by John Spencer Editor’s note: This is an excerpt of the book “Connected Soldiers: Life, Leadership, and Social Connection in Modern War” published by Potomac Books and available for purchase at Amazon here. The excerpt describes 2LT John Spencer’s experience jumping into Iraq as a platoon leader with the 173rd …

“We are a tough people, we used to have war all the time. Fighting is in our DNA.” At a major international fighting event this year, all four athletes competing for world championship titles hailed from the Caucasus. The event, UFC 311, which was held in California on Jan. 18, …

by Susan Katz Keating A member of the Air National Guard was hit with criminal charges – but not for leaking classified documents. It has to do with murder-for-hire. A Tennessee man who serves in the Air National Guard agreed to kill someone for a client who actually was an …

The Northeast Cartel is not well known inside the U.S., but the powerful group controls key territory inside Mexico, along the border with Texas. The group holds sway over Nuevo Laredo, a staging ground for drugs and people headed into the United States. Journalist Parker Asmann visited the border town, and …

by Jose Campos “You have to watch your step. This is rattlesnake territory.” From the ground, the operation looks and feels like a deployment. For soldiers patrolling the vast, open terrain around Presidio, Texas, the mission includes squad level reconnaissance in remote territory. They know first hand that the U.S. …

by A.R. Fomenko VIENNA BUREAU – The European underworld called him La Mouche. The Fly. Only 30 years old, Mohamed Amra had been a specter for months, slipping through the cracks and mocking the law with every breath he took as a free man. On Saturday, his luck ran dry. Authorities spotted …

Mendoza received a Silver Star for his actions that day in Iraq. The film WARFARE follows a platoon of U.S. Navy SEALs on a surveillance mission gone wrong in November 2006, during a battle against insurgents in Ramadi Province, Iraq. The film from A24 is based on true events. Among them …

MOVIE REVIEW by Navy SEAL Commander Dan O’Shea (ret) Editor’s note: The newly released WARFARE follows a platoon of U.S. Navy SEALs on a surveillance mission gone wrong in November 2006, during a battle against insurgents in Ramadi Province, Iraq. The film from A24 is based on true events. It …

by Jose Campos These seaborne first responders knew what they were looking for, and how to proceed. The crew of the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Kimball pulled up alongside the suspected drug smuggling vessel, seized its contraband, and took suspects into custody. And the suspects’ boat met a swift end …

Soldiers from the New York Army National Guard and the Moroccan Royal Armed Forces received field training on machine guns and a Carl Gustaf recoilless rifle at the Aurora Range in Tantan, Morocco. Soldiers took part in machine gun crew drills where they learned about swapping barrels, handling a malfunction, …