The Fire Pit

The wildest aviator ever to step inside a fighter plane was actually a coyote named Jeep, who flew combat missions in World War II. While still a puppy, Jeep was rescued by a human pilot, John “Wild Bill” Crump. A Nebraska farmer had asked Bill to get rid of the …

by General (Ret) Scott Miller No matter what happened out there, everybody was going home. In the midst of a dangerous and at times dire fight, that provided a calming level of peace. Over the years I have not written much about the Battle of the Black Sea, nor the …

by Heath Hansen “What the Invictus Games mean to me is almost a redemption.” Immediately following the opening ceremony of the 2023 Invictus Games, Soldier of Fortune correspondent Heath Hansen caught up with Donald Calero, one of the few active duty serviceman representing the United States in multiple events at the Invictus Games …

Ron Desantis Was Ron DeSantis a U.S. Navy SEAL? That’s a question that frequently appears in the Soldier of Fortune inbox – so often, that we checked for answers. Here’s what we found. A native Floridian, DeSantis graduated with honors from Yale University, and also with honors from Harvard Law …

Summer moviegoers who are curious how the world became so dangerous might consider Hollywood’s big-screen depiction of the first A-bomb test in the new film Oppenheimer. A good portion of this movie is set at Trinity Site, a restricted area in New Mexico’s high desert. In his nonfiction book Plow …

by Fred Ganous, SGM, USA (Ret) The pilot in command reached up and grasped the rescuer’s shirt. “Hey asshole,” he growled. “That’s not what you say to the ones you are trying to help!” The medevac mission had ended, and the burn patient was dropped off successfully at the hospital. …

Our friends at America TeVe have won a coveted award for their documentary about shadow warrior Ric Prado, a member of our board at Soldier of Fortune. Producer Miguel Cossio earned a Telly Award for “El Guerrero de las Sombras,” a narrative that traces Ric’s career and also highlights the …

During his 27 years in the Air Force, Chief Master Sergeant Wayne Fisk took part in some of the most daring and critical missions of his time. As an elite pararescueman (PJ), he was involved in the raid on Son Tay Prisoner of War camp in North Vietnam, for which …

by Ed Meagher, The War Horse When I returned from Vietnam in February of 1969 I had a bad attitude—a very bad attitude. I joined the Air Force to escape college and a broken heart (another story entirely). It turned out that the discipline, order, and focus the Air Force …

by Greg Chabot The Left Right Left podcast is a new program hosted by retired Marine SGM Marc Chabot – who happens to be my brother. He started this project with the goal of helping and inspiring others. In this intense three-part episode on the 20-year anniversary of the battle …