KABUL, Afghanistan — It was a risky, but successful operation: British and other NATO forces stormed a cave tucked in the mountains before dawn Saturday and rescued two foreign female aid workers and their two Afghan colleagues being held hostage by Taliban-linked militants.This is interesting because of this tidbit at the end of the article...
Helicopters, flying under the cover of darkness, ferried the rescue team to extreme northeastern Afghanistan where they suspected the hostages were being held. After confirming the workers were there, they raided the site, killed several militants and freed the hostages, ending their nearly two-week ordeal.
Helen Johnston, 28, from Britain; Moragwa Oirere, 26, from Kenya; and their two Afghan colleagues were kidnapped May 22 while traveling on horseback in Badakhshan province. The four work for Medair, a humanitarian non-governmental organization based near Lausanne, Switzerland.
“They were kidnapped by an armed terrorist group with ties to the Taliban,” said Lt. Col. Jimmie Cummings, a spokesman for the U.S.-led military coalition fighting in Afghanistan. “The kidnappers were armed with heavy machine guns, rocket-propelled grenades and AK47s. ... The hostages were being held in a cave in the mountains.”
British Prime Minister David Cameron approved the rescue operation Friday afternoon after becoming increasingly concerned about the safety of the hostages. The mission was carried out by British troops in cooperation with other NATO and Afghan forces, Cameron told reporters outside 10 Downing Street in London.Interesting on a couple of levels...
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| A CH-53E Super Stallion from Marine Medium Helicopter Squadron 364, 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit, takes off from the flight deck of the USS Peleliu during Phibron 3 and the 15th MEU's PHIBRON-MEU Interoperability Training exercise off the coast of Southern Calif., May 31. The exercise is the MEU's first time at-sea as an entire Marine Air Ground Task Force and gives Marines and sailors the opportunity to become familiar working together as a blue-green team. |
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| An AH-1Z Cobra from Marine Medium Helicopter Squadron 364, 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit, hovers above the flight deck of the USS Peleliu during Phibron 3 and the 15th MEU's PHIBRON-MEU Interoperability Training exercise off the coast of Southern Calif., May 31. The exercise is the MEU's first time at-sea as an entire Marine Air Ground Task Force and gives Marines and sailors the opportunity to become familiar working together as a blue-green team. |
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| A CH-46E Sea Knight from Marine Medium Helicopter Squadron 364, 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit, lands on the flight deck of the USS Peleliu during Phibron 3 and the 15th MEU's PHIBRON-MEU Interoperability Training exercise off the coast of Southern Calif., May 31. The exercise is the MEU's first time at-sea as an entire Marine Air Ground Task Force and gives Marines and sailors the opportunity to become familiar working together as a blue-green team. |
This should get good.The Air Force has no policy on breastfeeding in uniform. But it does forbid airmen from using the uniform to advance the cause of an outside organization.“The uniform was misused. That’s against regulations,” Kosik said. “I want to be very, very clear about this. Our issue is not, nor has it ever been, about breastfeeding. It has to do with honoring the uniform and making sure it’s not misused. I can’t wear my uniform to a political rally, to try to sell you something or push an ideology. That was our point of contention.”
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| NAVAL AIR SYSTEMS COMMAND, PATUXENT RIVER, Md. – U.S. Marine Corps test pilot Lt. Col. Fred Schenk flies a mission May 10 in F-35B Joint Strike Fighter test aircraft BF-1. The mission expanded the aircraft’s flight envelope in short takeoff and vertical landing mode, and was the 200th flight for the aircraft. The F-35B is the variant of the Joint Strike Fighter for the U.S. Marine Corps, capable of short take-offs and vertical landings for use on amphibious ships or expeditionary airfields to provide air power to the Marine Air-Ground Task Force. The F-35B is undergoing test and evaluation at NAS Patuxent River prior to delivery to the fleet. (Photo courtesy of Lockheed Martin) |
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| Lt. Col. Thomas D. Gore, former commanding officer of Marine Attack Squadron 223, and a native of Tampa, Fla., pilots an AV-8B Harrier over the Kajaki Dam in Helmand province, Afghanistan, Nov. 20. From November 2011 to May 2012, VMA-223 provided close-air support for Marines and their Afghan and coalition partners conducting counterinsurgency operations in southwestern Afghanistan |
Warning, satire to follow:To each his own.
The SOFREP editorial staff has heard unconfirmed reports that (name removed) a journalist has committed suicide over his sloppy reporting regarding US Special Operations in North Korea. He apparently hung himself and a supposed letter was left posted to his hotel room night stand that stated the following:
“I was too ashamed at my own bad reporting and could not go on living knowing that I had resorted to reporting a tabloid headline in order to attract readers attention and try and land more contract work for myself. I’m ashamed of myself for not having enough common sense to do my homework on the Special Operations community. I’ll admit that this is rampant in the international news media. If I had done my research, I would have known that parachute operations into North Korea would be ridiculous from a military strategic perspective and have little return on investment. I encourage people to visit Soldier Systems.net and SOFREP.com for real information on the Military and the Special Operations community.” -(name removed)
The SOFREP staff encourages news media to use multiple credible military sources and read up on issues with regards to their military reporting in the future. After all Special Forces is an Army term not meant for the USN, USMC, and USAF.
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| A Marine serving with the 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit's ground combat element, Battalion Landing Team 3/1 fast ropes out of a UH-1Y Huey onto USS Makin Island here May 31. The unit is deployed as part of the Makin Island Ready Group, a U.S. Central Command theater reserve force. The group is providing support for maritime security operations and theater security cooperation efforts in the U.S. Navy's 5th Fleet area of responsibility. |
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| Marines with Combat Logistics Battalion 5 return from familiarizing
themselves with the downward thrust of a Kaman K1200, or
"K-MAX," unmanned helicopter during initial testing in
Helmand province, Afghanistan, May 22. Marine Unmanned Aerial Vehicle
Squadron 2 pioneered the first unmanned, mid-flight external cargo
hookups, and delivered approximately 6,000 pounds of gear in their
first day of testing. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Lisa Tourtelot) |
MCFIT Coordinator– oversees the use of MCFIT within theI'm not getting this.
unit. Assignment of the MCFIT Coordinator - The commander using
MCFIT must assign a coordinator to oversee the entire process of
using MCFIT, to include the security of the responses and signin
sheet, and preparing the commander’s report. The coordinator
for phase one of the MCFIT can be any Marine in the unit,
however, a unit’s Religious Ministry Team (RMT) is recommended
for the task. Care should be taken to avoid the coordinator
being any lower than a Sergeant.
