Steve Balestrieri

Steve Balestrieri

Steve is a SOFREP Senior Editor. He has served as a Special Forces NCO and Warrant Officer before injuries forced his early separation. He writes for SOFREP and covers the NFL for PatsFans.com and his work was regularly featured in the Millbury-Sutton Chronicle and Grafton News newspapers.

Savage fight between Chinese and Indian troops at border, 20 Indian soldiers killed

In the worst border fighting in nearly 60 years, Indian and Chinese troops clashed in the hotly disputed Ladakh region located high in the Himalayas. At least 20 Indian soldiers were killed in the fighting; Chinese casualties are unknown. Both sides accuse the other of violating the “Line of Actual Control” (LAC), the de facto […]

Former Navy SEAL Eddie Gallagher launches ‘Pipe Hitter Foundation’

Nearly a year after former Navy SEAL Eddie Gallagher was found not guilty of murder in his war crimes court-martial, which was marred by prosecutorial misconduct and spying, Gallagher and his wife have launched the nonprofit Pipe Hitters Foundation. The nonprofit will assist military service members, first responders, and their families with legal support. Gallagher […]

Army rolls out alternative fitness test, but scores will still not count

The Coronavirus pandemic has affected readiness in all of the military services. For the Army, it has impacted everything from deployments, permanent change of station moves (PCS), and the implementation of the new Army Combat Fitness Test (ACFT).  The Army is still rolling out the new ACFT, as planned on October 1, but the results […]

Russia sentences former US Marine to 16 years in prison for espionage

Paul Whelan, a U.S. citizen who is also a citizen in the U.K., Ireland, and Canada, has been found guilty in Russia in a closed trial and sentenced to 16 years in prison for espionage. He had been arrested in Moscow in 2018 by the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB). The verdict was read in […]

Boko Haram strikes again with multiple attacks in Nigeria, over 100 dead

Three separate attacks, including an assault on the military base of Monguno, killed dozens of people in Nigeria’s northeastern Borno state. Boko Haram, which has allied itself with the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), claimed responsibility for the attacks. The other two targets were a United Nations office and a refugee camp which hosts […]

When Special Forces meets entrepreneurship

“How the hell am I going to fill 1,000 sandbags, and how did I get myself into this mess?” I thought. Sometimes life throws curveballs at you and you have to do your best to sit back in the box and hit them the opposite way. In doing so, you can make the most out […]

Iran to execute man accused of spying for the US and Israel

Iranian Judiciary spokesman, Gholamhossein Esmaili, announced that Iran will soon execute an informant who allegedly gave the United States and Israeli forces information on General Qassem Soleimani. According to Iran, the information led to the airstrike that killed Soleimani in January. Esmaili said, “Mahmoud Mousavi-Majd, one of the spies for [the Central Intelligence Agency] and […]

Top US general calls accompanying Trump to church photo op a mistake

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs General Mark Milley recorded a short video that aired soon after the General appeared at a church with President Donald Trump that had just been cleared of protestors. In the video, he called his presence at the church “a mistake.” Milley and Defense Secretary Mark Esper had joined the president […]

Bill to rename military bases named after Confederate generals gains steam

Despite vows from the White House to block any name change of military bases named after Confederate officers, the proposal is gathering bipartisan momentum.  The Senate Armed Services Committee included in its draft of the annual defense authorization bill a proposal to change the names of bases honoring Confederate officers. The proposal mentions that the […]

Assad fires prime minister as Syria edges closer to becoming a failed state

With Syria’s economy on the verge of collapse, the country’s currency is plunging to record lows. Although Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad has thus far survived the decade-long civil war, his hold on the country now seems more tenuous than ever. Assad, on Thursday, fired prime minister Imad Khamis, state media reported. They did not give […]

Libyan forces capture Russian Pantsir-S-1 anti-aircraft system

Libyan forces with the Turkey-backed Government of National Accord (GNA) are gaining the upper hand in the fight against the Libyan National Army (LNA) forces controlled by General Khalifa Haftar. They have pushed the LNA back from Tripoli, captured the 350 km supply line used by Haftar’s militias, and gained control of the al-Watiyah airbase. […]

German woodcarver becomes honorary Green Beret

Special Forces have a very tight select group of members and it isn’t often that an outsider is accepted as one of their own. Very few have been given the honor of becoming an honorary Green Beret. A German woodcarver, who has been supporting the members of the 10th Special Forces Group in Europe for […]