by James Parker Northern Ireland’s paramilitary underworld is learning to fight with the tools of the digital age, and these tools are becoming more sophisticated and accessible.  As a crowd gathered in Belfast to commemorate Ireland’s 1916 Easter Rising, something new made an appearance in the arsenal of Northern Ireland’s …

by Martin Kufus Author Martin Kufus was a volunteer firefighter in Texas, and participated in disaster ops there. He embarked on a tense mission in 1998, after flash floods wreaked havoc along the southern border. The following is based on a chapter from his book, Plow the Dirt but Watch the …

by Mitch “Taco” Bell We called him “Pyro” after he ran around the Charleston O’Club, drunk as hell, butt-naked with a rolled-up newspaper stuck in the crack of his rear, on fire, and a green tee shirt over his head with two eyes cut out. Tonight, his in-flight emergency was …

  Former American diplomat William Boudreau encountered mercenaries during his career with the Foreign Service. Here are his recollections and observations about them. by William Boudreau    I will not advocate for a humanitarian award for any mercenary I have known. However, they embrace humanity. My point is they were …

The recipe was simple: make a fire; boil water in any metal container at hand; put the ammo in the boiling water; and cook for four to five hours. by Nikolay Shevchenko During the Soviet war in Afghanistan, Russian soldiers were often seen boiling their ammo for hours in a …

by Heath Hansen A flash of light lit up the sky ahead of me, and I heard an explosion. My adrenaline kicked in and I started searching for the source of the explosion. I clutched my weapon and prepared to defend the base. ANBAR, IRAQ – Even though it was …

by Kevin Cresswell Picture the scene: It was early hours on July 4, 2003, at Camp Slayer in Baghdad, Iraq. There were several hundred U.S. troops and a handful of odds and sods ‘Brits & Aussies.’ In the middle of the lake was a boathouse with a flagpole. During the …

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 Heath Hansen It’s not often that the absence of a story makes my day, but today that’s exactly what happened. I had a free afternoon and decided to head Southeast, into the San Diego Mountains, looking for any indications of illegal entry, or drug smuggling, into the United States. …

by Greg Chabot You didn’t plan to be there. Most people don’t. But one wrong turn, one blocked exit, or one unexpected surge — and suddenly, you’re in your car in the middle of a riot. Don’t panic. As riot season heats up, here’s what to do if you find …