Why would the Air Force want to buy new F-15s in the era of stealth fighters?

The United States Air Force recently announced it would seek funding to procure a dozen new F-15X fighter jets as a part of its 2020 budget proposal, a move the branch was pushed toward by Pentagon officials, including the now-acting Defense Secretary and former Boeing executive, Patrick Shanahan. Shanahan’s ties to Boeing, the company that […]

The world has returned to Great Power politics

Threats to American civil life come from domestic sources: natural disasters, car crashes, the opiate crisis, and economic downturns, just to name a few. Bee stings kill (exponentially) more people than foreign-born terrorists do every year in the United States. Vast oceans and friendly neighbors have much to do with the lack of conflict, war, […]

Analysis: Latest Islamic State propaganda video shows recovered weapons of Niger ambush?

A video recently released by the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara (ISGS), the group responsible for the ambush on October 4th, shows U.S.-made weapons. The video is titled Punishments of Traitors and features brutal executions, accompanied by nasheeds (Islamic ballads). In the video, Abdelhakim al-Sahrawi, the Emir of Gourma for ISGS, can be seen […]

Key updates on several NEWSREP stories about US Special Forces

In 2017, NEWSREP published an open letter titled “Careerism, Cronyism, and Malfeasance in SWCS: The End of SF Capability,” which had been sent out anonymously to nearly everyone on Special Operations Command’s internal email list. The letter outlined, in detail, with specific examples, how Special Forces training has been watered down for political reasons. The […]

A tribute to airline pioneer Herb Kelleher, dead at 87

Early in the new year, the aviation industry lost one of its brightest and most eccentric stars. Herb Kelleher, the ostentatious and larger-than-life former CEO of Southwest Airlines, died at the age of 87. Kelleher was perhaps more than any other man responsible for democratizing air travel and bringing a Texas-sized personality of fun and […]

Fifth-Gen Face Off: Here are the 4 most advanced stealth fighters on the planet

When Lockheed Martin’s F-22 Raptor first took to the skies in 1997, it represented such a fundamental shift in military aviation that it was clear the U.S. was dealing with an entirely new generation of fighter. Slower than its air superiority predecessors, but boasting the sort of advanced technology that no nation on the planet […]

December jobs numbers well above expectations, other indicators send mixed signals

Despite a turbulent stock market and the continued prospect of a full-on trade war, the labor market remains remarkably strong. The job numbers for the final month of 2018 are indicative of this. The economy added 312,000 jobs in December of 2018, within striking distance of doubling the paltry 176,000 projected by economists surveyed by […]

Filling the void: Maslow and transitioning out of the military

This article is the second in a series of articles discussing the difficulties faced by service members transitioning out of the military. The first, titled “Abandoning the tribe: The psychology behind why veterans struggle to transition to civilian life,” covered some of the psychological theories at play as a military member becomes indoctrinated into their […]

Ranger Helicopter Assault Force: Learning to assault from the Little Bird

Editor’s note: This piece was written by NEWSREP Editor-in-Chief and Special Operations veteran, Jack Murphy. Murphy served as a Sniper and Team Leader in 3rd Ranger Battalion and as a Senior Weapons Sergeant on a Military Free Fall team in 5th Special Forces Group. While going through some old photographs the other day I came […]