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EL PARAISO AND THE WAR IN EL SALVADOR

EL PARAISO AND THE WAR IN EL SALVADOR (1981–1983) by Charles H. Briscoe, PhD for SOC.mil From 1980–1993, the government of El Salvador, with U.S. assistance, waged a national counterinsurgency (COIN) campaign against guerrilla forces of the FMLN (Frente Farabundo Marti de Liberación Nacional). That COIN campaign was one of the …

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EL SALVADOR: THE PUSH TO VICTORY

By Dr. Martin Brass From the January 2008 issue of SOF In the last four of a five part series on the American merc who had the most impact of any American in the decade-long El Salvador war, SOF chronicled the adventures of Harry Claflin.   SOF launched Harry’s wild …

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WESTMORELAND: THE GENERAL WHO LOST VIETNAM

By Lewis Sorley From the April 2012 issue of SOF THEY GOT PLATITUDES Brigadier General Edwin Simmons, later the long-serving Chief of Marine Corps History, recalled a commanders’ conference convened by Westmoreland at Nha Trang. The room was filled with senior officers who had served in World War II and …

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The Stanleyville Massacre

Mad Mike Hoare by Chris Hoare By Chris Hoare Author of Mad Mike Hoare  Fifty years ago, Stanleyville in the Congo was the scene of one of the most savage crimes of the last century, the cold-blooded massacre of hostages by the Simba rebels. Mercenary soldiers from 5 Commando under …

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‘Rhodesia’s Bush War:SAS Operator:Death and Fire in Mozambique’

By Henri Lepetit for SOF Four years after Rhodesia was handed over to that homicidal maniac Mugabe through notoriously farcical elections, I found myself whiling away the time in Durban Natal, South Africa. It ought to be remembered that a large portion of the hapless – and, contemptibly irrelevant to …

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KAREN REBELS GO HI-TECH

By Ian Maxwell Sterling From the December 2011 issue of SOF Things turn hi-tech for Karen rebels in Burma I have been up all night puking my guts out after downing a massive portion of lizard stew last night with Karen rebels in a jungle outpost. They had asked if …

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SOF Fights Communism in El Salvador

“Death to Tyrants” By Dr. Martin Brass From the September 2007 issue of SOF SOF publisher, Lt. Col. USAR, (Ret) Robert K. Brown, who had fought the Communist aggressors during the Vietnam War, and his wild, colorful assortment of combat journalists, dubbed the SOF ‘Wild Bunch’ trotted around the globe, …

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SOF HOSTAGE TO HOLLYWOOD: SOUTH AFRICA

HOSTAGE TO HOLLYWOOD SOF Duo Makes Film Debut “AUY SAY, old chaps, there will be no obscene or vulgar language in the studio or on location. A good movie doesn’t have to have profanity, sex or violence.” Boom Boom John Donovan looked at me and I looked at him -the …

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The CIA’s Covert Operations in Laos during the Vietnam War

The CIA’s Covert Operations in Laos during the Vietnam War. Jack Jolis served as a case officer in the CIA, operating the Rascal program out of Lima Site-20 Alternate, or Long Tieng, for much of 1970. These are his recollections, in an interview with British writer, Peter Alan Lloyd  PL. …

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Born to Storm: A Commando In the South African Defence Force

ABOUT BORN TO STORM Herman van Niekerk In training South African 5 Special Forces Commando  The Author: Herman van Niekerk is a highly decorated retired South African Special Forces Colonel. He left the military in 1999 after 27 years service and formed several of his own companies which specialized in security related training and …

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