More Misc. Special Forces Photos

[budanski]

http://www.armytimes.com/content/editorial/editart/041703front18.jpg

Special forces take defensive positions after shots were fired outside a bank as they search Baghdad's bank district for robbers and looters Thursday.



http://www.armytimes.com/content/editorial/editart/041603front5.jpg

A Marine bandages a man suspected of looting a bank, along with other men, Thursday in Baghdad.



http://www.armytimes.com/content/editorial/editart/041603front13.jpg

Special Forces Medical Sgt. Greg Melancon, 36, of Lafayette, La., carries medical supplies into a clinic in Baghdad on Wednesday.



http://www.armytimes.com/content/editorial/editart/041603front14.jpg


Special Forces Staff Sgt. "Jeff," no last name given, provides security on the street as members of his team bring boxes of supplies into a clinic in Baghdad on Wednesday.



http://www.armytimes.com/content/editorial/editart/041503front31.jpg

Special forces personnel go through papers giving guidelines on how to prepare chemical and biological weapons after searching through a house believed to belong to the Iraqi Ministry of Intelligence in Baghdad's Kazemiya district Tuesday.

[Dennis G]

What kind of Vest is Special Forces Staff Sgt. "Jeff," wearing 2nd pic from bottom?

[venture160]

i like the paintjob on he helmet, plus the desert colored oakleys. nice to see that they are modifying their equipment after learning some new tricks in afghanistan

[DE_Six]

SPEAR BALCS Body Armor Subsystem (BAS)

[FallenAngel]

love the paint job on the Ma Duece.

Also, in the first pic, the guy nearest the camera on the right looks like he's wearing MARPAT (or CUU or whatever its called.) Could he be Force or MEU perhaps?

[Vance]

Nice camo job on that .50 cal!

[sn589]

Man, are you Guys nuts posting that guys Name Rank and home town......What the hell ever happened to OPSEC. Cool pics but you should do everything you can to help protect these guys Identity. Seeing how they are protecting our freedom I think its the least we could do.

[yellowking]

Man, are you Guys nuts posting that guys Name Rank and home town......What the hell ever happened to OPSEC.

Special Forces Staff Sgt. "Jeff," no last name given...
Apparently if they care, they don't have to tell their name and home address.

[hood]

sn589, it's been the de facto at least since Operation Enduring Freedom where the rank and first names of Special Forces soldiers seem to be fair game. They even appear in various places on the government's own sites. Such media attention would have been unheard of before this but seeing as the Special Forces held their own press briefing in Northern Iraq a couple weeks back, I guess secrecy on such things has gone out the window.

[sn589]

Well, Hood I can't say that I agree with it but its your house and I understand what you are saying. Sorry for the zing.

[hood]

Many people share you view, and it's why a lot of the picture in the SF gallery of OEF have black bars etc... when the government sites stopped caring, it changed things a lot.

[DownTown1]

Great Pics!

Here are more SF in Iraq pics from Boston.com:
SF in MOSUL.
http://a1636.g.akamai.net/7/1636/797/528edaaf656bfc/graphics.boston.com/news/packages/iraq/galleries/041203/03.jpg

SF in Kirkuk with Airborne.
http://a1636.g.akamai.net/7/1636/797/9fe09ec5127af6/graphics.boston.com/news/packages/iraq/galleries/041203/12.jpg

SF in Abril.
http://a1636.g.akamai.net/7/1636/797/fdbabd8b3b4c31/graphics.boston.com/news/packages/iraq/galleries/040603/10.jpg

[budanski]

US Marine Commandos in Iraq


April 19, 2003: All those incidents where "marines" are reported as working with army special forces, are not regular marines, but marine commandos. Last year, the U.S. Marines asked to contribute their commandos (the Force Recon troops) to SOCOM (Special Operations Command.) The marines declined to put their Force Recon (long range recon troops) in SOCOM when first invited back in the 1980s. But times have changed, special operations are hot, and the marines want in. The navy is not encouraging this time, because SOCOM already has the Navy SEALs and the feeling is that Force Recon would just duplicate a lot of work already being done. To help settle the issue, the marine Force Recon troops were sent to Iraq. Force Recon consists of two companies on active duty, plus two companies of reservists. Some of the reservists were sent to Iraq, along with the regulars. In the field, on recon duty, the Force Recon are hard to miss. They use Mercedes four wheel drive vehicles that have the doors, roof and windshield removed. There is a .50-caliber machine gun mounted in the cargo bed, plus a 7.62mm machine-gun mounted just ahead of the front passenger seat. Numerous other weapons fill the vehicle, which usually operates with a three man crew. But the Force Recon marines are truly an elite, going through an exacting selection and training process, just like all other commandos. Eager to show how they can "fit in," the Force Recon let it be known that they were available to anything, anywhere, anytime. Thus when PFC Jessica Lynch was rescued behind Iraqi lines, the "marines" providing the "support" were Force Recon. It won't be known for months if all this activity will get Force Recon into SOCOM, but the guys certainly put on a good show.

[Seiyuuki]

Concerning the pic of the SF in Abril...is that an M-14 I see???

[FallenAngel]

forgot the exact designation....but it's a designated marksman rifle. Somewhere between glorified rifleman and sniper.

[Bing]

m21

[hood]

This is kind of goofy that they'd mention it, but hey...


http://www.startribune.com/images/148/58680.html

[budanski]

This is kind of goofy that they'd mention it, but hey...


http://www.startribune.com/images/148/58680.html

AHA!! They DO exist. ;)

[FallenAngel]

yeah....now all we need to do is get them to admit the airbase in Area 51 exists. I dunno how they could deny the existance of the world's largest hangar and runway for half a century....with the Russians taking spy satalite pics of it every week. :D

[hood]

This one makes a great screen background:



OPERATION IRAQI FREEDOM -- Special operations soldiers patrol through west Baghdad to provide security for a local hospital. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Jeremy T. Lock)


http://www.af.mil/news/afwip/041803/images/3.jpg