Expert Analysis

As military professionals, we have a duty to question and, when necessary, refuse orders that violate law, morality, or basic safety, because our oath is to the Constitution and the principles it defends, not to blind obedience.

Ukraine and Russia are locked in a grinding stalemate where neither can win outright, yet both refuse to accept the cost of defeat as the political ground beneath them steadily erodes.

When accountability breaks down, the integrity of our institutions erodes, our adversaries gain opportunity, and the security of the nation itself is placed at risk.

We are posturing for a fight in Venezuela without a coherent strategy, bleeding scarce combat power and credibility in pursuit of a mission that serves politics more than the security of the American people.

In a world fraying with division and hardship, our real strength is the quiet, unseen gold forged in daily struggle, service to others, and the deep roots of our values that no frost can reach.

After twenty so called successes against drug boats, my experience tells me we are spending billions to swat at speedboats while the cartels calmly rebuild the same networks we refuse to confront at the source.

Amidst the chaos and carnage, I couldn’t help but marvel at the sheer audacity of these men—pilots who crawled from the wreckage, dusted themselves off, and pressed forward as if crashing a helicopter was just another Tuesday.

From the shadow of the Pyrénées at Pau to the hottest trouble spots across the globe, the blue-bereted aircrews of the 4e RHFS—laden with Glock-17s, MP7s clipped to their vests, compact APC556 carbines at hand and retractable 20mm door cannons ready to bloom—never board a helicopter without the firepower, training and cold resolve to turn any arrival into an instant advantage.

Watching Pokrovsk ground to dust meter by meter, I see Washington and Budapest flirting with an alliance of convenience that would codify the stalemate into Western policy and rename exhaustion as realism.

Terrorism isn’t an enemy to be defeated, it’s a symptom of despair and miscalculation—and until America accepts that truth, every strike it makes will plant the seeds of the next war.

At Saab’s Linköping plant on October 22, 2025, Zelensky and Kristersson unveiled a landmark deal to equip Ukraine with at least 100 Gripen fighters starting in 2026, a rugged highway-strip-capable fleet with long reach and low costs that signals Europe is serious about beating back Russian aggression.

In Rio, where rainforest meets surf and glass balconies overlook stacked mosaics of tin and prayer, I learned that the state, the narcos, and the civilians breathe the same air while fighting different wars that end at dawn and begin again by night.