Tag Archives: Featured

Editor’s note: This article originally appeared in SOF on June 2, 2023. We are republishing it here for context in light of drones being reported over New Jersey in December 2024. All references are from 2023. The illustrations for this story are AI, but the events are real. ~SKK by …

Over the last year, U.S. officials have seized more illicit fentanyl at Arizona’s ports of entry than anywhere else on the US-Mexico border, suggesting a possible shift in synthetic drug trafficking routes. “We’re seeing shipments of all kinds coming in fast through new routes into Arizona,” one Border Patrol agent …

COMMENTARY by Susan Katz Keating Amid the celebrations, looting, and horror stories that follow the collapse of Bashar al-Assad’s regime in Syria, a powerful force could emerge from the chaos – if it hasn’t already been destroyed. If Assad preserved his files, and left them behind when he fled Syria, the …

Updated as reports come in. Ousted Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and his family have been granted asylum in Moscow, according to Russian media. The family arrived in Moscow Sunday, after a lightning rebel advance through Syria forced them to flee, the reports said. Russia has been a close ally of …

It began as a tank battalion exercise in 1991. Today, Exercise Steel Knight is an annual training event lead by the 1st Marine Division – one that spans the western United States and California coast. Focusing on ground fires, maneuver warfare tactics and command and control capabilities, this exercise tests …

By Royce de Melo Our correspondent has high hopes for his new sniper rifle, but finds that the knockoff Soviet-style Dragunov has a few surprises. As soon as we finished the club’s Saturday morning orientation for new members, I went out the main building’s door and headed to the 300-yard …

by Katie Lange  Editor’s note: SOF publisher Susan Katz Keating knew Col. Pappy Boyington in the 1980’s when he frequented the Nut Tree airport in Vacaville, California. Here is a story of his life in uniform. Colonel Gregory “Pappy” Boyington was one of the service’s greatest and most legendary pilots. …

by Kevin Maurer, The War Horse Editor’s note: As the situation in Syria heats up, here’s a look at a rare event from 2018, when U.S. and Russian forces clashed. The fight occurred in Syria. ~SKK Explosions flashed in the fog hanging over the Euphrates River like a coming summer …

The Montagnards were skilled fighters, often engaging in guerrilla tactics, conducting reconnaissance, and staging ambushes against enemy forces. During the Vietnam War, one of the most remarkable military alliances was between the U.S. Green Berets and the Montagnard tribespeople, indigenous groups who inhabited the Central Highlands of Vietnam. The Montagnards, …

One of Nato’s newest members has been showing off the AK-47-inspired RK 62 M1 assault rifle that is in current service with its armed forces. The Finnish Defence Force’s standard-issue rifle is based on a Polish variant of the AK-47 – the model that launched the iconic Soviet-made AK family. WATCH …