SOFREP Cartoon: NATO – Cold War Relic, or Critical Shield?
In Washington, the NATO argument is no longer about deterrence or doctrine, it is about the bar tab, and the guy holding the bottle is starting to ask why he is the only one paying.
News
Dick Cheney is Gone, but I Remember Who Sent Us to War
Dick Cheney didn’t just steer America into war, he helped turn war into a business, and soldiers like me and my friends paid the bill in blood while he and his circle counted the profits.
Book Review: ARISEN Operators 1, Fall of the Third Temple
Yaël Sion does not survive the apocalypse by hoping harder; she survives it the way a cutting tool survives steel, by biting down and refusing to let go.
Morning Brief: Rochester Police Ambush, UN Peacekeepers Killed, US Seizes Second Venezuelan Oil Tanker
From an ambush that wounded three Rochester police officers, to the killing of UN peacekeepers overseas, to US forces seizing sanctioned oil tankers off Venezuela, a series of escalating incidents highlights growing risks for security forces operating in unstable and increasingly contested environments.
Evening Brief: US Strikes ISIS in Syria, Russia Hits Odesa, Bellevue OIS
After a deadly ambush near Palmyra, US forces hit more than 70 ISIS targets across central Syria in a heavy retaliation strike meant to keep ISIS cells from regrouping. Russia is pounding Odesa while massing forces near Pokrovsk, and back home a Bellevue officer-involved shooting is under review by King County’s independent investigators as both the officer and suspect recover.
The Art of the Suck: Why Resilience Skills Still Belong in the Ruck
Even as the Army steps away from formal MRT requirements, the resilience skills it taught are still mission-useful and should be shared through strong mentorship to help soldiers stay alive and pass their PT tests.
As I Walk Through the Valley of Death, I Shall Freak No Evil: Pin-Up 2.0
War has always had a myth side, and today’s “tactical glam” pin-up imagery sells that fantasy with real kit and lethal swagger, drawing civilians in while vets instinctively spot the gaps between the poster and the patrol.
When an MIT Professor Is Murdered: The Quiet Vulnerabilities of American Scientific Power
The killing of an MIT professor is not just a crime story, but a reminder that America’s scientific power lives in real people, real places, and is more vulnerable than we like to admit.
America First vs. Neoconservatism: Two Ways to Swing the Big Stick
Breaking down how neoconservatism and America First both demand a dominant U.S. military, but one aims to shape the world while the other uses power to secure direct benefits for Americans.
Morning Brief: AI Power Grid Shift and Norway Military Aid: F-16 Weapons for Ukraine and Arctic Security on Jan Mayen
Federal regulators are moving to let massive AI data centers connect closer to power plants, a fast-track grid shift that could bring reliability. Norway is also stocking the shelves with consequences, funding F-16 munitions and air-defense weapons for Ukraine while tightening security rules on Jan Mayen as the Arctic heats up.
Operation Hawkeye Strike: U.S. Bombs Islamic State Strongholds in Syria
For ISIS, December 19 was the moment the desert learned, again, that America keeps receipts and collects its debts from the sky.
Evening Brief: Rubio Defends Hardline Venezuela Policy, US Lifts Caesar Act Sanctions on Syria, Pakistan Accuses India of Weaponizing Water
Rubio defends Venezuela pressure as Syria sanctions lift and Russia blamed in EU hacks. Here’s what’s making headlines this Friday evening.
