Curated news, analysis, and commentary on special operations, intelligence, irregular warfare, national defense, and global conflicts.

Photo / Image: Sailors assigned to the aircraft carrier USS George Washington conduct a search-and-rescue exercise in the U.S. 5th Fleet area of operations on October 17, 2026. The George Washington is supporting maritime security and stability in the Middle East. (photo credit Navy)

Executive Summary

This week’s SOF News Brief examines changes in U.S. special operations force structure, including a new Air National Guard Special Tactics Squadron. Additional coverage addresses emerging clandestine capabilities, evolving SOF tactics in Ukraine, Houthi operations in Yemen, NATO contributions in Afghanistan, and international security developments.

Editor’s Note: In last Wednesday’s newsletter entitled How the AFT Scoring Tables Work and Why Guessing Can Hurt Your Promotion Packet the two tables did not resolve in the email properly. Something went wrong when Mailchimp pulled the post from WordPress and sent it out via email on Wednesday morning. The online post (see link above) shows the tables properly.

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Key Developments

• Lt. Gen. William Tangney (SF) passed away last week
• Article about 10th SFG(A) in the 1970s
• JSOU article on SOF and Nigeria conflict
• SOF’s role in conflict remains important, but drones influence their application
• SecDef Hegseth diminishes role of NATO allies in Afghanistan
• El Salvador sends SOF to Haiti for rescue attempt
• UN to vote on Western Sahara referendum
• Video – The Hidden History of Fort Devens