It reads like an ordinary patent. A citizen of the United States, living in Weber County, Utah, has invented “certain new and useful improvements in firearms.” No fanfare. No grand claims. Just a statement of fact. Yet those lines would lead to a sidearm that rode in the holsters of …

by Austin Lee In the pantheon of firearms, few pistols command the reverence of the 1911. Its century-plus legacy, forged in the crucible of conflict, continues to inspire innovation. Enter Military Armament Corporation’s (MAC) latest offering: the JSOC 1911, a .45 ACP masterpiece that channels the gritty, high-stakes modifications of …

by Mitchell “Taco” Bell A pilot flying a 737 meets a coordinated laser attack inside Mexican airspace. Guadalajara, MX? Yeah, the law there is optional. That is the best comment about having a seemingly coordinated attack on a civilian airliner on approach into Guadalajara, Mexico.  Those green lasers that can point …

Afghan guards and Gurkhas ran to the fight. The bomb answered back. by Robert M. Kurtz It was April 2010, and I was on an assignment to evaluate the security measures and contracted security provider of a project compound in Kandahar, Afghanistan. Anyone who has ever been to Kandahar can …

by Austin Lee The KA-BAR fighting knife has been a steadfast companion to U.S. Marines for more than 80 years, earning its place as one of the most legendary blades in military history. Adopted by the Marine Corps in 1942, the KA-BAR has slashed through jungles, pierced enemy defenses, and …

by Nikolay Shevchenko It was late evening when a cash truck pulled up in front of a fancy department store on Mozhayskoye Highway in Moscow. Leaving two partners behind in the truck, the third guard stepped over the store’s threshold to collect the cash that had piled up there throughout …

by Cliff Wade Iraq, 2006 We found ourselves in the home of an Iraqi family during a massive clearing operation in an area characterized by terrain varying between urban landscape, farmland, palm groves, and small villages. We had been clearing routes of improvised explosive devices all morning. We had been …

“GRASS IT IF YOU HAVE TO GRASS IT! HIT THE GRASS!” by Mr. Wolf The desert night air hung heavy over Kuwait International Airport as I climbed into the jump seat of the ATR-72. The twin turboprops were already whining to life, their blades slicing through the cooler evening air …

The warning arrived amid the most intense security operation Britain had faced in decades. by A.R. Fomenko VIENNA BUREAU – In the lead-up to the 2012 Summer Olympics, London was bracing for a global spotlight, and a threat environment to match. So when Michael Shrimpton claimed that the games would be …

by Greg Chabot During this time TF- 1/6 soldiers were living in three locations in the city. Troops were at the Provincial Governor’s office known as Blue Dome. And at the Civil Military Operations Center, which had Other Government Agency and Coalition Provisional Authority detachments as well as city offices. And …