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 …

by Mike Eckel The cloak-and-dagger uncertainty surrounding the funeral prompted a popular quip to circulate among Russian journalists: just as the Ukraine war has been euphemized by the Kremlin as a “special military operation,” Prigozhin’s funeral should be considered a “special burial operation.” For two months after launching the greatest challenge to …

by Mike Eckel Three days after an Embraer 600 passenger jet linked to Yevgeny Prigozhin broke up and slammed into the ground north of Moscow, there is still no final clarity on the fate of the Wagner Group founder. President Vladimir Putin suggested Prigozhin was dead in comments on August …

A massive 1970’s-era Russian mega-mortar called the ‘Tulip’ has been seen on the battlefield in Ukraine. The Russian 2S4 Tyulpan is the largest self-propelled mortar in the world – with footage of the 30-ton beast appearing on social media claiming to show it being used by Russian-backed separatists in the Donetsk region. …

by Robert Coalson “Wagner is a cruel fellow,” a Wagner officer told RFE/RL in 2018, speaking of senior mercenary field commander Dmitry Utkin, whose call sign was Wagner. “He’s no fool.” When a private jet that Russian aviation authorities said was carrying Wagner head Yevgeny Prigozhin crashed on August 23 en route …

It’s a story that’s been mostly forgotten for decades… until now. During the Second World War, British Parliament had a secret war factory underneath the House of Commons. Workshops forming the ‘Westminster Munitions Unit’ were set up in the basement beneath the Central Lobby. British armed forces news cameras have …

Ron Desantis Was Ron DeSantis a U.S. Navy SEAL? That’s a question that frequently appears in the Soldier of Fortune inbox – so often, that we checked for answers. Here’s what we found. A native Floridian, DeSantis graduated with honors from Yale University, and also with honors from Harvard Law …

The market for inflatable decoy military equipment is on the rise, according to a Czech company that makes fake tanks, guns, and aircraft. After Russia invaded Ukraine last year, production of military decoys has increased more than 100%, according to Vojtech Fresser, who heads Inflatech Decoys. https://twitter.com/TarmoFella/status/1628373216740737024 The company has …

by Heath Hansen “Listen up, First Platoon. This morning, we got word that the police chief we were supposed to meet today, was executed last night. The Taliban rolled up, extracted intel, and shot him in the head. Does that mean the mission is canceled? Fuck no – we’re still …

Is Russia on a shopping trip to North Korea for weapons and supplies? The U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu is doing just that, in Pyongyang. Shortly after Shoigu arrived on a rare trip to North Korea, Blinken said that Russia is jockeying to …