When wildfires rage across the country, the National Guard steps in as a crucial force in the battle against the flames. Equipped with helicopters, specialized training, and sheer determination, Guard members support firefighters by airlifting water, clearing fire lines, and providing logistical aid – particularly when primary responders’ resources are …
Read More »Breaking the Ice, Coast Guard Style: ‘Polar Star’ Forges the Frozen Waters of Antarctica
MCMURDO STATION, Antarctica — The cracking and breaking of ice on a metal hull can be heard from land as the heavy icebreaker U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Polar Star (WAGB 10) enters the harbor of McMurdo Station, Antarctica to move the ice pier out of the way for an incoming …
Read More »Starved, Stabbed, and Tortured: This British Army Veteran Was Captured by Russians in Ukraine
Shaun Pinner was convicted of being a mercenary and undergoing training to carry out terrorist activities, among other charges. A British Army veteran who went to Ukraine to fight against Russia counts himself lucky to have survived fighting in the war, let alone being held captive by Russian troops. Shaun Pinner …
Read More »Navy Seabees Rescue People Who Were Trapped Inside Submerged Car
by Petty Officer 1st Class James Hong These Navy Seabees jumped into action to help two motorists who were trapped inside a car that had plunged into muddy waters. Seabees assigned to Naval Mobile Construction Battalion (NMCB) 11 came to the aid of stranded motorists off of Interstate 10 East …
Read More »Escape and Evasion at ‘Mother Rucker’: A Pilot’s Story
by Hooligan I wasn’t sure the man was real. Was he a hunter? The hunted? Out there in the woods, I was starving and on the brink of hallucination, so it could have been Bigfoot himself, for all I knew. When a man gets desperate, the thought of a good …
Read More »Captured in the Desert: A Soldier’s Misfortune With the French Foreign Legion in Algeria
The French Foreign Legion these days is more exclusive than it used to be. If there is an Interpol notice against you, for example, you won’t get through the gate. A century ago, however, a man who wanted to escape his past and assume a new identity could disappear into …
Read More »‘Miracle on the Hudson’: Sully Sullenberger Saved 150 Airline Passengers During Emergency Water Landing
In what will forever be known as The Miracle on the Hudson, Sully Sullenberger and his crew saved the lives of 150 passengers after being forced to splash down in the frigid Hudson River. After logging more than 20,000 hours of flight time Sullenberger became internationally renowned on January 15, …
Read More »Green Berets Train to Survive Mountain Warfare
The mountains above Bridgeport, California, have been home to mountain warfare survival training for Special Forces, Marines, and others. In this frosty vid, Green Berets with the 5th Special Forces Group (Airborne) partner with United Arab Emirates Special Operations to conduct long range reconnaissance training at the U.S. Marine Corps …
Read More »This Coast Guard Crew Worked All Night to Rescue People From Floodwaters On Christmas Eve, 1955
Their helicopter was never shut down, and had to be “hot-fueled” while the engine was running. Shortly after midnight on Christmas Eve, 1955, a levee on California’s Feather River collapsed, sending a 21-foot wall of water into Yuba City. Terrified flood victims who huddled on rooftops or clinging to tree …
Read More »Grizzly! A Life or Death Encounter In the Yukon
One of the rules in the Yukon Territory is that hunting guides must always be within hearing distance of their hunters. This is a good rule, as we soon shall see. It was the first day of an early September expedition when hunting guide David O’Farrell brought an archery hunter …
Read More »