Special forces and special operations are (incorrectly) interchangeable for probably 99% of the population. I wouldn't chalk it up to anything more than that.

The Google AI overview did a great job: In the U.S. military, Special Forces (SF) refers specifically to the Army Green Berets, while Special Operations Forces (SOF) is the broad umbrella term for all elite units under USSOCOM, including Navy SEALs, Rangers, and Air Force Special Tactics. Simply put: All Special Forces are Special Operations, but not all Special Operations are Special Forces

Cool. Now arrest the guys making billions on insider trades on the war with Iran

BQ78 said:

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The difference between this and congressional insider trading is military missions are not potentially compromised and soldiers don't die due to the latter. This is a serious breach and the guy needs to have his nuts hammered into cream.

A huge breach of trust with his military brethren .

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You know what doesn't potentially compromise members of the military? Not invading sovereign nations

Colonel Kurtz said:

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Rookie mistake. He should've got elected to Congress first.

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There is more to this statement than one can imagine. Considering all of the issues this country is facing, Congress only worries about personal power and satisfying their greed.

US Army Master sergeant Gannon Ken Van Dyke's career is over with probably a dishonorable discharge. Then, his winnings will be seized, and he will spend several years in prison.

Concerned Moderate Ag said:

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captkirk said:

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Get ready for heavy prediction market regulations.

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Good. It's insane. Gambling should be left to sports and games. If someone rigs a game, in the grand scheme of things, who gives a ***** It's mind boggling to me that people can bet on a decision another person will make.

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Why does the government need to be involved? If people want to be stupid and give their money away by betting on prediction markets when they have no information, let them.

Over_ed said:

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https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/us-soldier-charged-using-classified-information-profit-prediction-market-bets

Special Forces soldier goes on Polymarket, bets on the Maduro raid (Venezuela), and earns $400K.

Only one problem--he was in on the planning of the op. Only charged with misuse of classified information by Department of Justice. Specifically -- three counts of violating the Commodity Exchange Act, one count of wire fraud ; and one count of an unlawful monetary transaction. The specifics are 7 - 10 paragraphs down in the link.

My take -

I get it. It seems that the great majority of our leaders are dipping their beaks, why not wet yours too?

But it doesn't seem too far fetched for the change in polymarket odds to have caused a lot of casualties; I would think all of the major players (including Russia) monitor it regularly.

In the service I carried almost every clearance (NATO/Top Secret/...) due to the specifics of my posting in Berlin. I can't imagine what circumstances would drive a career soldier to make so many bad decisions. His punishment should be more severe and set a clear example, imo

Besides, it was stupid (if you read those paragraphs), and stupidity deserves it own special prize.

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So insider information is bad? How many politicians have been punished for the same thing?

Over_ed said:

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https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/us-soldier-charged-using-classified-information-profit-prediction-market-bets

Special Forces soldier goes on Polymarket, bets on the Maduro raid (Venezuela), and earns $400K.

Only one problem--he was in on the planning of the op. Only charged with misuse of classified information by Department of Justice. Specifically -- three counts of violating the Commodity Exchange Act, one count of wire fraud ; and one count of an unlawful monetary transaction. The specifics are 7 - 10 paragraphs down in the link.

My take -

I get it. It seems that the great majority of our leaders are dipping their beaks, why not wet yours too?

But it doesn't seem too far fetched for the change in polymarket odds to have caused a lot of casualties; I would think all of the major players (including Russia) monitor it regularly.

In the service I carried almost every clearance (NATO/Top Secret/...) due to the specifics of my posting in Berlin. I can't imagine what circumstances would drive a career soldier to make so many bad decisions. His punishment should be more severe and set a clear example, imo

Besides, it was stupid (if you read those paragraphs), and stupidity deserves it own special prize.

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Me 2. The SF guys I work with are pretty darn snappy. I have a hard time imagining this guy doo g something that even I know would be a no no and knowing I would get caught.

Crazy. I guess we all have stupid moments.

GE said:

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Concerned Moderate Ag said:

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captkirk said:

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Get ready for heavy prediction market regulations.

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Good. It's insane. Gambling should be left to sports and games. If someone rigs a game, in the grand scheme of things, who gives a ***** It's mind boggling to me that people can bet on a decision another person will make.

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Why does the government need to be involved? If people want to be stupid and give their money away by betting on prediction markets when they have no information, let them.

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It's not the ones being stupid giving their money away that's the problem. It's people making ****-tons of money on insider trading. You think people aren't making tons of money on this every time POTUS is making a decision only a limited number of people are privy to? Can't imagine being that naive.

Concerned Moderate Ag said:

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GE said:

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Concerned Moderate Ag said:

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captkirk said:

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Get ready for heavy prediction market regulations.

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Good. It's insane. Gambling should be left to sports and games. If someone rigs a game, in the grand scheme of things, who gives a ***** It's mind boggling to me that people can bet on a decision another person will make.

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Why does the government need to be involved? If people want to be stupid and give their money away by betting on prediction markets when they have no information, let them.

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It's not the ones being stupid giving their money away that's the problem. It's people making ****-tons of money on insider trading. You think people aren't making tons of money on this every time POTUS is making a decision only a limited number of people are privy to? Can't imagine being that naive.

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They're only able to do that if people are dumb enough to take the other side of the bet. It's different than insider trading because the stuff being traded on isn't, and usually by its nature, can't be regulated to keep information about it more fairly accessible. Leave it to the people participating to figure out the balance of the size of trades that should be made on the outcomes of these things that get put up there.