Travis Allen

About the author

is a former US Army Infantry Officer. While a Platoon Leader in Afghanistan, he was part of a joint Special Forces/Infantry team conducting Village Stability Operations in Kandahar Province. Travis graduated from the US Military Academy at West Point in 2010.

U.S. conducts series of airstrikes against Al-Qaeda in Yemen

The U.S. military executed a series of manned and unmanned aerial attacks against Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) targets inside Yemen yesterday, according to the Washington Post. Yemeni sources also reported the presence of U.S. ground forces conducting raids in conjunction with the air attacks, although that was refuted by the Pentagon. The attacks […]

Meaningful resolution for Syrian peace talks unlikely as talks falter

Tenuous peace negotiations are ongoing between the Assad government and a representative of the Syrian opposition in Geneva, supervised by Russia. Russia is playing head diplomat within the United Nations-backed peace talks, which have had a rocky track record over the past few years. Historically, these peace talks have done nothing to abate the fighting […]

U.S. Coast Guard counter-terror assets may be eliminated by new budget

The proposed budget by the Trump administration reportedly includes guidance to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to eliminate the Coast Guard’s counter-terrorism and specialized law enforcement units, according to the Associated Press. The teams proposed to be cut are the Maritime Security and Response Team (MSRT), based in Chesapeake, Virginia and the ten separate […]

2017 Crossfit Games to include military competitive division

The 2017 Crossfit Games, the annual fitness competition involving hundreds of thousands of Crossfit enthusiasts from around the world, now includes a military and first responder competitive division. Military members, police officers, firefighters, and emergency medical technicians will have the opportunity to compete in their own respective categories, and compare their scores. Since debuting in […]

Child soldiers are being recruited for the fight in Yemen, by all sides

Boys as young as 15 are being recruited to fight in the Yemen Civil War, with promises of financial compensation to their families when they are martyred, according to a report from Amnesty International. The statement was prompted after the families of three boys approached Amnesty International to report that their sons had been actively […]

China responds to terror attacks with thousands of armed police in restive province

The Chinese government has mobilized over 10,000 paramilitary police officers in a bid to reassert control in Xinjiang Province following a recent spate of violence this month. The government has accused terrorist elements of the Uighur people, an ethnic minority of Muslims in China’s furthest northwestern region, for executing a number of terrorist attacks in […]

Colombian rebel group National Liberation Army (ELN) claims responsibility for Bogota bombing

The Colombian rebel group National Liberation Army (ELN) has claimed responsibility for a terrorist bombing of a crowd near an iconic Bogota landmark. The bombing occurred last week, and left 25 civilians wounded and one security personnel dead. While originally denying ELN involvement, the group later took responsibility. The attack frustrates an already tenuous peace […]

Plan to defeat Islamic State will potentially increase military commitment in Syria

The Department of Defense’s plan to defeat the Islamic State, as directed by President Trump to Secretary of Defense James Mattis to prepare over a month ago, is complete and ready for the President. The plan reportedly reflects the rapidly changing conditions on the ground in Iraq and Syria against ISIS, where the terrorist group’s […]

Lieutenant General McMaster doesn’t like the phrase “Radical Islamic Terrorism”

On Lieutenant General H.R. McMaster’s first day on the job as National Security Adviser, he told his staff the phrase “Radical Islamic Terrorism” was not useful in describing the threat facing the United States. McMaster reportedly said “Muslims who commit terrorist acts are perverting their religion,” and are “un-Islamic.” The remarks are seen as a […]

ISIS churning out car bombs like an assembly line in the fight for Mosul

The Islamic State in Mosul has turned the process of creating devastating car bombs into one that has all the hallmarks of assembly line efficiency. Iraqi Army and counterterrorism units are encountering car bombs with frustrating regularity, so much so that they have developed tactics, techniques, and procedures more designed to mitigate the damage when one […]

Army officers are still lying, and it’s become a culture problem

Almost two years ago, the Strategic Studies Institute published an incredibly accurate depiction of the culture of lying that is so pervasive throughout the U.S. Army, specifically amongst the Officer corps and senior leadership, but also throughout the NCO ranks. In surprising detail, the authors of the study pick apart all of the little examples […]

Long war: Pentagon sees long term commitment in Iraq, fight against ISIS

The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Joseph Dunford is planning on a persistent, long term commitment to the war against ISIS. That commitment would extend well past the current military operations in Iraq and Syria, and would be part of a greater strategy to combat a ‘trans-regional threat’ posed by jihadist terrorism. […]