War

“Tell people what we did in World War II,” one soldier said. “Tell them about Salerno.” by Susan Katz Keating EAGLE PASS, TX – In a parking lot near the U.S. southern border, members of the Texas National Guard encountered our team from Soldier of Fortune. The “T-Patchers” just had …

by Susan Katz Keating Enacted without irony. While marking the anniversary of Victory Day today in Moscow, Russian President Vladimir Putin and other foreign heads of state laid flowers at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Alexander Garden. There was no mention of the carnage Putin has wrought in …

“We weren’t Special Forces or Airborne. We were mostly just a bunch of draftee grunts who turned out to be damn good soldiers.” by Susan Katz KeatingThe soldiers proceeded cautiously through the jungle highlands west of Pleiku, near the Cambodian border, on the morning of May 18, 1967. The men …

Did Allied forces really drop a fake wooden bomb as a joke on German forces in World War II? A story that is often retold by fans of military history has it that German forces built decoy fake wooden airfields to deceive enemy pilots – and that Allied forces, on …

What is hiding beneath the protective shell of Russia’s so-called “turtle tank?” Perhaps only scrap metal, if Ukraine has destroyed it along with other armor at war in Crimea. Russian forces have modified one of their main battle tanks with some less than cutting-edge protection by covering it with a …

by RFE/RL Barrages of drones and missiles launched by Iran in an unprecedented, large-scale attack on Israel began entering Israeli airspace, triggering air-raid sirens across the country as its air defenses appeared to destroy the incoming projectiles before any impacts on the ground. Loud explosions and flashes of light could …

by Susan Katz Keating As the conflicts in Ukraine and Israel have brought urban combat into the forefront, U.S. defense officials are addressing what the complex realm of subterranean warfare will mean for American troops in future scenarios. “Our adversaries have adapted their capabilities against our weaknesses by expanding their …

Trench fortifications, reminiscent of World War One, have become an integral part of the war in Ukraine. Both sides have dug vast networks of fortifications, signaling to Western forces that the old style warfare is very much in play. In the United Kingdom, British forces have dug a series of …

In Dublin, Ireland, on Easter Monday, 1916, nationalists proclaimed the founding of the Irish Republic. Bolstered by some 1,600 followers, they staged a rebellion against the British government in Ireland. They didn’t have planes nor tanks, and only limited use of artillery. Instead, the rebels made a stand using personal …

by John Spencer Editor’s note: This is an excerpt of the book “Connected Soldiers: Life, Leadership, and Social Connection in Modern War” published by Potomac Books and available for purchase at Amazon here. The excerpt describes 2LT John Spencer’s experience jumping into Iraq as a platoon leader with the 173rd …