Sometime in 1965, Navy SEAL James Hawes landed in the Congo with cash stuffed in his socks, morphine in his bag, and a basic understanding of his mission. He would recruit a mercenary navy and suppress the Soviet and Chinese-backed rebels engaged in guerrilla movements against a pro-Western government. …

by Brian Dykeman, The War Horse  The funny thing about memories is that your brain will let most of them drift off into a place where they only make an appearance if you see a picture, smell a smell, or if a certain song comes on the radio. Then there …

by Fred A. Ganous, SGM, USA (Ret) My wife and I decided that we were due for a much-needed vacation. Our home was less than a three-hour drive to the beach; that was the destination we were headed for. As we were driving, I received an unexpected phone call from …

The benefits of training to shoot while moving. by Gary Paul Johnston Traditionally, cops have been trained to shoot while standing still. By now it should be pretty clear where this is going, and going should be the name of the game when the going gets tough. When I became …

A 13-year-old student attending a virtual class from home on a snow day was suspended after a teacher saw him playing with a toy gun he had received for Christmas. The incident occurred at Spring Grove Middle School in York County, Pennsylvania, after the boy showed his gift to the …

A Florida law enforcement officer saved the life of a six-month-old baby who lost consciousness and stopped breathing while trapped inside a car following a horrific high-speed crash. The baby was strapped securely in the back seat of her mom’s car when a motorcyclist slammed through the baby’s window on …

An American multi-purpose canine (MPC) Belgian Malinois was honored for heroism under fire while serving four tours of duty with the U.S. Marine Corps.  Shimanski was deployed to Jordan, Afghanistan, Iraq, and Somalia during his seven-year career and received the Animals in War and Peace Medal of Bravery for his service, an …

by Kevin Maurer, The War Horse Explosions flashed in the fog hanging over the Euphrates River like a coming summer storm. The continuous thunder of Russian guns pounded the American positions in a burned-out natural gas refinery in eastern Syria. Tracers crisscrossed the Syrian sky. The Special Forces soldiers felt …

by Ronald Winter, The War Horse Ask any Marine if they can remember the first day they actually became a Marine and you likely will be told it was boot camp graduation day. Whether it was Parris Island or San Diego, only when the senior officer in the graduation program proclaims the graduates …

by Scott Stipe My first exposure to John Moses Browning’s iconic .45 caliber 1911 pistol was in the 1980’s, during my enlistment in the Arizona Army National Guard. Our unit had a weapons cage with a grumpy old sergeant who allowed us to touch and fire the M1911A1 45’s during …