A data breach in California this week exposed the personal information of people in the state who have applied for permits to carry firearms in public.  The leak, announced Wednesday by the California Department of Justice, revealed the name, date of birth, gender, race, driver’s license number, addresses, and any …

Welcome to The Fire Pit! Our new section is for stories and yarns that you would share while sitting with comrades around the fire. This includes Stories of Fortune; Lore; Book Reviews; and more.  On tap are tales from the longtime SOF gang; from publisher SKK on Cold War adventures; …

The Geneva Conventions governing the treatment of people in wartime does not apply to Americans who were captured in Ukraine, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said. Additionally, Moscow cannot guarantee that Americans captured in Ukraine will be spared the death penalty, he said. “I cannot guarantee anything. It depends on the …

The Azov Battalion chain of command remains intact, sources tell Soldier of Fortune Commanders of Ukraine’s Azov battalion, who held out for weeks against Russian forces in Mariupol, have been sent to Moscow’s notorious Lefortovo detention center, according to Moscow’s state-sponsored TASS news agency. “Currently, several Azov commanders, who were …

Two Americans who went missing last week in Ukraine have appeared alive and in captivity, in video posted Friday on Twitter. The two men, U.S. veterans from Alabama, were in Ukraine to help defend against Russian forces. The men hadn’t been seen in days, and were feared to have been …

Updated A third American may be missing while fighting inside Ukraine, the U.S. State Department said. The man was identified in news reports as former Marine Corps Capt. Grady Kurpasi, who joined the service after witnessing the Sept. 11 terror attacks in New York City  “There are reports of one …

The leader of pro-Moscow separatists in Donetsk verified that another Russian military commander was killed in combat against Ukrainian troops, and implied also that such deaths are a by-product of “invincible” Russian warfighting.  Denis Pushilin, who leads the breakaway Donetsk People’s Republic, wrote June 7 on Telegram that Russian Lieutenant …

by Sonner Kehrt, The War Horse On a late spring day in 1945, a boyish-looking 17-year-old reported to the Naval Station Great Lakes, just north of Chicago. His name was James Ryals, but everyone called him by his middle name, Jerry. Jerry had been so eager to serve that he’d …

Has Ukraine been using Russian next-generation Man Portable Air Defense System (MANPADS) units that its forces captured from Vladimir Putin’s army? Sources inside Donbas tell Soldier of Fortune that Ukrainian troops have been seen using the relatively new SA-25 VERBA 9K333 systems, which are believed to be the most advanced …

What military capabilities would Finland and Sweden bring to NATO if the two Nordic countries are accepted into the alliance? Both bring know-how, particularly in terms of operating in cold, austere environments, and in the icy waters of the region. The Swedish Armed Forces Subarctic Warfare Center trains its own …