VSO in Afghanistan

Village Stability Operations (VSO) in Afghanistan

A Coalition member greets village elder during an ALP graduation
in  Ghazni province in September 2013. Photo by CJSOTF-A.

Read about the Village Stability Operations (VSO) and Afghan Local Police (ALP) programs that the United States Special Operations Forces (SOF) established in Afghanistan. The VSO program was implemented to improve security, development, and governance at the local village, community, and district level in Afghanistan.

SOF News
www.sof.news/afghanistan/village-stability-operations-vso/

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SOF News Update - Aug 21,2016

Read an online update for special operations news (SOF) from the past week. Topics include US SOF raid in Somalia, interesting facts about the WWII British SOE, Intelligence Preparation of the Battlefield (IPB) in the "Gray Zone", the SOE operative who refused to give up, and stories on Navy SEALs and Air Force Pararescuemen, and SOF in the ground war against ISIS in Northern Iraq.

View online at SOF News
www.sof.news/update/20160821/

UW Pocket Guide (USASOC)

The United States Army Special Operations Command (USASOC) has published the "Unconventional Warfare Pocket Guide" - (April 2016). A very detailed overview of unconventional warfare (UW) and numerous references and resources to learn more about UW. Read more about the UW Pocket Guide at the link below.

www.sof.news/uw/uw-pocket-guide/

U.S. SOF Return to Yemen

For a number of years United States special operations forces (SOF) were deployed to Yemen to assist government security forces in counterterrorism and counterinsurgency operations and training. However, in 2015 after the country erupted in a civil war the SOF units were pulled out. Now we have news that U.S. SOF have returned to Yemen. Read more in "U.S. SOF Once again in Middle of Yemen Conflict", by SOF News, August 2, 2016.

www.sof.news/conflicts/yemen/

Afghan MoI Support for the Afghan Local Police (ALP)

The Afghan Local Police (ALP) was established by U.S. special operations forces to provide for local security in key remote districts of Afghanistan. Each of the community defense forces received training and assistance from U.S. SOF for a few years; but that changed with the withdrawal of U.S. forces over time in 2013 through to the present period. Currently, the United States maintains a Special Operations Advisory Group (SOAG) to provide training, advice, and assistance to the ALP Directorate at the Ministry of Interior (MoI). The RAND Corporation recently published a report with findings on the current state of the ALP and recommendations on how to improve the program. Read more in "Afghan Local Police - Assessing Afghan MoI Support for ALP", SOF News, August 1, 2016.

www.sof.news/afghanistan/afghanistan-alp/