Luke Ryan

June 27, 1950 — Only two days before, thousands of North Korean soldiers had crossed into the South Korea, under the cover of artillery barrages over the 38th parallel. They were already on their way to Seoul by the 27th, and the world was watching closely. On this day in history, U.S. President Harry Truman […]

Dan Martin — veteran of the United States Navy from 1985 to 1991, is an employee of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. After his service in the Navy, he attended Purdue and graduated with his degree in electrical engineering. From there, he went to Indiana Wesleyan for his MBA, where he also worked for […]

The U.S. Army is changing its OSUT (One Station Unit Training) program for infantry, pushing it from 14 weeks to 21 weeks. This will be a “pilot program” initiated in July, which will be used to determine the effectiveness of the extension and whether or not it warrants permanent integration into the Army. It is […]

I was trekking through the Burmese jungles in early 2015, primarily there to help create a series of videos for a field hospital in a conflict area in Karen state, eastern Burma/Myanmar. My group and I were pushing through the winding trails for a while — we had just carried a pregnant woman who was […]

This month has marked the seven year anniversary since the rekindling of the civil war between the Kachin people of northern Myanmar/Burma and the Myanmar military. Though the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) has been embroiled in conflict with the government ever since June of 2011, there have been periods of more or less fighting, as […]

Human trafficking exists in virtually every country in some form or another. The easiest targets tend to be the most vulnerable ones — that could mean vulnerable in their life situation (for example, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children reported that 88% of their endangered runaways are missing from social services), or it could […]

If you haven’t seen the movie, don’t spoil it here — watch it first, then come back. “Once Upon a Time in the West” is a classic film by Sergio Leone, made in 1968. It stars Claudia Cardinale, Henry Fonda, Charles Bronson and Jason Robards. The music is masterfully composed by Ennio Morricone, and the score […]

We have been at war for a long time. It’s likely that this article is preaching to the choir, as many of SOFREP’s readers were intimately involved in the war themselves, or at least know many people who were. However, even in many veteran circles, interest in news regarding Afghanistan has begun to wane. An […]

It’s no secret that the modern world is trying to rip our brains apart into a million tiny pieces, pulling it from one distraction to the other. Sure, there are some ill-intentioned CEOs out there running many of these companies whose aim it is to engage our minds, but if we’re being honest with ourselves, […]

30 Afghan soldiers have been killed as the Taliban have resumed fighting upon the close of the ceasefire between themselves and the Afghan government. They assaulted government compounds and ambushed a convoy with both small arms fire and an IED. Local authorities have said that 16 Taliban were killed in the fighting, but that has […]

If you haven’t seen the movie, don’t spoil it here — watch it first, then come back. “12 Angry Men” is a classic film that gets played in schools, universities and is referenced in articles regarding argument, the death penalty, our justice system, and/or race and class. Part of its fame is rooted in the […]

There have been disturbing increases in the suicide rates across America. Since 1999, suicides have increased over 30% in half of states, some of them all the way up to 58%. On top of that, the CDC found that 54% of those cases had no known mental health conditions. Read about the CDC report here. […]