Tag Archives: Featured

by Jonathan Stumpf A dispatch from Ukraine. News of Prigozhin’s mutiny rips through the International Legion like wildfire. Stretched out on our cots, “Austria,” “Niente,” and I feverishly track the latest developments on our smartphones. I gave Niente his nickname because he wanted to be called “Nothing.” He had joined …

by Jose Campos In the shadow of Japan’s Mount Fuji, Marine explosive ordnance disposal technicians trained with live ordnance, refining the precision stand-off techniques used to safely neutralize dangerous munitions. The rocket motor lay on the range at Camp Fuji, waiting to be destroyed. Marine explosive ordnance disposal technicians regarded …

by Igor Rozin The world’s most popular rifle, with 100 million units in circulation, is not without its drawbacks. The AK platform is popular worldwide for its reliability and ease of production. Today, there are roughly 100 million Kalashnikov rifles in 55 countries around the globe. And that’s only those …

COMMENTARY by Susan Katz Keating Russia repeatedly has been accused of poisoning its enemies. The historical record offers a useful test before drawing conclusions about this case. My inbox filled up within hours of the news. The question was consistent: “Did the Russians poison Lindsey Graham?” I don’t know. Did anyone …

In this installment of our investigative series, we examine how booby-trapped equipment slipped into wartime aid networks in Ukraine, targeting Russian soldiers. by Susan Katz Keating The Russian soldier placed the FPV goggles on his head, and flipped the switch on his drone console. He expected to see real-time images …

In California’s harsh border country, Marines and Border Patrol agents turn to horses for the kind of mobility no vehicle can match. by Jose Campos The U.S. military and the U.S. Border Patrol are reaching back to one of the oldest methods of moving through unforgiving country: horseback. Near El …

The Moroccan Puma helicopter is a battlefield veteran with decades of dust and fire under its rotors. Morocco first struck a deal with France in 1974 to acquire 40 of these durable workhorses for its armed forces. Throughout the 1970’s and 1980’s, Moroccan Pumas played a key role in the …

by Al Hagan In the early 1980s, I was in the Marine Corps, and a friend of mine who had gone into the Army was getting married. We’d grown up together, and so I and others – lots of military – journeyed back home for the occasion. Naturally, this required …

We were leaning over the throttles, breaking the seals on our masks, and yelling at each other. by Mitchell “Taco” Bell To all my passenger friends out there who always text me with the crazy pilot questions, I can assure you as pilots we train for this stuff all the …

by Boris Egorov At the end of 1980, on the outskirts of Moscow, Soviet policemen beat to death a KGB major, and staged it as a robbery. They had no idea what dire consequences the encounter would have for them and the entire Soviet police force.  On the morning of …