Author: Steve Balestrieri

Just a few days ago, Stavros did a great writeup on how conducting airborne operations in the Third World, with some of our partners and allies who aren’t very well trained, can be… interesting. Many of these soldiers had never even been around aircraft before joining the military, and most of those on their first […]

On Tuesday morning, with 97 percent of the vote in, it appears that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has won a big re-election in a contentiously contested campaign. Now that the Israeli elections have taken place, the U.S. presidential election could prove to be a monumental shift in policy, depending on who wins in November. […]

Hardly a week has passed since the conditional peace treaty between the U.S. and the Taliban, and American troops are already leaving the country. Despite evidence that the Taliban have resumed attacks on Afghan government forces, U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper has given the order for the United States to begin withdrawing troops from Afghanistan.s. […]

The Israeli military conducted a targeted strike that killed a senior Hezbollah officer inside Syria. For the past weeks, Syria has been a relentless hotbed of violence. Government troops backed by Russian airstrikes are attempting to oust the rebels from the final stronghold in Idlib province. Last week, the Syrians launched a missile strike at […]

The Air Force’s future is both moving forward and tied to the past. The bombers of the future have already been decided: they are the B-21 Raider, which is currently under development, and the venerable B-52 Stratofortress, a holdover from the Cold War, the airframes of which are older than the pilots flying them.  The […]

Turkey launched a massive operation in Syria targeting government troops after the recent attack on Turkish troops last week left at least 34 Turkish soldiers dead, the country’s defense chief said on Sunday. “Operation Spring Shield, which was launched following the heinous attack (on Turkish soldiers) on Feb. 27 is successfully being carried out,” Defense […]

The face of war has changed in the past two decades. While the world’s bad guys and the terrorists have been continually morphing and popping up around the globe, as they’re stomped out in one place and reappearing in another, the “good guys” of the world need to network, innovate, and operate, globally.  That’s why […]

The United States and the Taliban have signed a historic peace agreement that could bring an end to the long 18-year war that began after the 9/11 attacks on America. Under the terms of this agreement, the United States will remove all of its troops from the country within 14 months; the removal will be […]

Frank Buckles lived an amazing and long life. He joined the Army at only 16 years old to fight in World War I, and later as a civilian, working in the Philippines, was captured by the Japanese at the outset of World War II. He survived three hellish years as a POW at Los Banos […]

Some context on the situation in Syria. Earlier this week, the Turkish-backed Syrian National Army (SNA) has recaptured a town in northwestern Syria after heavy fighting with government troops. The Turkish-backed Syrian rebels have retaken the town of Nairab in northwest Syria’s Idlib province with the support of the Turkish military. This was the first […]

The huge crowd at the large cricket stadium in Sardar Patel Stadium in Ahmedabad, India came to see President Trump and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and they weren’t disappointed. An estimated 110,000 people filled the stadium to hear the President and Prime Minister give a message of hope, solidarity, and military partnership.  President Trump […]

The Israeli Air Force blasted several Islamic Jihad targets in Syria and the Gaza Strip late Sunday and early Monday after the terrorist organization fired dozens of rockets into Israel.  The Israelis later killed one terrorist who attempted to plant explosives along the fence with Gaza, the military said in a statement. They then dragged […]