Book Review by Heath Hansen Ever wonder what it’s like to be a street cop? The politics? The bureaucracy? The intensity? Or what it feels like to face a crazed maniac? The adrenaline high? The danger? The uncertainty? Fractured Streets has it all. I was recently perusing noir crime books on Amazon …
Read More »Former Hostage Reveals ‘Shocking, Inhumane’ Treatment While Captive in Gaza
Israeli commandos rescued Andrey Kozlov and three other hostages in the daring “Operation Arnon.” by Elon Perry The interview with Andrey Kozlov was not going well. I had asked him, early on, to talk about his time in captivity. The conversation appeared to have stalled already. His answers mostly came …
Read More »California Banned His Flamethrower – So He Moved to Wyoming
This man says he moved to Wyoming in order to exercise his right to fire up a flamethrower. Allan Hovland, formerly of California, told the Cowboy State Daily that he became enthralled with flamethrowers a couple years ago. “It was just one of those things,” Hovland said. “I was looking …
Read More »Soviet-Era Light Machine Gun is Weapon of Choice in Ukraine
A light machine gun that was designed eight decades ago is turning up on the frontline in Ukraine. The RPD can be used in the section support role but can also be operated by a single soldier to assault a position, including a trench. It was designed back in 1943/44 …
Read More »Deadly Assault on Special Forces in Vietnam Left ‘Drag Marks and Blood Trails Throughout the Camp’
by Gene Pugh One of the darkest days in Special Forces history occurred on a summer morning in 1968 in Vietnam. In the early hours of Aug. 23, the Da Nang MACVSOG camp known as FOB4 was attacked by approximately 167 soldiers from the combined units of the 22nd VC …
Read More »Wounded at War, This Soldier Created a Program to Help Veterans – Through Puppies
by Sgt. 1st Class Ashleigh Martinez Editor’s note: I first met Chuck Ziegenfuss when I wrote an article about him for PEOPLE magazine, when he was donating voice-activated laptops to wounded warriors at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center. Before long, I was part of another group that cooked for …
Read More »Entebbe: The Story of Israel’s Daring Hostage Rescue Raid
by Elon Perry The Israeli commandos wrote their farewell letters to be delivered only in the event they were killed on the high-stakes operation. Then they boarded their flights to Uganda, for a rescue raid that stunned the world. Sunday morning, 27 June 1976. An Air France A300 airliner, Flight …
Read More »‘Damn the Valley’: A Gritty, Riveting Story of Paratroopers at War in Afghanistan
by Heath Hansen When William Yeske asked if I’d be interested in reviewing his book, Damn The Valley, I was eager to see what he had put on paper. As I found out later, he’d served as an 82nd Airborne Paratrooper, in the 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment (PIR). Considering I …
Read More »To Those Who Jump Out of Perfectly Good Airplanes: Raise a Glass on National Airborne Day
by Heath Hansen Happy National Airborne Day to all you servicemen and servicewomen who volunteered to serve your country at a “higher” level! Created in 2002, by then President George W. Bush, National Airborne Day honors all the Nation’s airborne armed forces. READ MORE from Heath Hansen in Soldier of …
Read More »‘I Wanna Jump From a Big Iron Bird’: Following in Dad’s Boot-Steps to Become a Paratrooper
by Heath Hansen I looked up into the big, blue sky. Far in the distance, I spotted a C-130 Hercules headed towards the open grass field I waited in. For a few moments, I watched as the plane continued in my direction. Suddenly, from the tail-end of the aircraft, paratroopers …
Read More »