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War and Warfare

War Predators in Ukraine: They Come to Study the Killing Fields

by Susan Katz Keating China and other foreign actors are using Ukraine as a testbed, deploying cut-outs and deniable assets to gather real-time data on drones, intelligence sources told Soldier of Fortune. The grainy figures moved across the screen, creeping through murky terrain like shadows come to life. A blip …

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The Downing of EASY 40: A Soldier Remembers

by Fred A. Ganous, SGM, USA (Ret) Our deployment in Iraq from 2006 to 2007 was a rollercoaster of emotions, marked by both triumphs and tragedies. The crash of “EASY 40” still stands as one of the darkest days of our deployment. This UH-60 Blackhawk, bearing tail number 84-23984, was …

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Hedgehog Armor: The Spiked Shield to Stop Drones From Turning Tanks Into Fireballs

by A.R. Fomenko VIENNA BUREAU – On the battlefields of Ukraine, steel beasts now crawl under strange new hides – bristling, porcupine-like shells known as “hedgehog armor.” It’s the latest mutation born from drone-saturated warfare, where a cheap quadcopter can gut a million-dollar tank before the crew even knows it’s coming. …

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WATCH: ‘We Always Try to Trick the Enemy, Like Playing Chess,’ Russian Soldier Says

Watch this Russian soldier with the call sign ‘Kasper’ talking in Russian about UAV warfare. “We always try to trick, it’s like playing chess,” he says. “Everyone is trying to outsmart in order to hit the enemy.” The soldier belongs to Russia’s 34th Separate Guards Motorised Rifle Brigade (Unmanned Systems …

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Ambush in the Sky, Massacre on the Ground: The Attack on Air Rhodesia Flight 825

by Gatimu Juma It should have been a routine flight. The Bush War was well underway in Rhodesia, but on that day in 1978, civilian air travel was safe. Or so it seemed. On the afternoon of September 3, 1978, the passengers and crew aboard Air Rhodesia Flight 825 learned …

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We Attacked the Jungle With Flamethrowers and Explosives

by Marvin J. Wolf Tall, muscular, broad-shouldered, with a full head of white hair, Brig. Gen. John M. Wright Jr. scrambled up a termite mound, some 30 feet wide at the base and seven or eight feet high, and gestured for us to draw into a semicircle. “Gentlemen, I give …

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“IED! IED! IED!” Hearts and Minds In the War On Terror

By Heath Hansen I opened my eyes. It was still dark, but I could see the night was ending and another day in some village in Afghanistan was beginning. The smell of dip-spit and cigarette smoke betrayed the fact that the platoon was awake and breaking down the patrol base. “Get …

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Trapped Inside a Burning ‘Punishment Hut’ in WWI Germany: A Prisoner’s Story

Here at Soldier of Fortune, we uncovered a long-ago story of an atrocity during World War I, when eight prisoners met a horrific fate while captive in Germany. Here is the tale, as told by a fellow prisoner,  “Pedro.”  ~SKK Pedro’s Tale I was sailing on an English ship. She …

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‘Day of Infamy’ Commemorations Include Ceremony of the Blackened Canteen

It is an annual toast to peace. American and Japanese representatives extend the offering each year at the USS Arizona Memorial in Hawaii, gently pouring bourbon from a World War II-era canteen into the hallowed waters below. The ceremonies for decades have been a mainstay on the island of Oahu, …

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The Battle of Bayonet Hill: Lewis Millett and the ‘Wolfhounds’ at War in Korea

The last major bayonet charge in American military history took place in Korea on February 7, 1951. The charge was carried out by the men of Easy Company, 27th Infantry “Wolfhounds,” during the Battle of Bayonet Hill. The soldiers were led by Cpt. Lewis Millett, who had been awarded the …

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