations assisting in the recovery of downed airmen. (Source: Navy SEAL Museum)

Historic UDT Weapons and Demolitions

Individual weaponry taken by UDT men behind enemy lines was usually limited to the submachine guns, pistols, and knives found most useful for the close-quarters combat that characterized most raiding missions. Though presumably available, sound suppressors for the weapons are not known to have been used. The men used a variety of demolitions in their work, but the standard Mark-135 Demolition Pack, which contained twenty pounds of C-3 plastic explosive was foremost. (Source: Navy SEAL Museum)

The Modern-day SEAL Mission

Navy SEALs and the Naval Special Warfare Combatant-Craft Crewmen form the operational arms of the Naval Special Warfare (NSW) community, headed by the Naval Special Warfare Command. NSW acts as both the Navy’s Special Operations force as well as the Navy component of the U.S. Special Operations Command. Their roles include:

• Surveillance and reconnaissance operations to report on enemy activity or to provide a better understanding of the operational situation. These missions can include swimming ashore at night, tracking enemy units, monitoring military and civilian activity, and gathering information about beach and water conditions prior to a beach landing.
• Direct action—offensive strikes against an enemy target using tactics such as raids, ambushes, and assaults.
• Foreign Internal Defense (FID)—Training and assisting foreign counterparts to increase their capacity to respond to threats.
• VBSS (Visit, Board, Search, and Seize)—Maritime hostile ship boardings in the middle of the night on the high seas.

• Combat swimmer—Exactly what it sounds like. General Noriega’s boat didn’t blow itself up in Panama during the invasion of 1989, it was combat swimmers from SEAL Team Two. There’s some other special stuff the SDV teams do, but you’ll have to join to find out.
• Tier-one counterterrorism—This is DEVGRU’s (AKA SEAL Team 6) turf. Granted, the edge goes to the Army’s Delta Force for remaining much quieter about their jobs. Culturally, Delta does a much better job of cloaking their mission in secrecy. Several former command members in DEVGRU have apparently violated their disclosure agreements, and this has created a lot of internal strife in the community.

Modern Navy SEAL Culture

Unit culture is incredibly different from other branches of Special Operations such as the Army, USMC, and USAF. Only recently have SEAL candidates become immersed in small-unit tactics immediately following boot camp, and this is a good thing.

In times of war or uncertainty, there is a special breed of warrior ready to answer our nation’s call: a common man with an uncommon desire to succeed. Forged by adversity, he stands alongside America’s finest Special Operations forces to serve his country, the American people, and protect their way of life. I am that man.

 Navy SEAL Ethos

My Trident is a symbol of honor and heritage. Bestowed upon me by the heroes that have gone before, it embodies the trust of those I have sworn to protect. By wearing the Trident I accept the responsibility of my chosen profession and way of life. It is a privilege that I must earn every day. My loyalty to Country and Team is beyond reproach. I humbly serve as a guardian to my fellow Americans always ready to defend those who are unable to defend themselves. I do not advertise the nature of my work, nor seek recognition for my actions. I voluntarily accept the inherent hazards of my profession, placing the welfare and security of others before my own. I serve with honor on and off the battlefield. The ability to control my emotions and my actions, regardless of circumstance, sets me apart from other men. Uncompromising integrity is my standard. My character and honor are steadfast. My word is my bond.

We expect to lead and be led. In the absence of orders I will take charge, lead my teammates and accomplish themission. I lead by example in all situations. I will never quit. I persevere and thrive on adversity. My Nation expects me to be physically harder and mentally stronger than my enemies. If knocked down, I will get back up, every time. I will draw on every remaining ounce of strength to protect my teammates and to accomplish our mission. I am never out of the fight.

We demand discipline. We expect innovation. The lives of my teammates and the success of our mission depend on me – my technical skill, tactical proficiency, and attention to detail. My training is never complete. We train for war and fight to win. I stand ready to bring the full spectrum of combat power to bear in order to achieve my mission and the goals established by my country. The execution of my duties will be swift and violent when required yet guided by the very principles that I serve to defend. Brave men have fought and died building the proud tradition and feared reputation that I am bound to uphold. In the worst of conditions, the legacy of my teammates steadies my resolve and silently guides my every deed. I will not fail.

The SEAL Pipeline

After their SEAL contract, the candidate goes off to boot camp. Then, they get a shot at BUD/S (Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL) training—seven months of pain and suffering. In the unlikely event a candidate makes it through BUD/S, then it’s on to the three-month long SEAL Qualification Training (SQT). Some guys don’t make it through SQT, usually for bad tactical performance. Those who do get their trident and are assigned to their SEAL team. That doesn’t mean they can rest on their laurels. My swim buddy in class 215 got canned and sent back to the fleet during his first platoon. You have to earn your trident every day in the teams.

Before naval special warfare operator (SO) was an official Navy job title (we call it a rating in the Navy), we had an alphabet soup of job titles for enlisted SEALs. I started off in the Navy as a helicopter SAR swimmer and sonar operator (AW), and then went to BUD/S with class 215.

Quick fact for potential candidates: If you want to operate, really operate, then enlist. Officers don’t get the same choice in schools or the same operational experience (sniper, race car driving, flying, stinger missile gunner, and on and on).

BUD/S

1. First Phase: The basic conditioning phase is seven weeks long and develops the class in physical training, water competency, and mental tenacity, while continuing to build teamwork. Each week, the class is expected to do more running, swimming, and calisthenics than the week before, and each man’s performance is measured by a four-mile timed run, a timed obstacle course, and a two-mile timed swim. Because of its particularly challenging requirements, many candidates begin questioning their decision to come to BUD/S during First Phase, with a significant number deciding to drop on request (DOR).
2. Second Phase: The combat diving phase lasts seven weeks. This phase introduces underwater skills that are unique to Navy SEALs. During this phase, candidates become basic combat swimmers and learn open- and closed-circuit diving. Successful Second Phase candidates demonstrate a high level of comfort in the water and the ability to perform in stressful and often uncomfortable environments. Candidates who are not completely comfortable in the water often struggle to succeed.
3. Third Phase: This phase is seven weeks long and involves basic weapons, demolitions, land navigation, patrolling, rappelling, marksmanship, and small-unit tactics. The second half of training takes place on San Clemente Island, about 60 miles from Coronado. On the island, the class practices the skills they learned in Third Phase. Men who make it to Third Phase have demonstrated extraordinary commitment to becoming SEALs. They graduate BUD/S as special warfare operators, but have a long way to go before pinning on a trident and becoming a SEAL.

SEAL Qualification Training (SQT)

SQT is designed to provide candidates with the core tactical knowledge they will need to join a SEAL platoon. Before graduation, candidates attend survival, evasion, resistance, and escape training. It is this intermediate skills course that prepares candidates for the advanced training they will receive once they arrive at a SEAL team.

SQT includes:

• Weapons training
• Small unit tactics
• Land navigation
• Demolitions
• Cold-weather training
• Medical skills
• Maritime operations

Before graduating, candidates also attend SERE training:

• Survival
• Evasion
• Resistance
• Escape

SQT training will also qualify candidates in:

• Static-line parachute operations
• Freefall parachute operations (High Altitude, Low Opening “HALO”)
• Freefall parachute operations (High Altitude, High Opening  “HAHO”)

Upon completing these requirements, trainees receive their SEAL trident, designating them as Navy SEALs. They are subsequently assigned to a SEAL team to begin preparing for their first deployment.

Reality of Modern SEAL Training

As Jack Murphy has pointed out before, most SEALs don’t have the basic soldiering skills that other branches of service have before showing up for SOF selection. Their candidates are usually a bit older and more mature.

You can easily make an argument for older candidates or younger ones—both have their advantages. Admittedly, there are some major advantages in fundamental training that other branches have over newly minted SEALs. In all fairness, SEALs are quick studies and relentless in the pursuit of knowledge and training, and it’s a gap that is quickly made up in certain areas. Some areas that Jack points out will never get made up; SEALs just don’t focus on certain things. I talk about this in my first book, The Red Circle.

The SEALs of 2012 (they’ve since ramped up) were way behind when it came to maritime operations. The community is catching up, but we should be leading from the front, leaning in—not playing catching up.

A few years ago Admiral McRaven rightly pointed the SEAL ship back in the right direction toward maritime operations. However, the equipment didn’t match the new training requirements. A modern SEAL team resembled a Cousteau museum when it came to diving equipment (don’t get me started on two-stroke outboard engines and clunky rubber boats).

“Some of our partners have equipment that, quite frankly, is better than ours because we spent a decade fighing ashore.” —Admiral (SEAL) Pybus

Being a career officer in Special Ops has never been easy, until the terrorist attacks of September 11th, 2001 and the new Force 21 initiative opened up the doors for promotional growth. Before 9-11, most (not all) smart NSW (Naval Special Warfare) SEAL officers punched their ticket up to 0-3, hit the glass ceiling of being an operator and any chances at advancement stopped abruptly. A lot of great officers gave up their career because of this.

SEAL Equipment

Modern SEALs get some of the best equipment available despite some setbacks with regards to maritime equipment.

There’s still a do-it-yourself culture within the teams that has team members modifying their own gear to their liking, and blending off-the-shelf gear and technology with standard SOF issue. Weapons are very similar among all branches of SOF, especially since the advent of U.S. SOCOM.

A typical SEAL will carry a primary weapon (M4 or SCAR) and a secondary (Sig Sauer or HK are both popular in .45 or 9mm). Specialty weapons are carried by snipers (SCAR, SR-25, .338 Lapua), machine gunners, and breachers. Breachers often carry specialty explosive packages including breaching tools. Safe to say you’ll see a variety of pocket tools and knives as well. Emerson, Microtech, and SOG are favorites.

Night vision, laser sights, thermal, and fusion (IR and thermal) devices are all in play as well. SEALs have developed their own special blend of camo that incorporates material technology to defeat certain spectrums, but we won’t go into detail here.

SEAL Organization

The teams are organized into the following:

West Coast

• Team 3, San Diego, CA
• Team 5, San Diego, CA
• Team 7, San Diego, CA
• SEAL Delivery Vehicle Team-1  Oahu, Hawaii
• SEAL Team 17- San Diego, CA (Reserve Unit)

East Coast

• SEAL Team 2- Virginia Beach, VA
• SEAL Team 4- Virginia Beach, VA
• SEAL Team 8- Virginia Beach, VA
• SEAL Team 1o- Virginia Beach, VA
• SEAL Team 18- Virginia Beach, VA (Reserve Unit)

Rangers

Rangers History

The Rangers are arguably the oldest existing unit in our military. Rangers fought in a number of American conflicts before the signing of the Declaration of Independence, such as the French and Indian War and King Philip’s War. In the Revolutionary War, Francis Marion organized and fought in a Ranger unit against the British. Marion was known as the Swamp Fox because his men would attack and quickly disappear into the swamps to evade the British military.

Six Ranger battalions fought in the Second World War. It was during D-Day, at Omaha beach, that the Rangers came upon their unit motto. During the assault, Colonel Norman Cota asked Major Max Schneider which unit he belonged to. When someone replied that they were 5th Ranger Battalion, Cota replied, “Well, then goddammit, Rangers, lead the way!” Today, all Rangers sound off with the unit motto, “Rangers lead the way” when saluting an officer, to which any officer worth his salt responds, “All the way!”

Rangers also served in the Korean War with distinction, including 2nd Ranger Company, an all-African-American company of Rangers. For the first time, Rangers were now airborne-qualified. In the Vietnam War, there were long-range reconnaissance patrol (LRRP) teams that executed some of the hairiest missions of the war. Penetrating deep into the jungle in their distinctive tiger-stripe uniforms to conduct reconnaissance, ambushes, and more, these men were later reorganized into Ranger companies. Despite what the press might have said, our Vietnam-era Rangers served with distinction and have plenty to be proud of.

With Rangers reformed after Vietnam in 1974, their next deployment was the failed attempt to rescue American hostages in Iran in 1980—known as Desert One. First and 2nd Battalion conducted a combat jump into the island nation of Grenada in 1983, where they successfully captured the Point Salines airfield and rescued the American medical students being held on the True Blue facility. Third Ranger Battalion was formed shortly after, in 1984. In 1989, the entire regiment jumped into Panama as a part of Operation Just Cause.

Alpha and Bravo Company of 1/75 played a role in Operation Desert Storm, while Bravo Company of 3/75 participated in Operation Gothic Serpent—the infamous Black Hawk Down incident in Somalia in 1993.

Since 9/11, elements of the Ranger Regiment have been continuously and constantly deployed to combat.

Ranger Mission

The 75^th Ranger Regiment is America’s premier raid force, specializing in direct action and airfield seizures. Strategic-level missions, airfield seizures are also known as forcible entry, but in this case we are talking about a forcible entry into a country—not simply a building. Also written into the 75th Ranger Regiment’s mission-essential task list (METL) is counterterrorism. While traditionally an elite light infantry unit, the 75th has been conducting extensive counterterrorism operations throughout the war on terror.

Ranger Pipeline

Prospective Rangers usually enter the Army on an Option 40 contract, which gives them a guaranteed shot at going to the Ranger Assessment and Selection Program (RASP). Note that I said it gives you a shot at it, and that’s it. These prospective Rangers will then attend basic training, their advanced individual training (specific to their job in the military i.e.: infantry, radio operator, forward observer, etc.), and then will go on to Airborne School at Fort Benning.

Upon graduating Airborne School, these trainees are then marched (or run) down the road to begin the Ranger Assessment and Selection Program (RASP). This is an eight-week course which is designed to not just select who is mentally and physically prepared for service in the Regiment, but to also provide these new Rangers with the training they will need when they are assigned to a Ranger Battalion and deployed to combat shortly thereafter.

From the U.S. Army:

RASP 1 is an 8 week selection course broken down into two phases.  Ranger candidates will learn the basics of what it takes to become a member of an elite fighting force.  Candidates are tested on their mental and physical capabilities, while learning the advanced skills all Rangers are required to know to start their career with the 75th Ranger Regiment.  Phase 1 focuses more on the critical events and skill level 1 tasks and Phase 2 focuses on training in Marksmanship, Breaching, Mobility, and Physical Fitness.

After a year or two of service in one of the three Ranger Battalions or regimental headquarters, these young Rangers are then sent to Ranger School. The “school house” as it is referred to is a completely separate entity from the Ranger Regiment. The 75th is a SOF unit assigned to USASOC while Ranger School is a training course open to most of the Army and is a part ofTRADOC. Nonetheless, Ranger School provides important lessons in leadership and tactics, so 75th members will need to graduate before they are considered for leadership roles in the Regiment.

One of the main differences between the 75th Ranger Regiment and other Special Operations units like Special Forces and Delta Force is that we “grow our own,” meaning that we raise young soldiers from the time they are privates rather then getting them showing up at our doors as sergeants like those other units do.

Ranger Training

Rangers train constantly while in garrison. Typically, the attitude is that spending two or three nights out at the range is a more efficient use of time rather than driving back and forth everyday, so it isn’t uncommon to work three or four days straight before being released for a three or four day weekend. After the range, there will usually be some recovery and refit time to clean weapons, maintain equipment, and tend to administrative issues before going back out to the field.

A normal day will start with a morning formation at 0700 for accountability purposes before physical training. At times, your platoon or company may have a competition, which is often some insane combination of ruck marching, running, swimming, and land navigation, followed up by a stress shoot out on the range. On normal days, PT is squad led with your squad leader or team leader taking their privates out for whatever PT events he has planned. Ruck marches are usually conducted on Thursdays.

After PT, you could be preparing for the range and signing out weapons, or moving on to individual training. Yes, there is some admin stuff that needs to get done, but Rangers do not get tasked out for post details such as post beautification or any such nonsense. Parachute jumps are conducted as often as possible to keep all Rangers current, usually once a month or so. As a general guide, Rangers focus on the Big Five, which are: small-unit tactics, mobility, marksmanship, PT, and medical training.

Other more intensive training exercises are frequent, such as squad and platoon evaluations that test critical Ranger skills and battle drills. These evaluations also became a type of pre-deployment training that incorporates direct-action raids. Rotary-wing training is often conducted with 160th Special Operations Aviation, and fixed-wing training is also mandatory, as airfield seizures are part of the 75th Ranger Regiment’s mission-essential task list.

One of the big strengths of the Ranger Regiment is how much training and spreading of knowledge is done “in-house.” Take, for instance, the Special Forces CIF teams, which specialize in direct action. They get a fancy eight-week course called the Special Forces Advanced Reconnaissance, Target Analysis, and Exploitation Techniques Course (SFARTAETC) to teach them advanced urban-warfare techniques. Rangers don’t get that; we do all of that training in-house and we train privates to do the same breaching, room clearing, and sensitive site exploitation techniques that Special Forces reserves for senior NCOs.

Ranger Organization

The Ranger Regiment is organized as an airborne light infantry unit, and this is reflected in the Regiment’s table of organization and equipment. Each Ranger platoon consists of four squads, with 9-12 men per squad. Of those four squads, three are rifle squads and one is a weapon’s squad.

Weapon’s squad is responsible for laying down a base of fire with machine guns while the rifle squads maneuver to contact. There are four platoons in each Ranger company. Three of those platoons are rifle platoons/maneuver elements and one is a headquarters platoon.

There are three rifle companies in each Ranger battalion and one support company.  During the War on Terror, each Ranger battalion added an additional rifle company (D/co) and a support company (E/co).

The Regiment consists of three battalions, a regimental headquarters, and a regimental support battalion.

Ranger Equipment

Because it is organized as an infantry regiment, the weapons and gear found in the Ranger Regiment start with the standard issue you would find in any infantry unit, such as the M4 rifle, M249 SAW, M240B, 60mm, 81mm, and 120mm mortars, and M2HB .50-caliber machine gun, but because the Regiment is like an infantry unit on steroids, the kit significantly deviates from there by comparison to the rest of the Army.

This includes specialized optics for rifles, the latest night vision and thermal systems, and even black-side TECHINT devices which can’t be written about here.

Ranger Culture

The culture of the Ranger Regiment is built upon the Ranger Creed, which is often recited in formation, and each word is taken very seriously.

The Ranger Creed

Recognizing that I volunteered as a Ranger, fully knowing the hazards of my chosen profession, I will always endeavor to uphold the prestige, honor, and high esprit de corps of my Ranger Regiment.

Acknowledging the fact that a Ranger is a more elite soldier who arrives at the cutting edge of battle by land, sea, or air, I accept the fact that as a Ranger my country expects me to move further, faster and fight harder than any other soldier.

Never shall I fail my comrades. I will always keep myself mentally alert, physically strong and morally straight and I will shoulder more than my share of the task whatever it may be, one-hundred-percent and then some.

Gallantly will I show the world that I am a specially selected and well-trained soldier. My courtesy to superior officers, neatness of dress and care of equipment shall set the example for others to follow.

Energetically will I meet the enemies of my country. I shall defeat them on the field of battle for I am better trained and will fight with all my might. Surrender is not a Ranger word. I will never leave a fallen comrade to fall into the hands of the enemy and under no circumstances will I ever embarrass my country.

Readily will I display the intestinal fortitude required to fight on to the Ranger objective and complete the mission though I be the lone survivor.

Rangers Lead The Way!!!

As implied by the term “regiment,” the 75^th is very regimented in terms of its culture. Rangers are expected to do everything 100 percent and then some. The competitiveness between Ranger squads and platoons cannot be overstated, as they are constantly trying to show that they are the best. Having seen fistfights break out during banner-day games, you can believe that Rangers take any and all types of competition seriously.

Secret Squirrel

The 75th Ranger Regiment established a small recce element to scout out Ranger objectives in 1984.  Organized into six-man recce teams, the Regimental Reconnaissance Detachment would do recon on airfields that the Ranger battalions were to jump into and seize.  Over time, RRD became RRC, the Regimental Reconnaissance Company.  Sometime around 2004, RRC was absorbed into JSOC and went on to play a big role in one of the most unique and sensitive programs in the War on Terror.

Commentary and Observations on the Rangers

Rangers are now going back to training for worldwide deployments with the war in Afghanistan winding down. Rangers are doing training rotations to Korea, participating in winter warfare training in Alaska, and conducting training in Australia. Sexy high-speed, time-sensitive counterterrorism missions may, or may not, be in the future for the Ranger Regiment.

When it comes to examining the differences between Rangers and SEALs, I think one thing you have to consider is that Rangers are infantrymen first. SEALs are sailors first. Navy basic training has absolutely nothing to do with ground combat, which partially explains why the BUD/S pipeline has to be as long as it is. It isn’t that these young men are “bad” sailors, it is just that they have to be brought up to speed on small-unit tactics and land navigation.

In the Navy, everything is big, gray, and floats. As the only real ground combat element in the Navy, SEALs are special within the entire branch of service. In the Army, Rangers are yet another type of infantry unit, although a Special Operations infantry unit.

Say what you will about the Navy though, one thing I always respected about the SEALs is that their officers seem to actually support them. SEALs seem able to get away with just about anything, no matter how ridiculous, and their chain of command supports them. Not so in Army Special Operations. Our officers are a bunch of Jesus-crazed careerists desperate to get to the top, and will bow down to the powers that be faster than you can blink an eye.

I also think that the organizational differences between one unit set up for infantry operations and the other set up for maritime operations has a bigger impact on everything from unit training to unit culture than many would think. A lot of Army SOF soldiers were shocked to see SEALs show up in Afghanistan in the early days not even knowing how to write an operations order. Things have changed a lot since then, but even the fabled Dev Group had to have operators detached to Delta so they could learn and help their unit get up to speed during those first few Afghan deployments.

Another thing I think the Regiment has gotten right is not making “Ranger” an MOS. The Regiment has had this opportunity and turned it down. Retaining the 11B (infantry) MOS for Rangers allows the unit to purge underachievers very easily. This is not the case with the SEALs, as they now have a SO rating meaning “special operator,” which is their version of a MOS. The same goes for Army Special Forces who receive an 18-series MOS upon completion of the Q-course.

Another difference is in weapons handling. I think the SEALs get a bit more training with sidearms, as they place more of an emphasis on it than Rangers do. One funny story I heard was about a former Ranger who went to vetting for the CIA’s GRS program. Despite being a former Ranger, he had never actually fired a pistol and had to learn on the fly during testing! However, SEALs don’t seem to have the same proficiency with crew-served weapons and other machine guns. One friend of mine had a SEAL armorer come into his arms room and look at a M249 SAW like he was completely baffled. He had never even seen such a weapon. Never mind mortar systems; I don’t think they are even organic to the SEAL Team’s TO&E.

Culturally, I think SEALs are way more laid back than Rangers. They don’t call each other by rank or place much emphasis on proper military grooming standards. This sort of stuff would never fly in the Regiment.

I think that the SEALs vs. Rangers debate is one of the most enduring rivalries (and pissing contests) within the U.S. military. When you have two units from separate branches, one focused on ground combat and another focused on maritime combat, and both of these units are pitted against each other in competition for the direct action mission within SOCOM, well it is no wonder that this rivalry exists. Since working for SOFREP, I’ve come to discover that having a rift between naval and Army SOF is by no means limited to America, either. The same rivalry exists in Italy, Denmark, and other countries as well.

But with that, we also have to remember the great cooperation that has occurred between SOF units during the War on Terror. Yeah, you will be hard pressed to find a Ranger with anything nice to say about Dev Group, but there have been times when Army SOF and Navy SOF conducted joint operations quite successfully.

The truth about SEALs and Rangers is that these units have way more in common than either would like to admit. They both pride themselves on being effective killing machines who can kick in your front door and shoot everyone inside.  This of course is exactly what leads to that rivalry I mentioned.

SEE ALSO: Top US general: There are only 'four or five' US-backed Syrian rebels fighting

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: China is ramping up its military with a show of force in and outside the country

Today, Montana Congressman and former Commander at Navy SEAL Team Six, Ryan Zinke, introduced a resolution to commemorate October as Special Operations Appreciation Month.

The purpose of SOAM is to raise awareness and show appreciation for the sacrifice of Special Operations Forces (SOF) warriors and their families. A bipartisan coalition of twenty-six members signed on as original cosponsors to honor the men and women in the SOF community. During the month, members will deliver floor speeches, visit local SOF units and help raise awareness for the community.

“Too often our warriors do not get the recognition they deserve. From the mismanagement at the VA to the high rates of homelessness and unemployment, I know we can do more. I mentored young SEALs my entire career, and after retiring from the Navy, I wanted to continue serving them and their families,” said Rep. Zinke.

“When I was in the SEALs, most of our time was spent training. The Teams today are at war more than they are at home. The Army, Navy, Air Force and Marines, as well as the National Guard, all have Special Operations Forces located across dozens of states. And each unit has a specialized team assisting them. From the person who puts the fuel in the helicopters to the intelligence analyst, each person adds a critical component to the mission’s success.”

Zinke continued, “The toll that multiple deployments – sometimes as many as a dozen in just a few years – take on the warrior and the family is incomprehensible. In my own experience, having served 23 years, my wife, Lola, was often times was the mom and the dad, helping the kids with sports and homework, reassuring our daughter not all boys are terrible, and promising our sons they will get taller. At one time during the War in Iraq, Lola was at home with our two young boys, while her husband, her daughter, and her son-in-law were all deployed. Special Operations Appreciation Month is just as much about the heroes at home as it is about the warriors on the field of battle.”

“As an active member in the veteran SOF community, I’m thankful for Commander Zinke’s leadership in recognizing the sacrifice of our warriors and their families,” said Brandon Webb, New York Times bestselling author, former Navy SEAL and CEO of Force12 Media.

“Every day I work with men and women who defended our nation in darkness and who receive little thanks. With U.S. SOFs in more than 80 countries around the globe, probably ninety-nine percent of the missions they complete will never be known. Their value to our nation is indescribable and I stand with Rep. Zinke in honoring these men and women.”

The significance of October dates back to the First Special Services Forces, aka the “Devils Brigade,” which was based out of Fort William Henry Harrison in Helena, Montana. This unit, which was honored with Congressional Gold Medals earlier this year, was called to Italy in October 1943 and went on to complete some of the most daring and death-defying missions in modern military history, with little to no technical equipment. This elite unit, along with scouts, raiders and Naval demolition units, is where modern day Special Operations Forces draw their roots so it only makes sense to honor them during the month they first made their mark.

Join the conversation about this story »

SOFREP interviewed the U.S. Border Patrol team leader who shot New York State escapee/killer Richard Matt when the inmate pointed a 20-gauge shotgun at the agent in a wooded upper New York State area.

In one of the first detailed interviews about that confrontation, U.S. Border Patrol Supervisory Border Patrol Agent Chris Voss, an eight-year service veteran, told SOFREP about that deadly encounter with convicted murderer Matt on June 26, about 20 miles south of the Canadian border near Elephant’s Head, New York.

Voss is the team leader of two low-profile, highly trained elite Border Patrol fire teams assigned to the Border Patrol’s Tactical Unit (BORTAC). The many missions that BORTAC teams pull vary from serving high-risk arrest warrants to addressing high-risk barricaded hostage situations, high-risk rural interdictions, and those missions requiring human-tracking skills.

The drama that lead to Voss shooting Matt began on June 6 when convicted murderers/inmates Richard Matt and David Sweat escaped from the Clinton Correctional Facility in Dannemora, New York.

As the highly publicized search for the escapees continued to draw national attention, law enforcement officials realized the convicted criminals were trying to reach the Canadian border. On Father’s Day, June 21, DNA analysis and a hot tip refocused the investigation into the wooded area along Highway 30, about 20 miles south of Canada.

BORTAC had originally deployed to New York on June 10, 2015. BORTAC returned to El Paso on June 19 after the trail went cold. “When the DNA results came up positive, we headed back to New York,” said Special Operations Supervisor (SOS) Greg Lairmore, the BORTAC section leader. Voss and his fire teams report to Lairmore, who oversees the teams’ deployments, specific targets, mission planning, and training.

On missions such as the Matt/Sweat manhunt, he coordinates BORTAC missions; Office of Air and Marine air assets; and mission plans with federal, state, and local tactical teams and law enforcement agencies working in the search.

The Customs and Border Protection (CBP), Office of Air and Marine (OAM) dedicated multiple fixed- and rotary-wing aircraft and flight crews to the search. They supported BORTAC, enabling them to conduct missions as a quick reaction force (QRF). After numerous missions, the OAM Blackhawk that was serving as the primary air asset to insert and extract the BORTAC teams was grounded following a maintenance issue.

The Office of Air and Marine, understanding that an aerial response to any event would be crucial, immediately retrofitted their two A-Star helicopters by taking the doors off and taking out the seats to maintain the aerial response capability of BORTAC. The New York State Police provided BORTAC with a Huey to insert additional BORTAC personnel.

The U.S. Border Patrol is known within law enforcement circles as having the best human trackers. BORTAC brings this skill along with a specialty in rural interdictions to missions such as the Matt/Sweat hunts. Additionally, Border Patrol has a great relationship with the New York State Patrol (NYSP) in Swanton Sector.

When Border Patrol received a support request from NYSP, they supported with the Swanton Sector Special Operations Detachment (A regional, local sector-based BORTAC team) as well as sending a team from the national BORTAC team based out of El Paso, Texas—Lairmore’s and Voss’ team)

On June 26, 2015, Voss and his team had just returned from an earlier call of a possible sighting that turned out to have no bearing on this case. “We responded to numerous calls, possible sightings, and shots-fired calls during our deployment to New York,” said SOS Lairmore, “We had to treat every single one as though it were an actual sighting or as if it was in fact Matt and/or Sweat shooting at someone.”

Shortly after returning from the earlier call, they were advised of another “shots fired” call off of Highway 30 near Lake Titus. BORTAC, along with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Hostage Rescue Team (HRT), responded to the call. Two OAM A-Stars inserted BORTAC near the scene.

After a helicopter insertion of the fire team on a local road, Voss took his team to an old cabin, where it was later determined that Matt had been. Because there were too many footprints in the area from the high number of law enforcement officials working that crime scene, Voss drew back to Highway 30 to regroup.

While the teams were in route, and even after they arrived on scene, additional reports of shots having been fired continued to come into the tactical operations center (TOC), including one confirmed report of a shot being fired at a man driving his truck and a trailer along Highway 30.

Lairmore relayed this and additional information from the TOC to Voss and his teams on the scene for situational awareness, confirming that there was indeed a subject near their location firing at people.

While on scene, a New York State trooper told Voss that he had heard coughing in a wooded area where there were no law enforcement personnel on the ground.

BP closes in on Matt

Voss coordinated his team, the local BORTAC element, and FBI HRT to push into the wood line in search of the subject. Voss and his fire team moved parallel to Highway 30 in the woods. After following the road and moving cautiously into the wooded area, the team encountered a swampy area. “We didn’t want to enter it just then, thinking that if the trooper heard coughing it would have been closer to Highway 30. So we walked around it, angling more toward the highway, and came across a knoll, or small hill,” Voss said.

Because of the hill and the wooded area, the fire team’s line of march became staggered as it moved up the hill. As the point man neared the top of the hill, he observed a man in the woods, announced that the team was law enforcement, and told him to show his hands.

As the point man issued verbal commands, Voss moved to his right and observed a man lying on the ground in a prone position, parallel to a log. Still in the wooded area, Voss maneuvered to get a better view of the suspect. As he moved, his visual sighting of the man improved and Voss ordered the man to show his hands. “I could see his face, but I couldn’t see his hands,” Voss told SOFREP.

As Voss’s sight focused, he could see the man’s face and a shotgun pointed directly at him. “When I could see the shotgun, training kicked in. I engaged the subject,” said Voss. He fired multiple .223 caliber rounds from his M4 into the suspect “until he was no longer a threat to me or any other law enforcement officer in the area.”

Once he was convinced that the threat had been handled, he and the point man approached Matt’s body, per SOPs, to ensure that Matt was no longer a threat. Voss removed the shotgun, pulling it a few feet away from the body while the point man rolled the suspect over to inspect the underside of the body for any additional weapons. Voss was so focused on Matt during the encounter that even to this day, he didn’t know the gauge of the shotgun. (Local media reported that it was a 20-gauge shotgun.) Voss estimated that he was about 10-15 yards away from Matt when he opened fire.

Matt, who was convicted of killing his boss after torturing him, was motionless. When the point man, Border Patrol Agent Eric Cavazos, saw the “Mexico Forever” tattoo on the subject, he relayed to Voss that they had positive identification on the subject as fugitive Richard Matt. Voss called Lairmore to confirm that the dead man was Matt. Voss then called the New York State Police down from the highway to established a perimeter around the area where Matt was shot because it was now a crime scene.

Once the perimeter was established, Voss, realizing that Sweat—a man convicted of killing a deputy sheriff—was still unaccounted for and could be in the area, readied his team to move out and continue the search. Before moving out, Voss radioed to Lairmore on the situation.

Lairmore said, “As soon as I knew that Chris was good, the team was good, and that there had been no injuries to the good guys, I told him to turn over the crime scene to the New York State Police and continue the search.” Lairmore then sent the second BORTAC fire team via the NYSP Huey to the area to be inserted and link up with Voss for additional support.

Voss and his team didn’t rest on their laurels; they moved north to continue the search for Sweat. Two days later, on Sunday afternoon, June 28, State Trooper Sgt. Jay Cook observed Sweat on a road about 1.5 miles south of the Canadian border. When Sweat refused to follow Cook’s command to stop running, Cook shot him twice. Sweat was taken into custody, treated at area hospitals, and returned to prison.

For Voss, who served three tours of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan with the 2^nd Battalion, 75^th Rangers Regiment, such a mission wasn’t a first. He grew up with a father who was a Vietnam veteran, and grandfathers who served in WWII. His Ranger company assisted in the first POW rescue during the Iraq invasion, April 1, 2003: the rescue of Private First ClassJessica Lynch, a supply specialist with the 507^th Maintenance Company. She became a POW when her convoy was ambushed during the Battle of Nasiriyah. She was injured and captured on March 23, 2003 during the invasion of Iraq.

Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry, who served in the Marine Corps before joining the patrol, was also a member of the elite BORTAC team. On Dec. 15, 2010, his unit was attacked by drug cartel bandits armed with AK-47s—weapons they obtained during the flawed ATF/DOJ gun-trafficking investigation known as Operation Fast and Furious.

SEE ALSO: Dozens of ISIS defectors explained why they left the terror army

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: Watch an inmate escape from an Idaho jail through a closet crawl space

“If I knew where Al-Baghdadi was, I would fly in and kill him tonight,” says Polad Talabani, the commander of Kurdistan’s Counterterrorism Group or CTG.

Polad has been with CTG since its inception in 2004 and minces no words when it comes to what he thinks of ISIS. 

“We’ve lived here for 10,000 years, you think we’re just going to give it up to the Daesh?” he asked when interviewed by SOFREP at the CTG compound in Sulaymaniyah. Today, CTG operators are nearly indistinguishable from a Western special operations unit.

They wear Multicam uniforms, carry M4 rifles, and wear night vision devices. The unit has come a long way in over a decade of conflict, even if they were mostly hidden from the world, flying under the radar until the rise of ISIS brought CTG into the spotlight.

The unit traces its origins back to Operation Viking Hammer in 2003. Prior to the invasion of Iraq, American forces had a problem to deal with in Kurdistan: Ansar Al-Islam. The terrorist group was holed up in the city of Halabja and needed to be taken out before the invasion or the U.S. military might find itself fighting a war on two fronts: one against Saddam’s army and another against Ansar.

The 10th Special Forces Group partnered with Kurdish forces to defeat Ansar Al-Islam. One of those Kurds was named Polad Talabani.

Having lived in the mountains of Kurdistan for six years, taking refuge from Saddam’s forces as a child, Polad later traveled to Europe and became a U.K. citizen. “I got a call from my brother,” Polad recalled. “Something big was going down.” Linking up with the Peshmerga, Polad went into action with U.S. Special Forces, defeating Ansar and paving the way for the 2003 invasion.

Realizing that 10th Special Forces Group had trained a small but effective fighting unit, the Kurdish government decided that, rather than disbanding the unit, they should build upon it. This led to the creation of CTG and Polad working his way through its ranks.

The selection course for CTG takes place in the mountains of Kurdistan, a fitting environment for Kurdistan to evaluate recruits for their most elite unit. “In Kurdistan we have a saying,” Polad reminded us. “The mountains are our best friend.” Whenever the Kurds were persecuted or under attack, they would flee into the mountains and dig in, ambushing the enemy on terrain they had fought on for thousands of years.

Every selection sees about 2,000 to 3,000 Peshmerga apply, mostly from Cobra units. Ranging in age from 20 to 30, around 60-70 percent of those applicants wash out in the first week of land navigation up in the mountains. Helicopters have to be on standby to evacuate recruits in case of medical emergencies, and there have even been fatalities on the selection course.

Next, recruits begin the Operator’s Training Course (OTC), which lasts eight months. This is where prospective OTG operators learn room clearing, marksmanship, explosive breaching, shooting and moving while wearing night vision, and sniper training, all under scrutiny from course instructors.

More recruits are dropped from the course during OTC, and if 12 manage to graduate, “that is a big class for us,” Polad said. I asked the CTG commander what he was looking for in an OTC graduate. “A true Kurdish warrior,” he replied.

This may give one pause, as this training seems to mirror that of other more established special operations units. This is no coincidence. The unit was stood up by 22SAS and “the guys from Bragg,” as Polad put it, referencing Fort Bragg, North Carolina.

CTG has had some of the best mentors one could possibly hope for. Interestingly, the unit is composed of not just Kurds, but also some Arabs and Turkmen. “I’ll give anyone a chance to try out who wants to fight with us,” Polad told SOFREP. The mission to protect Kurdistan and cities like Kirkuk also have Arabs and Turkmen living there, so it makes sense for some of them to want to protect their homes in Kurdistan’s counterterrorism unit.

All CTG operators have to sign a contract stating that they will not get married for their first five years in the unit. “It causes too many distractions when we deploy our men for long periods and their wives are always calling them on the phone,” the CTG commander explained.

The chain of command for CTG is also streamlined and to some extent mirrors that of America’s Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC). CTG does not fall under the ministry of Peshmerga, but rather under the intelligence branch, which in turn answers to the president. Anything having to do with terrorism automatically falls under the unit’s purview.

During the U.S. occupation of Iraq, CTG was not hurting for work. They conducted raids across Kurdistan and Iraq, searching for high-value targets from Kirkuk to Mosul. A former CIA case officer with direct knowledge of the unit told SOFREP, “The group was a capable regional counterterrorism force in northern Iraq’s Kurdish areas in the years following the fall of the Saddam Hussein’s regime. The CTG participated in the fight against Abu Musab al-Zarqawi’s al-Qa’ida in Iraq organization, as well as in efforts against the larger al-Qa’ida organization.”

In 2009, CTG was pushed to its operational limits with a hostage rescue mission in Baghdad that was not only complex, but had to be conducted on short notice before the hostage, a three-year-old boy, was to be executed. Kidnappings also falls inside CTG’s jurisdiction, so when the son of a wealthy family in Sulaymaniyah was kidnapped by Arabs, drugged, and transported to Baghdad, the unit sprang into action.

The family was given 24 hours to pay a ransom of 1.5 million dollars or their son would be killed. The boy’s death would be tragic in of itself, but paying the ransom would set a very dangerous precedent for Kurdistan, potentially opening the floodgates for additional kidnappings.

Polad recounted the operation from his office on the CTG compound, where a Delta Force plaque hung on the wall and a .50-caliber Barrett sniper rifle rested on its bipod next to his desk. Behind the desk was a unit picture with their foreign advisors from the United States, Canada, and the U.K. The picture also displayed the CTG motto Lexoman Parastin, which means “Those who give their lives to protect their people.”

“We arrested one of those involved in the kidnapping in Sulaymaniyah,” Polad said. “I told him he could lead us directly to the house in Baghdad where the boy was held or I would shoot him.” The criminal wisely complied with the CTG commander’s directive and told him where the house was: Sadr City. Although operating in the semi-permissive environment of Kirkuk is easy for CTG, a mission taking the Kurdish commandos into Sadr City to execute a hostage rescue mission was unlike anything they had ever faced.

“I loaded my men in civilian vans and drove them to Baghdad,” Polad said, in order to infiltrate closer to the objective area undetected. “Then we drove to the presidential palace and borrowed some Humvees.” Then they drove to Sadr City, a particularly dangerous neighborhood in Baghdad with only one way in or out. The result was a massive firefight.

“We had four enemy killed, a bunch of guys injured, and rescued the kid.” One of the CTG operators had brought a bag of candy and chocolate for the boy, knowing he would be scared when they pulled him out of Sadr City. Back at the presidential palace, CTG and the newly liberated hostage flew back to Sulaymaniyah. Several injured CTG operators had to be left at the palace for the time being, as moving them would have resulted in their deaths.

Back in Sulaymaniyah, the boy’s parents were waiting for him. “The look on the mother’s and father’s faces was the best reward you could ever hope for,” Polad recalled.

There was political fallout for the operation, though. The government of Iraq (GOI) scrambled to figure out what had happened in the aftermath of the Sadr City firefight. When they realized the Kurds had conducted an operation in Baghdad, they went ballistic, accusing the Kurdish government of having an out-of-control rogue unit. Polad rebuked any such charge, stating that he sent numerous requests for assistance to the GOI, all of which went unanswered.

For the CTG commander, it was important to send a message to Iraq: If you kidnap Kurdish kids, you will have your door explosively breached in the dead of night and your home flooded with heavily armed Kurdish commandos.

Despite such a spectacular success, CTG has had its share of challenges as well. After U.S. troops pulled out of Iraq, Polad’s men came under scrutiny from the Kurdish government, with some politicians calling for the unit to be disbanded because it sucked up so much money. By Polad’s estimation, each of his operators carries around $60,000 worth of weapons and equipment on his person during a mission.

Some bureaucrats thought that CTG should just go back to being Peshmerga and carrying 50-year-old Kalashnikovs. Polad was adamant that the Peshmerga, “cannot do what my men can do.” The unit was expensive but brought unique and desperately needed counterterrorism capabilities to the Kurdish government.

“We all thought that the United States would at least leave a small element behind after the war. Instead, they packed their bags one day and said goodbye,” Polad remembered. He didn’t blame the soldiers, but felt that the decision to pull out of Iraq was premature and was made for political reasons. Without any U.S. assistance, CTG’s rifles and night vision goggles began to break down. Left without help from America, the unit turned to the UAE for the purchase of Guardian armored vehicles, rather than the American-made Humvees.

The fact is, al-Qaeda never really left Iraq, and CTG was at the front lines in a war against Islamic extremists after the U.S. pulled out of the country. Many of the terrorists CTG captured were actually bad guys already in their database because CTG had captured them previously during Operation Iraqi Freedom, only to see them released from prison by the Iraqi government.

All of that changed with the emergence of ISIS.

“I had to change my number four times,” Polad laughed. When ISIS burst onto the scene, he said everyone was calling him asking for things. “Just before you came I was on the phone with a U.S. official. I told him that Americans have to understand that Sunnis and Shias will never get along. They might sit down with Americans when you come here for a meeting and act nice, but once you leave, everything just goes back to the way it was.”

The emergence of ISIS was a game changer for the Peshmerga, and especially CTG. General Ja’afer, who is in the charge of the entire Kirkuk sector, told SOFREP during an interview that ISIS is an even more difficult enemy to fight than Saddam’s army because their only goal is to kill and to die, as opposed to an army that has actual military objectives they want to achieve in pursuit of victory. Although CTG was used to conducting time-sensitive missions to capture or kill high-value targets, the war against ISIS has been a conventional campaign in many ways, with front lines versus the counter-insurgency campaign they fought in the past.

In recent operations against ISIS, CTG has been augmenting the Peshmerga. “If they have six villages to capture, we will take the two most difficult ones,” Polad said. His men have special training and equipment and are experts in urban warfare, so CTG operators will take down those villages unilaterally, taking some pressure off of the Peshmerga.

One such operation included raiding a mosque loaded with ISIS terrorists in Jalula. “On that mission, we killed Chechens, Uzbeks, and even a guy from Hackney,” Polad told SOFREP, referring to a neighborhood in London. Kurdistan’s CTG has participated in nearly every Peshmerga offensive in the south, many around Kirkuk in the area of Abu Lejum. These missions are good for morale, but CTG does not really see them as their primary job, which is counterterrorism. The operators want to go back to hitting high-value targets, including behind enemy lines.

“Our snipers spend months on the front lines,” Polad said. Using Polaris ATVs, sniper teams will infiltrate areas quietly at night and set up a sniper hide. Come dawn, they start whacking ISIS terrorists, killing five to seven of them before abandoning their hide site.

CTG still faces significant hurdles to overcome, including issues that also effect the Peshmerga. One Peshmerga captain on the front lines told SOFREP that he had not been paid in six months. Polad himself told us that he had not been paid in four months. This is an issue that all Kurdish forces are dealing with, the result of the Iraqi government not paying the Kurdistan regional government money that they are owed.

“I’ve lost eight men in a year and a half of fighting,” Polad said. “Four men make for one entire team.” CTG is a small unit and the spider-webbed windows of the unit’s Guardian assault trucks tell a tale of heavy fighting.

Thankfully, the relationship between CTG and coalition special operations units has been rekindled with the war against ISIS. Advisors are back in Kurdistan. Small teams of British SAS and U.S. Special Forces teams are sometimes sent up to the front lines to call in airstrikes on ISIS positions. “I am proud to fight alongside the U.S., to tell you the truth,” Polad told us.

SEE ALSO: Report: A US-trained Syrian rebel leader defected to al Qaeda affiliate

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: Turkey's Latest Plan To Drain $3 Million A Day From ISIS Is Working

From Catholic priests to businessmen to PKK cadre members, the belief that America created ISIS appears prevalent in Kurdistan.

Why do so many Kurds from so many different walks of life think that ISIS is an American construction, when the U.S. military has spent so much time, energy, and lives fighting Islamic extremism in Iraq, to include ISIS?

Given that American advisors are on the ground helping the Kurds, and coalition aircraft drop bombs on ISIS targets on a daily basis, this belief is about as irrational as it is common.

Conspiracy theory runs thick in much of the Middle East, including Iraq and Kurdistan. Local and international politics are often seen through the prism of byzantine power plays made by secret puppet masters behind the scenes. In a region where sheiks and kings have been poisoning each other’s couscous for thousands of years, it isn’t hard to see why.

One example is the fall of Sinjar last year. Peshmerga were sent to defend the city where the Yezidi minority group lives against ISIS forces. But as the jihadis advanced on Sinjar, the Pesh abandoned their posts and fled. ISIS laid waste to Sinjar, murdering and raping their way through the city, selling women and girls into sexual slavery, and forcing Yezidi men to convert to Islam and fight with them or face execution. The truth of what really happened in Sinjar is difficult to discern. Depending on who you talk to, there is a conspiracy theory to explain what really happened.

Both sides have conspiracy theories as to why Sinjar fell. Yezidis will tell you that the Peshmerga colluded with ISIS, the Kurds sent to protect Sinjar selling out their people to the enemy. The Peshmerga will tell you that there was a secret plot by treasonous Yezidi who betrayed their city and their people to ISIS.

Both sides have a conspiracy theory to explain why the city fell, when the reality is probably that the Peshmerga were unprepared for ISIS at this time, poorly organized, poorly led, and were not given clear orders on what to do when ISIS attacked. In this confusing situation, and vastly outgunned, the Peshmerga ran away.

When asked about ISIS, many Kurds explain the organization in simple terms: “Daesh is America.”

Middle Eastern paranoia

A friend in Kurdistan was gifted a book by an al-Qaeda guy in Syria. It is reputed to be a history of freemasonry handed down through a prominent Masonic family until it was obtained by the president of Brazil during the 1970s and translated into Arabic. Apparently, Islamic fundamentalists also buy into their own brand of conspiracy and like to read up on Christian plots engineered against the world by the Masons.

It goes further than that, though. In a local bazaar, I found books about Masonic conspiracies and even an Arabic translation of John Perkin’s “Confessions of an Economic Hitman” prominently displayed on tables in the fronts of bookshops.

In a conversation with a Kurd, he referred to the Israeli agenda and referenced the Protocols of the Elders of Zion as his source. Of course, the Protocols are a hoax at best, but they are taken literally by many people throughout the world. This wasn’t the first time I’ve seen such a thing.

While in a West African country, I was allowed to tour a major Sufi mosque and even walk through their archives. There were entire shelves of leather-bound books displaying the Masonic emblem. A friend asked our host about the books but was shushed. We were not to ask the librarian about those particular books.

America’s schizophrenic foreign policy

Part of the reason why so many people believe that ISIS is an American proxy force is due to our schizophrenic foreign policy, and irrational beliefs aside, this part we are actually responsible for. In the 1980s, we were friends with Saddam, then the geopolitical situation changed and we turned against him.

We used to be enemies with Gaddafi in the ’80s, then we began smoothing things over with him in the 2000s, but at the end of the day, we flipped the switch on him, too. When the Syrian Civil War began, America called for Assad to step down, but several years later, the U.S. government appears to have abandoned that position.

For a local living in the Middle East, it is just as hard to understand what America’s long-term strategic goals are as it is for actual American citizens. Is anyone safe from America’s meddling in foreign affairs? Who will still be standing when the smoke clears?

The reality, of course, is that America is a democratic republic, and thus prone to election cycles. The foreign-policy positions advocated by one president may not be followed by the next. Furthermore, America is not very good at managing foreign countries. We’re not good at grandiose plots—bringing democracy to Iraq, for instance.

Chaos is the result of incompetence and arrogance in American foreign policy, not the desired end state by policymakers.

The irrationality of Middle Eastern politics

America should own its failures, but the irrational interpretations of both successes and failures by many Kurds is something that we can’t control. Nonetheless, it is worthwhile to understand why many people believe America created ISIS. Following the irrationality model, many Kurds are upset with both American intervention and non-intervention. Both are seen as clear evidence for an American hand behind ISIS.

First, let’s look at the reason why American intervention in Iraq is seen by many Kurds as proof of American involvement with ISIS. Some of the people SOFREP talked to felt that America has pursued a clear campaign of destabilization in the Middle East. We invaded Iraq, destabilizing the country, which led to the creation of ISIS.

This is at least partially true, even if it was unintentional. Others felt that America created ISIS to take over Iraq, even to punish the Iraq government for one reason or another. A priest was adamant that America has been buying oil from ISIS for five dollars a gallon. What was interesting was that these types of views were espoused by a capitalist businessmen in Erbil, a socialist PKK member, and even a Catholic priest in southern Kurdistan.

These same people simultaneously acknowledged that U.S. airstrikes had been a big help in helping the Kurds fight ISIS on the ground. But in the world of conspiracy theory, America can support and fight ISIS at the same time, as part of some kind of mega-plot. One Kurd explained this situation away, saying that we created ISIS to invade Iraq, but then they got out of our control so we had to reign them back in.

American non-intervention is also seen as evidence for ISIS being a U.S.-backed force. “America could destroy ISIS in three days if it wanted to,” one of the Kurds SOFREP spoke to said. Therefore, ISIS must be American backed, since we haven’t defeated them already. When making the point that America fought Islamic insurgents for nine years in Iraq to little avail, no rebuttal was given. The American government can’t control crime in Washington D.C., but apparently it can manipulate crimes across Iraq from the shadows.

New paradigms, old world views

Sitting down in a home in Qandil, the PKK stronghold in the Kurdish mountains, I discussed politics at length with a PKK member. The PKK is on America’s list of foreign terrorist organizations, but vigorously refutes the charge that they are terrorists.

Formerly Marxists, the PKK has evolved their ideology starting in the 1990s and now follows a new political paradigm that they call democratic confederalism, which borrows from elements of Marxism, socialism, and anarchism. Some even describe the PKK’s new ideology as communalism or social libertarianism.

The PKK cadre member I spoke to was intelligent, politically sophisticated, and had the most developed worldview when it came to international politics. “There is a plan for the Middle East,” he said before pointing at me, “and it is made by you guys.” He told me that during the Cold War, the world was shaped by a bipolar worldview consisting of communism and capitalism, but since the fall of the USSR, these old political paradigms, and the colonial constructs they inspired, are no longer needed.

According to the logic of the PKK, the West no longer needs strongmen to lord over its colonial empires. Today, America simply wants to destabilize countries, he told me.

“This started with the invention of finance capital,” the PKK member said. “Making money from money.” America no longer needs colonial relationships, so our government engages in dark plots to destabilize nations, sweep away borders, and plunge various countries into chaos so that we can simply go in and exact whatever resources we desire. On one hand, it isn’t hard to see why people may believe this. The West destabilized Libya and essentially treated it as an “open city” in the mafia sense that anyone could go there and operate.

Of course, ISIS fits right into this strategy of destabilization.

The PKK member made references to puppet masters lurking in the shadows and the actions of the “deep state” in Turkey. I recognized the terms from the fringe left in the United States. The deep state refers to a sort of collusion between a country’s intelligence apparatus and criminal elements.

In America we would recognize the deep state as being behind allegations regarding the JFK assassination, CIA complicity in drug trafficking, and 9/11 being an “inside job.” In this case, the PKK member referenced the deep state in regards to Turkey and the recent bombing of a Kurdish gathering in Suruc, which upset his organization’s ceasefire with the Turkish government.

A second PKK member made the same claim but in more cautious terms. “I think America might have had something to do with it,” he said, referring to ISIS. “Early on, like maybe the U.S. was using them and then they got out of their control.”

The circular logic of conspiracy theories

I met a Kurdish contact at a cafe who asked me to question who benefits from the existence of Daesh. In his mind, he felt that Iran benefitted the most from ISIS since they came in and destabilized Iraq, allowing the Iranians to move in with Shia militias and take control of large swaths of the country. Shias funding Sunni terrorists? It wasn’t the first time I had heard such a claim. Even Lt. Col. Oliver North claimed that Iran funds Sunni terrorism when we interviewed him for SOFREP radio.

Conspiracy theorists often ask us to follow the logic of “who benefits,” believing that this will lead us to hidden actors behind the scenes. Let’s indulge them for a moment. Saddam Hussein made serious efforts to Arabize lands long occupied by the Kurds in Iraq, places like Kirkuk and strings of villages south of Dohuk. In Syria, Assad treated the Kurds in the north as second-class citizens.

After ISIS destabilized both countries and captured hundreds of square kilometers, the Kurds moved in and seized these areas from the Islamists. The Peshmerga captured Kirkuk and its surrounding areas, as well as other areas in southeast Kurdistan, even Mt. Sinjar. In Syria, the YPG and YPJ kicked Daesh to the curb, seizing Afrin, Kobani, and Jayzera cantons, which cover nearly all of northern Syria.

In the international press, the Kurds are heroes. A small bastion of democracy fighting for their homeland and beating back the Islamist hoards. In a very real way, many Kurds can now see their dream of Kurdish independence on the horizon. In Kobani, all the major Kurdish factions united to fight Daesh. Even if the main effort was almost entirely the YPG and YPJ, this was a historic moment for the Kurds. A Kurdish Peshmerga fighter I met did not express any belief in conspiracy theory, but was quite open in his beliefs that ISIS was a good thing for the Kurds “because we got Kirkuk back,” he explained.

If anyone has benefitted from ISIS, it isn’t the United States, Iran, Israel, or any other curious interloper. The main beneficiaries of the war are the Kurds. Does this mean that Kurdistan created ISIS? Of course not. But the great thing about conspiracies is their circular logic. Where one conspiracy fails, a new conspiracy can be invented to justify things that simply don’t make any sense and don’t have any supporting evidence.

In Kurdistan, people of different religions, ideologies, and social class have a strong belief that America invented ISIS. Exactly why they believe this differs from person to person, but the belief persists that some dark shadow masters in America are pulling the puppet strings behind the conflict in Iraq and Syria. This leaves America in an impossible situation. Any foreign policy we choose in the region, be it one of action or inaction, will be interpreted by many as a sign of American plots and schemes.

SEE ALSO: The ISIS intel scandal is 'directly at the heart of Central Command'

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: If you are from one of these 5 states you may soon need a passport to fly in the United States

There is always rivalry within the U.S. special operations community, as we here at SOFREP have documented on multiple occasions (see here and here). While the debate rages as to which of the various commando units is the baddest of the badass, this author thinks that we can all agree that the Navy SEALs own space, as far as SpecOps goes.

“How dare you, Fru!” is what you might be thinking to yourself if you are a Ranger aficionado or a green beanie groupie. Well, “pipe down,” is what I say back to you. The SEAL dominance of the off-Earth battlespace is unrivaled within the SOF world. Deal with it.

Let us start by examining the first Navy SEAL astronaut, William M. “Bill” Shepherd, USN.

Captain (ret.) William M. Shepherd

Picture, if you will, a  young Captain Shepherd, then a lowly butterbar ensign, going through Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL (BUD/S) training—in Class 64—performing the ever-treacherous rock portage evolution at BUD/S.

In rock portage, SEAL trainees paddle their rubber boats over large rocks on the shore of Coronado beach, while praying to God that they avoid having their heads dashed upon the partially submerged obstructions in the turbulent surf zone.

“Shep,” as his fellow SEALs referred to him, found himself in the water, going head-first into one such obstruction. Stumbling out of the surf, blood gushing from a laceration on his forehead, the young ensign immediately tried to rush back into the water to go out again with his boat crew.

There, in one short BUD/S vignette, you find the true Shep.

Bill Shepherd graduated from the United States Naval Academy in 1971, with a bachelor’s of science degree in aerospace engineering.

He then entered BUD/S training and graduated in 1972. One SEAL who went through BUD/S with Shep remembered him as an absolute animal on the infamous BUD/S O-course, and commented that he was considered one of the best marksmen many of the BUD/S instructors had ever seen up to that point.

Shepherd went on to serve in Underwater Demolition Team ELEVEN (UDT-11), back when the UDT teams still existed, as well as SEAL Teams ONE and TWO, and Special Boat Unit TWENTY (SBU-20). He also spent three years as a special projects officer at a “Navy field unit,” where he worked on classified developmental projects in the early 1980s. Moving on.

Not satisfied with just one degree, in 1978, Shepherd also earned a masters of science degree in mechanical engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (not too shabby), as well as an engineering degree in ocean engineering. In a 2005 letter recommending Shep for a place in the National Museum of Aviation Hall of Honor, then-Deputy Commander of U.S. Special Operations Command, SEAL Admiral Eric T. Olson, called Shepherd a “most extraordinary SEAL operator, engineer, intelligence professional, and astronaut.” That is quite a list of descriptors.

Shepherd entered the astronaut ranks in 1984, and soon after, in 1986, helped direct the underwater search and salvage operations in the wake of the space shuttle Challenger tragedy. He went on to be a mission specialist on three separate space shuttle missions, in 1988, 1990, and 1992.

The former SEAL reached the pinnacle of his NASA career in 2000, when he served as the first commander of the International Space Station (ISS), serving onboard the ISS from October 2000 until March 2001, after serving as the program manager to get the ISS off the ground in the first place (pun intended).

Shepherd logged approximately 160 days in space, which, as far as this author is concerned, is 160 more than any man should spend hovering above the Earth’s surface. He was awarded the Congressional Space Medal of Honor in 2003. Only 28 men and women in U.S. history have earned that award, putting Shepherd in the same rarefied air as Neil Armstrong, John Glen, Gus Grissom, and James Lovell, among others.

As if these were not enough accolades, Shep is the only American to have received the Russian government’s Gagarin Gold Medal, named after the Russian cosmonaut of the same name, for his achievement in human spaceflight. It probably helped that the man speaks fluent Russian, having lived in the country while training for his ISS mission, and was known to ply his cosmonaut buddies with booze at “Shep’s Bar,” in the lower level of his apartment in Russia. Whatever you have to do, right?

Finally, Shepherd was also awarded the Defense Superior Service Medal, and returned to the SEAL community in July 2001, serving at the Naval Special Warfare Command. He retired from active military service in January 2002.

Captain Christopher J. Cassidy

Now, as if one galactic frogman was not enough, a second Navy SEAL can also be found at times floating high above the Earth, struggling to poop in space: Captain Christopher J. “Chris” Cassidy, USN.

Cassidy also graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1993 with a bachelor’s of science degree in mathematics. Not to be outdone by Shep, Chris also earned a master’s degree in ocean engineering, also from MIT, in 2000.

Cassidy’s parents were skeptical when he chose the SEAL teams coming out of the Naval Academy, fearful of the risks involved, no doubt, but he points out that the training and preparation that go into being a Navy SEAL, just like being a NASA astronaut, help to overcome the risks involved.

Cassidy compares being a NASA astronaut to a SEAL in a video interview, pointing out, “You can do anything you want, if you set your mind to it.” He says he learned that lesson after successfully making it through BUD/S.

Cassidy graduated with BUD/S Class 192, and served at SEAL Delivery Vehicle Team TWO (SDVT-2), SEAL Team THREE, and Special Boat Team TWENTY (SBT-20). During his time at SEAL Team THREE, Cassidy deployed to Afghanistan immediately following 9/11 alongside our very own Brandon Webb.

Some of Cassidy’s exploits from those deployments are detailed in Brandon’s book “The Red Circle,” some of which—no-doubt—included managing a wild and wooly young frogman like Webb.

After roughly 10 years in the SEAL teams, none other than Bill Shepherd himself inspired Cassidy to become an astronaut, following a talk between the two men. The idea had been floating around in Chris’s head since his mid-20s, and after his inspiration from Shepherd, Cassidy applied and was finally accepted into the astronaut program in 2004.

Cassidy would go on to see a highly successful decade at NASA, amassing over 180 days in space, including six space walks, and a “long-duration” ISS mission, from March to September of 2013. He most recently took command of the NASA Astronaut Office in July 2015. His duties include managing resources, operations, and safety programs, as well as making astronaut personnel assignments for future spaceflight operations.

Cassidy is currently a captain in the U.S. Navy, and has been awarded two Bronze Stars, one with “V,” a Presidential Unit Citation, as well as a Combat Action Ribbon, all for his service in Afghanistan post-9/11. He has also earned the NASA Exceptional Achievement Award.

As evidenced by the above hagiographies of the nation’s two SEAL astronauts—or “frognauts,” as I have deemed them (trademarked)—Navy commandos have clearly dominated the SOF space race. It is time for you Green Berets, Raiders, PJs, Rangers, and the rest, to get your act together and get into orbit. It’s sure to be a blast (wink).

Join the conversation about this story »

I’ve had a 20-year career as a Navy SEAL, 30 years of martial arts training, and more than 15 years of yoga practice and teaching to warriors. If there is anything I can teach you, it’s how important your mental strength is over any physical ability you may possess. The mantra of mind over body is true—you can do anything if you set your mind to it. Here are a few tips to help you build mental toughness. The body strength comes later.

1. Focus on yourself first.

Self-awareness is a place to start building what I call your “unbeatable mind.” Greater self-awareness will help us avoid making the same mistakes over and over, and allow us to get aligned for serious forward momentum.

When I was younger, I was a daydreamer. If you asked me to describe what my future looked like, I would have given you a blank stare. This is not uncommon.

A journal is a good place to establish self-awareness. Even if it’s just 10 minutes a day, find a quiet place where you can avoid disruptions. Do some deep breathing to center yourself and then spend some time candidly reflecting on who you are and where you are in your life. Do this every day and build it into a reliable habit, like brushing your teeth.

2. Figure out your purpose.

My investigation into integrated training and optimal performance-propelled journeys into CrossFit, Tai Chi, Chi Gong, Pranayama, remote viewing, visualization, mindfulness meditation, Apache Sacred Silence, Tibetan mantras, Ninjutsu, and San Soo/SCARS.

All of these practices had a significant impact on my worldview, the way my mind works, and my performance benefited because of it all. Here are some questions to ask yourself to help determine if you’re on the right or wrong path:

• What have you been conditioned to think you’re supposed to do with your life?
• What do you think you are really supposed to do with your life?
• What do you feel you are really supposed to do with your life?
• Is there a tiny voice of doubt deep within you suggesting you are on the wrong track?
• Is that same voice nudging you forward with the sensation that you are on the right track?
• What one thing do you think you are here for? What one thing would you focus on if you had nothing holding you back?
• What would you do differently if you knew you had one year to live?

So what do you do with the insights that follow? For me, it was a powerful self-realization that motivated me to leave a career path that was eating me alive. Asking myself these questions provided guidance and enabled my pursuit of what was my true dream: to become a Navy SEAL.

3. Determine your path.

Developing skills like discipline, dedication, and acquiring a capacity for high-performance first requires tuning in to your true self. A path with heart will be authentic to your true self. Not some muddled version of what others think is best for you, but the real you.

This was my situation years ago. My lack of clarity and self-awareness had me chasing goals imposed on me by others, like a life of corporate success on Wall Street. I felt like I was on the wrong path and the only way I got back on track was by becoming more self aware. Start off with the questions listed above and see where they lead you.

4. Support your new purpose with a healthy lifestyle and the support of others.

For many, if your life is on the wrong path, you don’t have the energy to make a fitness program part of your daily life, or to fuel yourself with a healthy, energizing diet. A consequence of poor self-awareness is that a life rut will claim your spiritual, mental, and physical health.

A platform of self-awareness that leads to a renewed purpose in life will ultimately require you to take care of your body in a complimentary way. The good news? You’ll be so fired up about being on your true path that energy will no longer be a problem. The key is to harness this energy and commit to a fitness lifestyle—both exercise and nutrition!

If this is a problem area for you, don’t do it alone. Perhaps the most important attribution to the Navy SEALS is the prominence of the word “team.” Find a group of like-minded others who will support you. This is how you not only get on the path, but stay on the path.

SEE ALSO: RANKED: The world's 20 strongest militaries

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: Take a tour of the $367 million jet that will soon be called Air Force One

Sometimes I wonder what would scare Americans more: the myth of a hyper-competent American military-industrial complex secretly plotting and scheming, or the reality of the US military and intelligence agencies stumbling around in the dark like a bunch of naked people wearing roller skates.

Warning: The writing below provides plot details you may not want to read if you haven't seen the movie.

The new film "Sicario," the word for "assassins" in Mexican drug cartels, opts for the mythology.

When an Arizona state anti-kidnapping team raids a house, they find dozens of bodies boarded up behind the walls but no sign of the hostages. To add insult to injury, an explosive then goes off and kills a handful of policemen.

The US government decides to throw down the gauntlet with the drug cartels responsible.

Josh Brolin plays a cliched CIA cardboard cutout who cruises into police offices wearing thong sandals and recruits the female leader of the anti-kidnapping squad. According to the film, the CIA needs a law-enforcement officer attached to them in order to operate within American borders.

This isn't actually true but makes for an interesting plot device. Emily Blunt plays the anti-kidnapping squad officer and doubles as the naive white woman who the audience is supposed to relate to and engage with as she enters the sinister, dark world of Mexican drug cartels and diabolical CIA plots.

The movie is filled with wide shots of the desert in the American Southwest, and in particular of the border between the US and Mexico, while foreboding music tells us that something creepy is afoot. The gist of the movie is silly. White America is the home of cops, soldiers, and the rule of law. Mexico is filled with scary brown people who sell drugs.

Another member of the joint inter-agency task force is Benecio Del Toro, who plays a former prosecutor from Colombia who has magically become a super-assassin and CIA bagman. The team sets out on their first mission with a crew of equally cliched Delta operators running around sporting beards, MultiCam pants, and kafiyas, which help them blend in just as badly in Mexico as in the Middle East.

All of them are wearing expensive tactical gear and plate carriers which clearly don't have plates in them. For some reason, they go into Juarez to conduct a prisoner transfer, just to bring the guy back to America and torture him for information.

Now if I was a CIA guy in a black trench coat with ill intentions, I think I would have Mexicans do that for me in the Mexican prison, but hey, it's a movie. Never mind the plot holes big enough to drive a Mack truck through.

The movie continues with heinously cheesy dialog, stilted action scenes, bad editing, and a plot that simply doesn't make a bit of sense. The CIA's end game is to unify the drug cartels into one cartel, bringing some semblance of control and normalcy about rather than having a dozen cartels engaging in over-the-top violence.

This was actually the plot of my second novel, "Target Deck," in which there is a conspiracy to do the same, making the Sinaloa Cartel the most powerful cartel and stomping out the Zetas and Templars. Since I used it myself, I'll say this is an interesting plot device which makes a certain amount of sense from a pragmatic standpoint. But the way they go about this is unbelievable in "Sicario."

Josh Brolin's character has a master plan to wade into Mexico and create enough chaos among the cartels to have their jefe called back to his mansion, where they can assassinate him. Then they can consolidate the cartels under one roof.

What scares you more: the thought of CIA puppet masters or the truth that no one has a clue how to actually resolve these complicated issues? Sometimes I wish there was some badass paramilitary dude out there going Mack Bolan on the baddies, because as it stands, America is just out there flapping from Iraq to Mexico to Ukraine to the South China Sea.

This could have been a cool movie that explored the insider politics behind joint JSOC, CIA, and law-enforcement operations as well as the dynamics of Mexican drug cartels, but the movie seemed to have given up on that and opted for a dumbed-down, typical Hollywood drama that comes of as bizarre.

I would recommend picking up books like "Amexica,""El Narco," or "Killing Pablo" rather than wasting $11 on "Sicario."

SEE ALSO: Colombia's local elections are a mess — and the voting hasn't even started

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: This intense first trailer for Netflix's 'Narcos' brings Pablo Escobar to life

What the hell is wrong with us? Seriously, what is happening to the fabric of our society?

How do we explain the fact that a small fraction of a certain subset of our society—young, often socially isolated males—now find it to be a valid course of action to use a weapon to murder as many people as possible before turning the gun on themselves or perishing in a hail of police bullets?

I have no idea. I have no answers.

I do not think “the availability of guns” is the answer, for one, though certainly it is one part of the possible solution. I do not think that the media’s tendency, at least in the past, to pore over and report on the various personality traits and manifestos of past shooters, thus bestowing on them sought-after infamy, is the whole answer, either.

It probably plays into the phenomenon, though. A phenomenon I’m afraid isn’t going to end anytime soon, unfortunately.

In short, like everyone else, I have no earthly idea what is going on with the rash of mass killings plaguing the United States. They frighten and depress me, like they do everyone else, primarily because I think about my children being at school, at the mercy of a deranged shooter, with little available protection.

Instead of feeling completely powerless to do anything about it, though, I choose to be as prepared as possible. You should be, too. We are not helpless. We have options. It is time to ingrain them in your head.

With that in mind, here are 10 things you can do to be prepared—mentally fortified—to increase your chances of surviving a mass shooting. God forbid you ever find yourself in the middle of one, but if you do, these courses of action will help increase your chances of survival. I sincerely hope you never have to put them to the test.

1. Carry a concealed weapon.

This is likely controversial, depending on the laws where you live, but I rarely go to large public gatherings anymore without some sort of concealed firearm nearby. No, I am not an AR-brandishing militia type who wears his weapon on his hip for all to see (and to be impressed with). I am not saying you should walk around all tactically kitted up.

I am merely suggesting carrying a compact handgun chambered in a reasonably powerful caliber. You also better be able to handle it and fire it safely and accurately, or you risk doing more harm than good. You have to be trained and competent to effectively use your weapon to stop a mass shooter. If you are, use it when the time comes.

2. Strategically position yourself.

Before a mass-shooting event ever begins, position yourself so that you can react proactively. That might entail positioning yourself near an entrance or exit so that you can escape quickly or quickly confront a shooter, or it might mean being close to good cover and concealment or a place in which you can barricade yourself and your loved ones.

Think of a storage room, or an inner office in a building.  This is basic situational awareness. Know your surroundings, identify multiple ways out, and game plan your reactions before a shooting ever starts.

3. Quickly identify the scenario.

Needless to say, time is of the essence. There will probably be a brief few seconds before the shooting starts, during which it should be clear that something bad is about to happen.

The most illustrative recent example of this was the thwarted train massacre in France, in which three Americans identified the sound of a magazine being locked and loaded, and acted quickly to stop the shooter.  You may only have five seconds in which to process and make a move to escape or counterattack. Do not waste them. They are the golden seconds.

4. Barricade the shooter’s point of entry. 

If, during the golden five seconds, you realize there is an entryway between you and a shooter—for example, if he is in an adjacent room—use the time to block the shooter’s entrance to your location.

Close and lock the door, and barricade it with furniture. Then seek cover. You have now made yourself a harder target.

5. Move instantly. 

Whether you are going to make an escape, attempt to stop a shooter, or simply barricade a door, if you hesitate, or delay, you are lowering your chances of survival. You have to act fast. You need to settle on a course of action and do it. It may not work, but what will surely not work is staying immobile and waiting to be a victim. Move. Do something. Quickly.

6. Get low and go.

In the fire service, we teach children the term “get low and go” when teaching them how to escape a smoke-filled house. Well, the principle is sound in a mass-shooter scenario, as well. Basic infantry training teaches you to hug the ground to avoid enemy gunfire, and to continue to shoot and move to avoid becoming an easy target.

Even if you cannot shoot back because you do not carry a weapon, you can move. Keep yourself low to the ground, and put distance and cover between you and a shooter, making your way toward an exit.

7. Call for help, quickly. 

Once you have reached a place of cover and concealment, or are otherwise able to do so safely, call 911. It seems obvious, but the sooner this call goes out, the sooner help arrives to neutralize the shooter and treat the wounded. 

Minutes matter in treating the casualties, some of whom will be in danger of bleeding to death if not treated quickly. A speedy response by fire, EMS, and police will help prevent further casualties and save those who can be saved at the scene.

8. Work as a team. 

Once the shooter has launched his plan and the shooting starts, like it or not, you and the others around you are instantly part of a team, a unit, a fighting force. If you work together, you have a better chance of surviving.

This might be as simple as following the lead of a brave bystander who charges a shooter, by helping wrap up the shooter and taking him to the ground, or by working together to barricade a door. You all have got to work together. Someone needs to take charge. Some will panic and freeze. Snap them out of it, and fight together.

9. Carry a tourniquet.

Following on number seven, above, you will hear lots of people say that concealed carry is the answer to preventing these incidents—and I do not fully disagree—but you will rarely hear anyone advocating keeping a tourniquet close by. 

CAT tourniquets, for example, are the size of an iPhone 6, and are proven lifesavers on the battlefield and in municipal police, fire, and EMS systems. They can be placed on yourself, or others, to stop extremity bleeding and prevent bleeding out. Throw one in a purse. They are easy to use, and the field-expedient versions (belts or T-shirts) rarely work. Consider it.

10. Worst case, throw stuff and charge. 

If you have no weapon, you have no way out, you have no time to get low and go, and your children or wife or loved ones are there with you, and you are face-to-face with a shooter, you have one option: charge. This is the civilian equivalent of rushing into enemy fire, or jumping on a grenade.

You have to somehow summon every last bit of courage you have and decide that the maniac in front of you is not going to harm your loved ones today. Throw the closest object you have at hand—keys, phone, chair, book, etc.—at the shooter to buy yourself a split second to distract him from shooting, and tackle that piece of garbage. Unleash every ounce of rage and animal instinct you have; make sure the shooter goes down and does not get up.

Gouge his eyes, tear out his throat, crush his testicles, and fight as dirty as you know how to in order to make sure you get up and walk away, and he does not. If you are going to die, die fighting.

Once again, I hope you never have to employ these actions, but if you do, I hope they keep you alive.

SEE ALSO: A Harvard student who was allegedly raped describes a disturbing trend among her peers

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: All the times Obama has responded to the mass shootings that he now feels powerless to stop

The collapse of the Soviet Union could not have been a source of national pride for many in Russia.

The one person who has capitalized on this the most has been Vladimir Putin.

To the outsider who’s looking in today, there is no mistaking Putin’s cult of personality built on the back of Russian modern media.

It’s right out of Hitler’s playbook in post-WWI Germany.

The problem for America is that Russia is becoming a major influence in the Middle East, eclipsing U.S. interests and influence in the region.

America has long been pot committed to the Middle East poker hand, but at this point it looks like Obama has no more chips on the table to bluff with.

Another interesting phenomena occurring on social media is Americas own Putin worship and this ironically plays right into the hands of Putin and his propaganda machine.  I remember earlier this year, transferring to the N train from 59th street station in Manhattan, seeing a large anti-Obama booth clearly set up by Russian FSB proxies, a clear attempt to shift American perception.

You can say what you want about the, often shirtless, AK-47-wielding Russian leader, he has been steadfast in his resolve to put Russia back on the world map. Now, with Iran and Syria as allies, Russia has positioned itself as the major state influencer in the modern Middle East, and until America can stop caring about the price of crude oil, Russia influence and cult of personality are problems we can’t ignore.

Cult of personality is a pejorative term implying the concentration of all power in a single charismatic leader within a totalitarian state and the near deification of that leader in state propaganda. Totalitarian regimes use the state-controlled mass media to cultivate a larger-than-life public image of the leader through unquestioning flattery and praise. –Encyclopedia.com

SEE ALSO: Deadliest in Turkey's history: Twin bombs kill 86 at pro-Kurdish rally in Ankara

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: Why Putin is the most powerful man in the world

The G36 could easily be pictured in the hands of a police commando resembling a stormtrooper who’s escorting Snake Pliskin to some wall of a prison island that was once a chunk of the United States.

Instead, it’s finding its way into the hands of Kurdish Peshmerga soldiers on the front lines of a war where it’s muzzle thumping the Islamic State every chance it gets.

Despite the German government insisting the weapon is catastrophically flawed, they keep sending them and the Kurds are putting them to use.

Personally I have found the G36 to be a reliable and accurate platform; it’s possibly one of the most versatile assault rifles in the world.

With the capability to customize virtually any part of it with relative ease, the end user can cater to mission-specific demands on the fly so long as the parts are available.

I also find it to be ergonomically pleasant in all areas of use with little to no difficulty attaining stability even in full battle rattle.

The G36 is nearly fully ambidextrous, sporting an easy-to-use safety lever on both sides of the trigger group/lower receiver. It has sling mounts at the end of the handguard and rear of the buttstock, and also has one on the rear left side of the receiver.

A particularly rare feature, especially for its time, is the bolt-catch mechanism, which lies on the underside of the receiver in front of the trigger. Functioning a lot like the Magpul BAD lever, it enables the bolt to be locked to the rear with the lift of a finger, making clearing double feeds a breeze.

Another unique feature is its charging handle, which can be operated from either side of the weapon and locked into place on either the left or right side if so desired. This enables the user to operate the weapon with relative ease during malfunctions or a simple reload. Simply pull back on the charging handle to send the bolt forward from the rearward locked position.

The receiver is constructed of a thick polymer that carries the block of a bolt carrier group (similar to the SCAR’s BCG) on tracks.

It’s hard to imagine integrity being truly compromised unless subjected to intensely hot temperatures, the kind achieved by hundreds of rounds being fired at a cyclic rate—not the way this firearm is intended to be employed. That being said, replacing it with a MIL-SPEC aluminum alloy receiver would be a huge improvement at the cost of a marginal increase in weight, in this author’s opinion.

Triggers are one of the most important features of a rifle, and H&K must have had this in mind. Sporting a two-stage combat trigger, the G36 has a smooth take-up and crisp break with minimal creep at around five lbs. (guesstimate).

The reset is not terribly long and gives a satisfying audible click upon reaching its reset point. I personally find it similar to that of the SCAR yet again. Maybe FNH got their inspiration from somewhere?

The buttstock is a folding, skeletonized piece that offers a decent cheek weld. Its push-button folding mechanism is abrasive and smooth to operate. The stock can be locked into a folded-over position and fired in that configuration. With a stout pull, it is easy to snap it into a fixed position on the fly and promptly shoulder it. For added comfort, it has a rubber buttpad on the rear of the stock.

The barrel, while not quite as slim as the oh so popular “pencil” barrel profile we see on many modern sporter AR15s now, or on the original M16A1, is slightly slimmer than that of the M16A4. It’s a free-floating design, made of 4150 cold hammer-forged steel, and has a six-groove 1:7 twist rate, making it ideal for hard use with the M855 NATO 5.56mm bullet.

It’s tipped with 1/2×28 threading and ratcheting-style flash hider. One MOA groups are relatively easy to attain when maintaining proper shooting fundamentals at the 100-meter range. Despite German complaints over accuracy deficiency, any weapon having been through a cyclic 400 rounds is going to throw a loose group.

Field stripping is a breeze with a small amount of practice, and little to no cleaning is required, given the G36 is a short-stroke gas piston-driven weapon. Everything comes apart through the removal of three takedown pins, which can be handily retained in the buttstock as you go, making them harder to misplace.

That would be bad. Components are robust and even on the old German Army-issue rifle I have now, show few signs of wear.

The magazine well can be configured with the pop of a pin and the necessary parts to use NATO GI mags. This is a worthwhile combination, but not easy to do here. With its standard setup, a Kalashnikov-style magazine release is the name of the game.

The magazines themselves, although they drop free, leave a good deal to be desired. The anti-tilt followers ensure reliable cycling of the bolt, but the box is fat—making it difficult to find pouches that are suitable for carrying the mags.

The material is a cheap, clear polymer that feels brittle and apparently is, since I’ve seen more than one shattered after a fight. Thankfully none of mine. Being proprietary, they are extremely hard to come by in Kurdistan and even more expensive. A positive feature is the integral mag coupler system, which makes consolidation simple and speed reloads faster.

The bread and butter of this rifle is its dual optic system on a removable carry handle. Despite its bulkiness overall, a two MOA red dot on top of a 4x BDC-style reticle makes for a nasty combination when changing environments on a battlefield. The red dot itself is powered by a fiber optic sliding window on top of the optic itself, or with the flip of a switch, a AA lithium battery for use at night and in dim environments.

The ACOG-style scope has a stadiometric chart in the bottom left corner similar to the SVD, and a simple crosshair-type BDC that has markers for 200, 400, 600, and 800 meters (rolls eyes). While this is a handy tool, there is no way this rifle can hit a man at 800m. I don’t care what H&K claims. Okay, maybe with a little luck, but not in this war.

My chief complaints with the optic are the mechanics and methods behind zeroing it. To achieve a proper zero requires turning an Allen wrench along increments etched into the side of the optic. On top of this, there are no audible clicks—just a smooth twisting sensation. While this does not make zeroing the weapon impossible, it does create a hassle and it may take a few groups to get a satisfactory zero depending on the user.

Overall, the rifle is an exceptional piece of engineering by the Germans. I have had no issues with overheating or degradation in accuracy after sustained use. It performs cleanly and reliably even after being caked in moon dust or getting banged around a little in a Humvee or truck. Zero is maintained exceptionally well, to the point where we shoot cigarette boxes at 100m regularly.

I don’t really have many complaints or bad things to say about the G36. It works exceptionally well for its role here with the Peshmerga. As far as I’m concerned, the Germans can keep sending their de-issued ones here, because the Kurds need all the logistical support they can get.

Kurt is a four-year Marine Corps veteran who served in multiple billets to include positions in training, logistics, and command operations center roles. He is currently serving as a military advisor and volunteer soldier with Kurdish Peshmerga forces. When not taking the fight to the Islamic State, he enjoys drinking chai and chain smoking with Kurdish friends alongside other volunteers.

SEE ALSO: US official: We think Turkey just shot down a Russian drone near the Syrian border

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: North Korea stages a massive military parade — and they say they're ready for war with 'US imperialists'

“Just keep driving until you get to the Daesh,” the Peshmerga checkpoint guard said.

I was trying to get to the front line to follow along with the Kurdish offensive outside Kirkuk on September 11th. Can’t really blame him for his concise instructions.

As our car approached the front, there were dozens of up-armored Humvees and pickup trucks. Peshmerga fighters stood around waiting for their orders, talking amongst each other and smoking cigarettes.

 As I got out of the car and began walking down the road, a group of Kurdish journalists looked at me and began waving their hands, saying, “No good, no good!”

The puffs of smoke from either IEDs or mortar rounds rose into the air in the distance.

Before even getting to the berm lines, I ran into a group of foreigners who had joined up with the 9th Brigade. They all wore MultiCam and balaclavas to conceal their identity. As I was soon to find out, one of them had already had his rifle confiscated because he was taking pot shots at the Pesh, mistaking them for ISIS.

Having left Erbil at 3:30 in the morning, it was now about 6 a.m. The sun had not fully risen and burned off the cloudy haze that engulfed the battlefield. The Peshmerga’s mission today was to liberate a series of villages on the outskirts of Kirkuk, pushing ISIS farther away from the city.

What I had come upon was a fighting column, firing on a Daesh village called Zanghar with machine guns and tanks, while hundreds of vehicles were stacked up, ready to roll forward.

At this point I was able to get my eyes on some of the new weaponry that the Pesh had obtained from the Germans. G36 rifles aplenty, as well as Panzerfaust and Milan anti-tank systems. One Peshmerga soldier even carried a .50-caliber sniper rifle, very similar to the locally manufactured Zagros rifle that I saw female YPG snipers with in Syria months prior.

The Pesh had taken their training to heart; they employed their anti-tank weapons appropriately. This was serious business, as one of the main Daesh tactics is to load captured up-armored Humvees with explosives and drive them right into the Pesh front lines before detonating.

This time, the Daesh were not putting up much of a fight, at least not with small arms fire. They abandoned Zanghar and by 6:40 a.m., the village had been liberated. Ground troops were swarming into the village. Just before I got there, an IED went off and killed a Peshmerga fighter.

One of his teammates showed me the video on his cell phone of a bulldozer trying to recover his body, which had been cut in half by the blast. 

The sun was coming up and the haze began to clear. With Zanghar captured, the fighting column crept forward. Peshmerga EOD teams were digging up and disarming IEDs all along the road. Sadly, the Kurdish EOD experts had little to work with besides a piece of string and a fishhook. An ambulance blaring its siren came blasting by me, picking up the wounded as IEDs were tripped and exploded prematurely.

Around this time, someone’s toy airplane started buzzing overhead. A UAV, watching us from above.

The Peshmerga advance split into three columns, moving on different villages. I trailed behind the leading edge of the Peshmerga element, noting dozens upon dozens of disarmed IEDs. Wires to command detonate the explosives ran up both sides of the road.

When I asked about a cherry picker in their convoy, the Pesh said it was for clipping the power lines before they went into the villages. Some of the IEDs could have electronic detonators, which would set them off when they were stepped on, completing the circuit.

The Peshmerga doctor was someone who definitely stood out as someone earning his pay that day. He was shouting orders, getting casualties evacuated on stretchers. After an IED went off about 30 meters in front of me, a half dozen bleeding Peshmerga were carried off on litters, others limping toward the ambulance with the help of their buddies.

The Daesh were practicing a tactic called defense in depth. Instead of holding ground until the last bullet, they were quickly withdrawing under the Peshmerga assault, then detonating already prepared booby traps in the form of IEDs—nickel-and-diming the Kurdish fighters. Seven would die and 45 would be injured by the end of the day.

Moving up to record a black ISIS flag flapping in the breeze, I ran into a Kurd named Qabat. He turned out to have a hell of an interesting story. He once lived in the United States, where he worked as a bank manager for many years, then came back home to help his people fight ISIS.

The situation was surreal. While we were having our conversation, IEDs were going off in front of us as well as off to our flanks. How many of them were command detonated and how many were remote detonated is impossible to say. Qabat went on to tell me that he works with Americans who have volunteered in the Peshmerga.

“Do you know Kurt?” I asked, inquiring about someone I had been talking to online for a while.

“Come on with me. They are up here.”

Walking around an armored vehicle, I heard someone shout, “Hey, I know that guy!”

Sure enough, it was U.S. Marine Corp veteran Kurt and his friend, an Army veteran named Joey. Of course our conversation quickly turned to war porn. Gun talk, showing off our knives to each other, and chatting while we waited for the next advance probably sounding the way women talk about shoes and clothes, but about war stuff. It is always nice to meet like-minded people out on the battlefield.

Kurt and Joey had both done very well for themselves, but more importantly they had done well in terms of helping the Kurds. Back in Sulymania, they taught the Peshmerga basic infantry tactics, but they also got to jump into the fray during offensives like this.

Sporadic gunfire sounded amidst the occasional IED blast. Frankly, I had never seen fighting quite like this. The Daesh appeared weak and unable to defend their terrain. Instead they had cut and run, leveraging their only relative strength against the Peshmerga, the same one that so many American soldiers had faced before: remote-detonated improvised explosives.

With Qabat, Kurt, and Joey, we continued marching forward behind the armored vehicles. The sun was up now and it was getting damn hot, the kind of hot you only feel in Iraq where it seems like the sun is five inches from your head. Off on our right flank, a mass of civilians were inching toward the Peshmerga column.

There looked to be about 100 of them, some driving vehicles jam-packed with their worldly possessions. They waved white sheets above their heads in surrender. One villager was herding his flock of 50-or-so sheep toward the Peshmerga lines. They were villagers from bad-guy land, trying to defect to the other side.

The Pesh set up their anti-tank weapons and security positions oriented toward the civilians, not willing to risk believing the Daesh were not mixed into the group. The Asyaish, the Kurdish intelligence officers, then showed up in balaclavas to begin interviewing the villagers to see who was or was not an ISIS collaborator.

In a face-to-face meeting with one of the Asyaish a few days later, I found out that some of the villagers were, in fact, collaborators. Sadly, one of the civilian vehicles had also hit an IED on their way to surrender to the Peshmerga. The blast took off a woman’s arm and killed her baby.

Overall, I was quite impressed with the planning and preparation that the Peshmerga put into the offensive. The refugee situation slowed them down a bit, but it was not something they were unprepared for. They responded, and quickly regained their momentum. Taking a break while we waited, I sat down on the side of the road, but not for long. The vehicles were moving again shortly.

A Peshmerga officer walked by, looked at me, and said, “Come on, let’s go and finish this!” It is hard not to respect that type of leadership. Even the doctor, who later took IED shrapnel to the forehead, bandaged himself up and continued to do his job that day.

In a later interview with General Ja’afer, the Kirkuk sector commander, he told me, “We are not the Army. We are Peshmerga. We don’t say go, we say come.”

Pounding down another bottle of water, I took the officer’s advice and kept moving with his men. Joey, Kurt, and I were walking forward, talking casually, when it came out of nowhere.

Black smoke shot up into the air about 100 meters in front of us. The size of the blast made it seem a hell of a lot closer.

“Stay down, stay down,” Kurt warned. “Some stuff is going to come back down on us.”

Sure enough, something zinged into the grass a few meters to my right. It turned out that there was an outhouse alongside the road up ahead. The Peshmerga were not taking any chances, so they lit it up with machine-gun fire. Sure enough, it turned out to be another IED. Fed up with the situation, the Peshmerga called in their bulldozers and began making new roads on the fly so that they did not lose their tactical momentum from getting waylaid by IEDs.

There was one more village to capture before the day was done: Hasan Sha-lal. I climbed into the back of a pickup truck and got a ride up to the village. As we cruised by, the ground was on fire around us from the massive IED that had gone off. PKM and DShK gunners were laying down suppressive fire on Hasan Sha-lal, prepping it for the ground assault force.

The Pesh again used their bulldozers to make a new road up to the village and then occupied the high ground on a hill adjacent to it. With overwatch in place from two angles, dismounted Peshmerga soldiers entered and began clearing the village.

With the task mostly completed, I rode in the back of the pickup as we drove into the village on the main road and up onto the hill. I would be lying if I said that my pucker factor was not a little high at this point.

On top of the hill, a Peshmerga officer stood alongside an observer from the PKK, distinguished by his OD green uniform and sash belt. The officer was on the radio and looking through binoculars. A few puffs of smoke in the distance signified coalition airstrikes that they had coordinated.

Trotting down the hill, I went inside some of the houses in the villages. They appeared lived-in, but sparsely furnished. There probably were not more than 30 or 40 people living there, at least until they left and surrendered to the Peshmerga earlier. Now it was a ghost town.

Bulldozers came in and started flattening the village. It was a type of scorched-earth policy to prevent the Daesh from coming back in and occupying the buildings. Walls were knocked down and roofs caved in under a haze of smoke.

Turning around, another Peshmerga officer saw me and said I needed to go back up the hill for my own safety. He said that radio intercepts had been received that there was a suicide vehicle en route to our location. Not seeing much need to push my luck at this point, I walked back up the hill and drank some water while the village was being razed.

It was a long, difficult day for the Pesh, but they had accomplished their mission and once again disproven the myth of ISIS, that they are some unbeatable, magical Islamist force that will sweep across the entire Middle East.

SEE ALSO: ISIS training ring for children discovered in Istanbul

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: Turkey's Latest Plan To Drain $3 Million A Day From ISIS Is Working

The Israeli air force has an impressive reputation. As a son of an IAF veteran, I grew up hearing stories and watching runways.

I was told tales of daring dogfights against the Egyptian spitfires in the early days, or the overwhelming casualties the IAF caused to the Egyptian air force during the Six-Day War in 1967— a total of 452 Arab aircraft were destroyed, 49 of which were aerial victories.

Over the years, the IAF has become more technologically advanced and is now an important part of our national security.

But above all, it has become an important element of our special operations, providing our forces with the ability to reach far, silently and in deadly fashion.

Operations such as OP Babylon— bombing an Iraqi nuclear plant — or Operation Orchard were important milestones in IAF progression and development. Its reputation has since helped the Jewish country rule the sky in a manner that offers us freedom of action, even in such a complex conflict as the Syrian Civil War.

But with the recent developments in Syria, the Russians working to establish a stronger presence in the region, it is likely that the era of the IAF crossing borders as if merely walking over a sidewalk is nearly over.

The Russian navy's Black Sea flagship, the guided missile cruiser Moscow— or Moskva "glory"— left from Sevastopol in Crimea September 24, according to Russian state-controlled media. It is currently located to the west of Latakia, in western Syria.

According to the Russian Ministry of Defense, "In the course of the training activity, the Russian ships will practice organization of anti-submarine, anti-ship, and air defense, as well as search-and-rescue activities and rendering assistance to distressed vessels.

"During the exercise, the military seamen are to perform over 40 different combat, tasks including missile and artillery firings at surface and aerial targets."

By positioning the Moskva, a cruiser armed with S300 missiles, west of Latakia, the Russians have endangered the IAF's favorite corridor of flight into Syria. The IAF has no stealth capabilities to circumvent this anti-access/area denial — A2/AD — bubble, nor any other air force in the area.

Russian President Vladimir Putin managed to do in several days what US President Barack Obama failed to do in the last three years: He's created a true no-fly zone. Putin's actions suggest, in my opinion, that he's willing to force the coalition and the Israel air force into reporting and coordinating their flights in the region — an act I’m sure no one is in favor of or willing to comply with.

The Moskva carries an estimated 64 S-300 missiles, according to foreign sources), and could intercept multiple targets up to 150 miles away, making it a serious threat in addition to other Russian assets in the region.

The presence of the Moskva essentially locks down British air assets in Cyprus, American F-16s in the southern part of Turkey, and the Israeli air force, which likes to use that particular flight corridor for penetration into Syria, or alternatively when flying over the western part of Lebanon. Any flights in or around the country will now be tricky for the IAF to accomplish.

Currently, there's a great deal of disinformation and propaganda on the web pertaining to Russian activities in the region and their ostensibly benevolent operations to rid the region of the likes of ISIS. A lot of false information is circulating and PSYOPS are in full effect.

But one may not ignore reality. Russian activities on the diplomatic field suggest that the Russians have intentionally established their own no-fly zones, creating A2/AD bubbles in Syria through which no aircraft, unless stealth-capable, can travel.

The Russian navy has reestablished its old Cold War base, Tartus, on the western coast of Syria. That, along with a Russian airbase in northwestern Syria, ensures that Russia can maintain steady supply routes into Syria to support its military actions.

Considering this and the sophisticated air-defense capabilities the Russians have already deployed in Syria, perhaps the entire operation is about more than merely buoying Syrian President Bashar Assad's regime in the short term. As the saying goes, "Russia is not just a country, it's a mentality."

Concerning aspects of Russia's presence in Syria

1. The Israeli policy in Syria was to indirectly support rebels and entities on our eastern border (in the Golan Heights region) in order to counter Iranian attempts to support their proxy war branches. The current Russian campaign has made the region easier for the Iranian 'advisors' (read: Quds Force) and the Kuntar militias (Hezbollah proxy) to assume their positions and launch future operations. With the previous IAF airstrikes in the area, Hezbollah and the Iranians were forced to think twice before moving their tools. With that region being protected by a sophisticated air defense like the one Russia has introduced, operated by personnel who can actually read what's written on the keyboard, the IAF's influence has essentially been counteracted.
2. When the US moved into Iraq, they did it the way they know best: with tons of troops and equipment in a big and impressive way. The problem is, when the US left, military bases and vast amounts of military equipment were left behind, mostly to save the expense of bringing it back home. Now the Russians are mirroring this approach — dumping major hardware into the conflict — which may result in a similar situation to that of Iraq. The Israeli government was the first to recognize this horrifying possibility. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said, "If anybody wants to use Syrian territory to transfer nuclear weapons to Hezbollah, we'll take action."

So what happens to coalition surveillance flights? What about airdrops to parties in the region supported by the coalition? This will become another complicated situation which will require the precision of a surgeon and the creativity of artists. One thing is certain: The Kremlin's recent move is dangerous and places us all in danger. It may be time to dust off the old Cold War books.

Conclusion

In an attempt to establish a no-fly zone, Russia has created a roadblock for current and future actions by coalition forces in the region. I have no idea what tomorrow will bring. I don't know how many corners the Syrian table has, but I do know one thing: Too many airplanes belonging to rival factions flying in the same airspace should be a wake-up call to do a home check.

The proposed American no-fly zone idea was meant to protect civilians. The Russian no-fly zone does the opposite and poses complications in lands beyond Syria. It protects the Assad regime as it continues to kill civilians. The more Obama allows the Russian military to become involved in Syria, the more I suspect that Obama has reconsidered forcing Assad out of the game.

UPDATE: As of October 7, for the first time, four Russian navy ships used surface-to-surface, long-range missiles in an "operational" setting. The bombardment struck 26 targets in Syria. According to Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu, 11 hits were confirmed. Shoigu also said that the strikes were launched from the Caspian Sea using long-range missiles (Klub series) that flew 1,500 kilometers (930 miles) to their targets.

SEE ALSO: Rare cockpit footage of Russian Su-30SM jets taking part in missions over Syria

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: Here's how the migrant crisis is spreading through Europe and the Middle East

Ukraine gained its independence from Russia in 1991, and over a decade later, in the people’s “Revolution of Dignity” of 2014, saw an end to the corrupt regime of President Viktor Fedorovych Yanukovych.

He would flee Kiev in the early morning hours of February 22nd, 2014—given asylum by Russian President Vladimir Putin. 

A brief history of revolution

The people of Ukraine grew increasingly tired of paper independence and the increasing corruption of the Yanukovych regime, as well as his close ties to Russia. The final straw was a broken promise made by the president to improve relations with the EU and a stalled trade agreement.

Frustration would boil over into full-blown revolution when peaceful protests in Maidan (Independence Square) were met with brutal retaliation against the unarmed protesters, many of them students.

The result backfired against Yanukovych, and thousands more would gather in Maidan in protest from all parts of Ukraine. The protests would last months, turning extremely violent at times. However, the people wold prevail, and mounting pressure resulted in the president’s unofficial resignation in February of 2014. President Viktor Yanukovych was finally out of power, and paper independence gave way to something more substantial. 

The former president’s lavish countryside home was abandoned by security, and is now nicknamed “The Museum of Corruption” by locals. The house contained a private zoo, golf course, lakes, and gold-plated golf clubs. 

Over 100 people would lose their lives in the revolution—ordinary people doing extraordinary things. I spoke with a local Kiev resident over coffee and he explained that during the revolution, the phrase “Glory to Ukraine” was a commonplace saying, with the appropriate response being, “Glory to the heroes.” 

Post-revolution

The country still remains a mix of pro-Ukraine and pro-Russia, with many families divided by both loyalty and geography. I’ve found that most of the pro-Russian Ukrainians are much older, apparently grown accustomed to the old post-Soviet ways. Most Ukrainians I’ve spoken with are convinced that a free Ukraine, with close ties to the EU, would invite a much brighter future. 

I spent four days touring the streets of the 1500-year-old city in the last week of October, and it was clear to me that the spirit of democracy is alive and well in the capital. However, some people I spoke with still fear that a third revolution is coming and that it would be a bad thing. A young professional I spoke with, working in Kiev for a logistics company, said this was mostly because of the continued culture of political corruption. 

Walking the streets at night, I could feel an uneasy energy lurking just below the surface. Emotions still run high when it comes to  Putin’s Russia and the continued conflict in Donbass to the east. Frustration boiled over in front of me while shopping with my friends in Kiev’s local Roshen chocolate shop.

As we were checking out, a burly man became enraged at the register next to us, yelling at employees of the store, visibly angered that employees were speaking only in Russian to him.

“Speak Ukrainian!” the man yelled as he threw his purchased chocolates at the young female behind the register. The violent outburst left the man awaiting arrest, held by the main entrance by security as customers scurried out to avoid confrontation. 

Law in Ukraine is not black and white; it is shades of gray. An example of this: billionaire Ukrainian president, Petro Oleksiyovych Poroshenko, who under existing Ukrainian law is not permitted to own a private business. He owns several, including the Roshen chocolate company. I was told that some laws people ignore because they are not practical, and unfortunately, many impractical laws still plague Ukraine.  

Many things do seem to be shifting in the right direction. For example, Ukraine has a new police force, only several months old, and trained to U.S. standards. Camouflage police uniforms and old ways have been traded for sharp blue uniforms closely resembling their American and European police counterparts.

“This is a good thing; the people will come to appreciate the new police, but it will take time,” said the same young professional I spoke with during my visit. “The old police were looking for bribes only. The new ones are only enforcing the law.”

On a guided tour, I walked by a newly erected monument outside of the old Russian KGB headquarters. It featured a Ukrainian warrior on horseback, stabbing the head of a two-headed dragon with his spear, repelling the beast (clearly Russia) to the eastern border on a map of Ukraine.

The message was clear: Russia continues to be a very real threat to a democratic Ukraine, but the people are ready to fight to keep their independence. 

Ukrainian warrior repelling the two-headed dragon of Russia on the eastern border of Ukraine. SOFREP, all rights reserved.

Conclusion

My last day in Kiev, my friends and I wanted to take a walk past the protests in front of the presidential headquarters, where many had set up camp to strike on various issues including political corruption.

I stopped briefly at one of the tents and warmed myself by a striker’s fire—a welcome break from the freezing temperatures. The strikers appeared to be an odd mix of paid proxies and authentic political activists. 

As I stared into the flames of the barrel fire and breathed in the wood smoke, I thought about what freedom really means, and how many Ukrainians had paid for it with their lives in the revolution of 2014, on this very same street. 

I thought about the importance of the Dignity Revolution that ended in November, 2014, and what it meant to the future of the Ukrainian people, and the rest of the free world.

I reflected on my own freedom, and how so many back home in America still take it for granted. 

So what next?

If we’ve learned anything during 14 years of war and flawed American foreign policy, it’s that we need solid diplomatic strategies, not half-baked ones.

Poor strategic planning has contributed to the current instability in North Africa, and left Iraq fractured and in chaos with large parts in the clutches of ISIS. 

We need a clear plan to put radical Islamic terrorism out of vogue, and it should be eliminated at its roots. American SOF are part of the puzzle, but they do not, by themselves, complete the picture. 

And what of Ukraine? 

If any country deserves American support, Ukraine does. Their people have fought hard for it, and we would be smart to go “all in” with our support, providing mentorship where needed, economic relief, military training, and weapons. The U.S. is doing some of this now, but we need to get serious about it soon; the possibility of a third people’s revolution becomes more real by the day.

A third uprising could further fracture a free Ukraine and shore up Putin’s very real goals of Russian expansionism. The heroes of Ukraine deserve better.

SEE ALSO: Flight recorders show crashed Russian jet was not struck from the outside

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: Investigators say flight MH17 was struck by a Russian-made surface-to-air missile

“None of the locals go here. The view is nice, but it’s too expensive,” said my friend from Kiev.

Drink prices were triple, make that quadruple, what they were compared to my late afternoon beer near the city centre.

I slid the door open and stepped out into the harsh, cold night air. It was below zero degrees celsius, and I was standing on the rooftop of a posh Kiev local spy haunt.

The view of the city and river was incredible but the icy air gave me BUD/S flashbacks and I was back inside within a few minutes.

Inside, it was warm, but the scene was too weird. To my left were two diplomats with English accents, and they looked like they were also sampling the local talent. I was on the dimly lit rooftop of the Intercontinental Hotel’s “Hush Bar.”

You see, every city with an embassy has their spy bar hangouts. It’s not what you’re thinking. I’m not talking about some bar where a clandestine meet-up takes place between some hot-looking Bond girl of a foreign asset and CIA case officer.

These type of bars are where the case officers, analysts, and support staff go to drink when they get bored of pumping free drinks into foreign guests at the embassy or CIA base bar.

It’s the kind of place they feel safe. But it’s prime picking for any savvy enemy intelligence agent who has a local network and is prepared to buy information. More on that later.

It’s mostly Ukrainian and Russian spoken around Kiev tonight. During my spy bar hiatus later in my trip, I would find myself in an odd mix of the Queen’s English, American, French, and German speakers.

I had booked my ticket to Kiev in New York a few weeks back because one of our writers, Buck Clay, was having difficulty transferring video files to Nick Cahill, our media director. Buck was cruising the Ukrainian countryside reporting for SOFREP and trying to upload his video files from anywhere he could pirate a WiFi hotspot. It wasn’t working out very well.

“Screw it, I’ll meet you in Kiev for a hand-off. I’ve always wanted to go, anyway. How’s the 24th?” I asked.

“The 24th until when?” Buck emailed back.

“Three or four days?”

“That should work,” Buck said.

Buck would end up getting an invite to Switzerland and then he was off to Romania with the crazy idea to do a SOFREP Halloween post from communist Transylvania. Yes, it does exist, folks.

“Picture of post and tracking number enclosed. Likely the end of this week. We will figure out the Romania footage when I get home. Here’s the list of spy bars,” was his last transmission.

Buck and I had planned to hand off the video footage and then spend a night together bouncing through the spy bars of Kiev. But now I was on a solo mission, armed with a few local contacts Buck passed my way.

Every city that houses foreign embassies has their local covert spy haunts, and Buck had managed to get the full list for Kiev. That list was now in my possession and I had a non-refundable ticket to Kiev, Ukraine. To hell with it, I thought. Kiev was on my list of cities to see, and how much trouble could a former Navy SEAL get into in the capital of Ukraine?

The flight over from New York on Lufthansa was pleasant enough. After landing in Germany, I passed through European Union customs, then transferred planes in Munich for the short two-hour hop to Kiev. Kiev was far from the fighting in the east, but it was the birthplace of Ukrainian revolution and no stranger to violence. Anything could happen.

On final approach, the frosted windows of the Airbus reminded me that winter had definitely arrived in the 1500-year-old city. It was a good thing I packed my warmies. We have a couple cold-weather sayings in the SEAL teams: “Cotton kills,” and “Pack light, freeze at night.” I’ve been in enough cold, dark places to know that there’s no substitute for a good down jacket and a few pairs of wool shirts and socks.

Anyone who has visited an Eastern Bloc country knows that there’s a reason Hitler’s army got its ass kicked in World War II: The combination of Russian resolve and their brutal winters is deadly.

I said, “Dobroho ranku” in my best Ukrainian to the woman scrutinizing my passport. She looked up at me briefly, annoyed, and then, WHOMP! She slammed down the stamp on my passport, and I was in. To be honest, I sighed in relief.

But before I could get too comfortable, she gave me a blank stare that said I better get a move-on before she sent me to a secondary that would make an American TSA agent blush. I wasted no time getting the hell on with myself.

A friend from Kiev met me outside baggage claim and we sped off into the main city center of Kiev in his black VW diesel. He was not concerned with the Volkswagen software emission scandal, apparently; Ukraine has looser emission standards than the People’s Republic of California. Also worth noting: In Ukraine, seat belts are frowned upon.

I went to buckle up and noticed the plastic seat belt hack — a small device inserted into the main buckle receiver that fooled the onboard alarm. I removed it and clicked in, and 20 minutes later we arrived at a small flat I’d rented. I personally prefer online rentals over hotel rooms and the prying eyes of staff, not to mention it’s common for Eastern European intelligence agencies to bug and monitor local hotels. In this part of the country, most anything goes.

I grabbed a quick, hot shower—about a minute-and-a-half quick once the small water heater ran its course—and finished my rinse cycle with ice-cold water. It was like Ukraine was reminding me that I was not in Kansas anymore. 

Once the goose bumps receded back to wherever goose bumps come from, I went over the list of bars that Buck gave me (below). These aren’t all of them, but most of them are listed.

The Spy Bars of Kiev

• Irish Golden Gate Pub
• Vodka Bar 
• LOBUS
• T.G.I Friday’s (seriously) 
• Hilton Kyiv H Bar
• Tarasa Shevchenko 
• Velyka
• B Hush 
• Velyka Zhytomyrska 
• Volodymyrska 
• Old School Bar
• Mala Zhytomyrska 

I wouldn’t likely end up sharing a martini with James Bond— maybe a sloppy diplomat or two, but it was shaping up to be an interesting night. I’d only end up hitting three bars (sorry guys, my liver isn’t what it used to be!) but, I discovered another bar entirely by accident another night out.

I was in Kiev, after all, and anything could happen. Part two coming soon…

SEE ALSO: Here's how to end the US's string of intelligence failures in Russia

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: Politician Dressed As Darth Vader Says He Is The Only One Who Can Unite Ukraine

A quick search on Google yields plenty of varying methods of ranking the world’s airlines. You can easily sort airlines (at least those in the US) out by their on-time performance, complaints, baggage handling, and which magazine you’re carrying. Expand your horizons a bit to look at the worldwide airline industry, and it can be a little tougher to identify just who is the “best” in the world.

The World’s 10 Safest Airlines

1. Quantas
2. Lufthansa
3. Air New Zealand
4. British Airways
5. Finnair
6. Cathay Pacific
7. Eva Air
8. Singapore
9. Emirates
10. Any U.S. based air carrier

Note:We picked our list based on the data and research in this article.Regardless of Russian Celebrities recently going on Russian TV and touting safety records of the Motherland. AirlineRating.com’s rating system actually mark down airlines that operate Russian-built equipment, so airlines such as Aeroflot or Cubana will never make the top of the list simply by nature of the aircraft they operate.

How do you define the best? Is it the airline that got you to your destination on time (it’s a miracle!) and gave you the whole can (gasp!) of ginger ale?

Best is an awfully vague and subjective term, so for the sake of argument we’ll take a look at the safest airlines in the world. That’s a bit more objective and a more measurable standard than identifying which airline has the most comfortable seat or finest champagne in first class, but it’s still a very finicky subject.

The UK-based aviation consultancy firm Skytrax elaborates, there is no “single, global measure of airline safety and no accurate or scientific formula that can be applied on an industry-wide basis.”

While that may be true, what we can do is take a historical perspective, and see how the world’s safest airlines have evolved with the changing nature of air travel. One of the ways we can do that is to look at data from one of the organizations that was created specifically for establishing worldwide safety criteria as the aviation industry grew exponentially.

Founded by the United Nations in 1944, the International Civil Aviation Organization describes safety as one of its strategic objectives, as the “organization is constantly striving, in close collaboration with the entire air transport community, to further improve aviation’s successful safety performance while maintaining a high level of capacity and efficiency.”

Every year, AirlineRatings.com publishes a list of the world’s safest airlines after evaluating audits from the Federal Aviation Administration and ICAO, and the list for 2015 is topped by Australia’s Qantas. The airline was founded in 1920, making it the world’s oldest and most experienced (sorry, Virgin) airline. They earned their spot at the top of the list by going 64 years – and counting – without a fatal accident. That’s a remarkable stat: meaning the airline has not had a fatality in the jet era!

Australia’s neighbors across the Tasman Sea also made the top 10 list. Although not quite as old as Qantas, Air New Zealand has firmly established itself as one of the world’s safest airlines, their last fatal accident occurring in November 1979 – the tragic crash of flight 901 on Mount Erebus while on a sightseeing flight over Antarctica.

The famed British Airways is the UK’s flag carrier, and is also touted as one of the world’s safest carriers. Almost 40 years have passed since the airline’s last fatal crash, although luckily the recent uncontained engine failure at Las Vegas only resulted in some minor injuries during the subsequent emergency evacuation on the McCarran runway.

Finnair and Lufthansa are the other two European airlines that maintain stellar safety records. Finland’s flag carrier is also one of the oldest airlines in existence, and has not suffered any fatalities since 1963. The airline is also in the midst of replacing some of its long-haul fleet, and is taking delivery of new Airbus A350s.

Lufthansa is Europe’s largest airline, serving over 200 destinations in 78 countries with its fleet of almost 300 aircraft. Though they also own low-cost carrier Germanwings, a name which became known the world over with the tragic crash in the French alps, there have been only 2 fatalities on Lufthansa proper since 1979.

Cathay Pacific of Hong Kong, Eva Air of Taiwan, and Singapore Airlines are the top 3 Asian carriers with fantastic safety records. These airlines primarily operate long-haul fleet that is almost continuously updated with the latest Boeing and Airbus widebody (twin-aisle) offerings.

Relative newcomers to the worldwide airline industry as compared to the rest of the list are Etihad Airways, and Emirates. Emirates was founded and began operations in 1985, but only in recent years has achieved new heights (so to speak) with massive growth and fleet refresh. Etihad Airways is an even newer player, having been started in 2003, but has already gained a reputation for excellence and has been named as one of the best in the world.

All the above airlines have several things in common, not the least of which is operating a newer fleet of aircraft. Etihad’s fleet of all-new Boeing and Airbus aircraft are newer than 2003 and hires numerous American and British ex-pats with jet time already in their logbooks. It’s worth noting that AirlineRating.com’s rating system actually mark down airlines that operate Russian-built equipment, so airlines such as Aeroflot or Cubana will never make the top of the list simply by nature of the aircraft they operate.

Several airlines also operate their own cadet programs, teaching students how to fly from their very first lesson, grooming them for their unique operations. Lufthansa operates a large flight school in Arizona, while Cathay Pacific has its own large flight school operation in Australia. Given the enormously expensive (and rising) cost associated with obtaining civilian certificates in the US, I would not be surprised to see some of the major US airlines taking a similar approach in the future.

Alaska Airlines, JetBlue, Virgin America, and Westjet are some of the top contenders for U.S. low-cost carriers on Airlineratings.com and almost across the board US air carriers sport excellent safety records.

Though most of the world has conformed to ICAO safety standards, the organization’s audits have also revealed some glaring holes in the system. Thailand, Haiti, Kazakhstan, Lebanon, Nepal, Uruguay, and several African countries have all been flagged by ICAO for operational safety concerns. Most of the operators in these countries don’t have service to the US, but Thai Airways maintains a large international network out of its Bangkok hub.

I’d think twice before buying a ticket on Malaysian Airlines, but that’s largely because the airline seems to have hit a string of terrible luck. Does it mean you’ll crash if you fly on Middle Eastern Airlines out of Beirut or Nepal Air into Kathmandu? Absolutely not, but doing so certainly adds risk in an industry that survives by reducing risk.

All that said, maybe we should look at some data with perspective. In 2014, ICAO reported approximately 3.2 billion worldwide passengers operated by some 33 million flights. In the same year, there were only 3 accidents for every 1 million departures. The number of fatalities increased due to the two Malaysian 777 accidents. Ideally there would be zero, but according to AirlineRatings.com 50 years ago there were 87 crashes, killing a total of 1,597 passengers, in a time when airlines only carried 141 million passengers annually – and that amounts to around 5% of today’s traffic.

The worldwide air travel industry is not showing any signs of slowing down either. It’s busy airspace out there, and accidents do still happen – and fortunately they are extremely rare – but we can’t let our guard down now.

SEE ALSO: Russian weapons chief: we've signed a deal to sell advanced anti-aircraft missiles to Iran

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: Investigators say flight MH17 was struck by a Russian-made surface-to-air missile

In a derelict industrial complex just outside of Kiev, soldiers of the Ukrainian National Guard are demonstrating their technical and tactical competence.

Enlisted men and officers of the Ukrainian National Guard are designing, engineering, innovating, and manufacturing custom tanks developed to meet the evolving challenges throughout the Ukrainian battlespace.

Warfighters with pre-war experience in engineering, mechanics, robotics, and technology have combined their skills with their battlefield experience to create adaptable technology tailored to their mission sets.

These soldiers are re-engineering the abandoned husks of armored vehicle platforms, which were once scattered or forgotten across the nation by a neglectful post-Cold War Ukrainian military.

Approximately 100 meters from the entrance of the impromptu factory, a Soviet Amphibious Bridging System—Tracked is parked, worse for wear and missing its pontoon bridge.

Upon closer inspection, the track and boat-like bow appeared to be serviceable on a chassis similar to the Soviet MT-T artillery prime mover. The winches and cab had seen better days, but the bilge pump systems at first glance seemed intact.

The condition of the vehicle was astonishing, considering where it came from. My host explained that this particular vehicle was found in the thin tree lines that separate the fields of farmers in the east of the country.

The farmer told the recovery unit that the vehicle had been there for countless years, and had it not been discovered by a dismounted patrol of the Ukrainian National Guard, he would have completely forgotten it was there.

Found tactical vehicles are not uncommon in many former Warsaw Pact nations, as the speedy breakup and restructuring of the governments led to an unprecedented amount of unaccounted for equipment since the 1990s.

On the bright side, this chaos has allowed for a few pieces of this lost equipment to make their way into productive hands and for a good purpose.

The former amphibious vehicle has a similar backstory to the other vehicles under construction within the complex. The larger vehicles seen in the video are being constructed using similar, large engineering-vehicle hulls.

These larger vehicles, which have the look of a souped-up M113, once completed, will host a dual stabilized mortar system in the back supported by twin cannon turrets with complementary coaxial machine guns near the mid-front of the vehicle.

The engine and armor specifics are classified. All of this is manufactured in-house and built onto a stripped-down hull using an industrial plasma cutter, welders, and an impressive amount of ingenuity.

A team of approximately 10 soldiers and officers are dedicated to the research, development, and deployment of this vehicle series, as well as the other projects under development within the complex.

Also seen under production in the facility is what can best be described as an antique BTR. Yet the R&D staff of the Ukrainian National Guard found fortune in what others may consider a museum piece.

Using lessons learned from the battlefield and recognizing the necessity of speed and stealth, these engineers will give this old armored car new life as a marvelously unique scout and reconnaissance vehicle.

Currently installed on the vehicle is a run-silent electric engine, chassis modifications to allow quick 180-degree turns for quick exfiltration, as well as select and classified surveillance technologies.

Unseen in these pictures, as it was not permitted, is an extraordinary clone of a Modular Advanced Armed Robotic System or MAARS. While not as high-speed and sleek as the U.S. version, this battlefield innovation will allow for the deployment of remote-controlled robotics to enter the Ukrainian playing field.

As I did not see the budget, one can only suspect the development and manufacturing costs were significantly less than those in the West. Cost is but one factor making this possible. There is also necessity.

Ukraine’s military is still undergoing a massive overhaul; the volunteer battalions have been absorbed into the National Guard, and the allotment and development of new and mission-essential technologies are not a priority to a nation massively overstocked on military surplus from the Cold War.

Despite these complications, soldiers across the globe have been known to employ fieldcraft to improve their safety and warfighting capability.

When I took part in the 2003 invasion of Iraq as part of an airborne unit, our vehicles were light and soft.

We swiftly adapted by way of the local acquisition of steel for armor, sandbags, and flak vests, much like the Ukrainians who are adapting to the threats of their environment.EO

SEE ALSO: After 10 days, here's the evidence behind the most plausible theories for the downing of a Russian plane over Egypt

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: Politician Dressed As Darth Vader Says He Is The Only One Who Can Unite Ukraine

French police confirmed on Twitter at 0420ET this morning that they lost one of their finest, K9 “Diesel”.

Special purpose dogs have been a critical component for police and military work in the current war on terror. These dogs are some of the bravest animals on the planet.

One of my close friends and Navy SEAL teammate’s, Mike Ritland of Trikos International, trains these amazing dogs and once told me a story about how he selects the best dogs, only the top 1%, for these units.

After screening hundreds of dogs, he takes a handful for final selection, and still only a few of those make it past his final exam.

The last test is a situation where the dog is stressed to the point of complete exhaustion, then the K9 is put in a life ending situation where the animal is clear that death is imminent, then released.

Three things will happen at this point. The dog will either go neutral, run away, or come right back into the fight. Mike only selects that do the latter. “This is a dog that has heart, and will give his all to his handler”, says Mike.

That is Diesel.

SEE ALSO: Paris attack suspect was fined for drug possession in the Netherlands in February

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: France says it hit two targets in airstrikes on ISIS capital