Survival

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 …

Editor’s note: We get a lot of emails from men asking us to help them find work as mercenaries. I used to tell them we don’t run an employment agency. Now, I just offer them the inside scoop, and send this story about some soldiers of misfortune who learned a …

by Heath Hansen “I sent the grids; we’ll be heading out by noon on Thursday,” Tim Foley informs me over the phone, before I hit the road. Foley is a grizzled former paratrooper of the 82nd Airborne Division, and leader of the volunteer group Arizona Border Recon (AZBR). For more than a …

by Bobby Dee “Buford was just sitting there with the little kid. Just brought him up from the horse pasture and brought him over to the gate and was just hanging out with him.” A two-year-old boy who vanished from his home Monday afternoon was found safe the following morning …

by Carole Engel Avriett Excerpted from Midnight in Ironbottom Sound, by Carole Engel Avriett. Editor’s note:  Early on September 5, 1942, the US Navy’s USS Gregory was sunk by Japanese fire near Guadalcanal. One sailor, Mess Attendant 2nd Class Charles Jackson French swam for hours through shark-infested waters while towing …

No music, no narration, just the sounds of men as they navigate the rappel wall. These U.S. Marines tackle the wall during a jungle exercise at the Jungle Warfare Training Center, Okinawa, Japan. The week-long course teaches Marines survival skills and increases proficiency in fighting in a jungle environment. This …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …