by Elizabeth M. Collins “Enemy in the wire! Enemy in the wire!” The news, the stuff of nightmares, spread through Red and Blue platoons in seconds. “Enemy in the wire.” Many soldiers didn’t believe it at first. It was a phrase they never expected to hear, one they dreaded. It …
Read More »Drag Marks and a Missing Anchor: Did the ‘Eagle S’ Tanker Disrupt Cables in Baltic Sea?
Its anchor is missing, and drag marks have been found on the ocean floor where undersea cables were damaged in the Baltic Sea – developments that have kept the focus on the Eagle S oil tanker in the wake of a sabotage investigation in Finland. Finnish authorities boarded the Eagle …
Read More »An Angry Rhino, Three Rookie Trackers, and Trouble in Africa: ‘She Wants to Gore Us’
The world of anti-poaching is difficult and dangerous. Especially when you come face to face with an enraged rhinoceros. by S. Anderson I’ve always been fascinated by the African Bush. Lions, Leopards, Cape Buffalo, Elephant, and Rhino. The Big 5. Endless rolling hills, dense bush, and undisturbed ecology. Growing up, …
Read More »‘You Will Wind Up Dead’: Inside the Wagner Group’s Combat Drone Course in Russia
The Wagner group continues to run training centers in Russia, despite the deaths of the organization’s founders Yevgeny Prigozhin and Dmitry Utkin in a 2023 plane crash. One school, Octagon, trains operators to use kamikaze drones. A correspondent from RFE/RL signed up for the course. Here is his report. His name …
Read More »WATCH: Ukraine’s New Combat Droid Brings .50 Cal to War
The Ukrainian defence ministry has officially adopted the Droid TW 12.7, a new robotic combat system designed to enhance battlefield effectiveness. Equipped with a .50 calibre Browning machine gun, the unmanned platform provides lethal firepower while keeping friendly forces out of harm’s way. WATCH as British forces examine the new …
Read More »Cold War Navy SEAL James Hawes Talks About Che Guevara, War in the Congo, and More
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. …
Read More »The Enemy Lay Bleeding in Iraq – and the Spanish Photographer Watched Our Every Move
by Cliff Wade Iraq, 2007 Every now and again we’d get an outsider attached to our unit on missions. Sometimes they were enablers who proved to be assets, other times they were regarded as interlopers who got in the way. One such instance sticks out in my mind over others: …
Read More »“IED! IED! IED!” Hearts and Minds In the War On Terror
PFC Heath Hansen receiving the Combat Infantryman Badge in Afghanistan. By Heath Hansen I opened my eyes. It was still dark, but I could see the night was ending and another day in some village in Afghanistan was beginning. The smell of dip-spit and cigarette smoke betrayed the fact that the …
Read More »This Coast Guard Crew Worked All Night to Rescue People From Floodwaters On Christmas Eve, 1955
Their helicopter was never shut down, and had to be “hot-fueled” while the engine was running. Shortly after midnight on Christmas Eve, 1955, a levee on California’s Feather River collapsed, sending a 21-foot wall of water into Yuba City. Terrified flood victims who huddled on rooftops or clinging to tree …
Read More »The Christmas Bombings of 1972: A Deafening Roar Told Me Something Big Was Happening
by David Nelson, The War Horse I woke up early on the morning of Dec. 6, 1972, to pack and say tearful goodbyes to my wife, Martie, and our one-year-old daughter, Amy. We’d decided ahead of time that my father-in-law “Pop” Lowry would drive me from Temple, Texas, to Love …
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