Military History

An Army Ranger sniper sets up a shot during an exercise hosted by U.S. Army Special Operations Command, Fort Bragg, N.C., June 6, 2017. Special Operations Command photo by Michael Bottoms

Walking into a critic’s screening creates an unusual juxtaposition of feelings in the pit of your stomach. On the one hand, you’re acutely aware that you’re getting to see a movie months before its release, and as the theater staff usher you off to a screen with a form of pseudo secrecy, it’s easy to […]

The 1980’s witnessed the twilight years of the Cold War.  Beneath the surface, centers of power were being consolidated, strange bed fellows met in secret, and intelligence officers dug in their heels following a type of sunk cost fallacy which would lead them to believe that the Cold War would continue forever.  One of the […]

Special operations soldiers fire upon a mock enemy vehicle during an exercise hosted by U.S. Army Special Operations Command, Fort Bragg, N.C., June 6, 2017.   Special Operations Command photo by Michael Bottoms

In light of recent events in Niger where four US Special Forces soldiers were killed, many people are wondering: who are these terror groups operating in Africa? How many terrorist groups are in Africa? There is no short story to the history of terrorism in Africa, and there have long been Islamic terror groups operating […]

Marine Special Operations School Individual Training Course students fire an M240B machine gun during night-fire training April 13, 2017, at Camp Lejeune. For the first time, U.S. Air Force Special Tactics Airmen spent three months in Marine Special Operations Command’s Marine Raider training pipeline, representing efforts to build joint mindsets across special operations forces.   […]

Today is United Nations day. 1945 brought about the close of WWII and the dawn of the United Nations. They hoped that such an alliance would prevent a war like that from ever happening again. After WWI, a group called the League of Nations was born.  Like the United Nations, its purpose was to stop […]

Army Rangers, assigned to 2nd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment, prepare for extraction from their objective during Task Force Training on Fort Hunter Liggett, Calif., Jan. 30, 2014. Rangers constantly train to maintain their tactical proficiency.   Photo Credit: Spc. Steven Hitchcock

On October 23rd, 1983, an explosion ripped through an American barracks in Beirut, killing 220 U. S. Marines, 18 Navy sailors, and 3 Army soldiers.  58 French peacekeepers and 6 civilians were also killed in the blast. Beirut is the capital of Lebanon, and the country’s largest city.  Lebanon lies sandwiched between Syria to the […]

What happened here?: The gunman who killed his best friend and his girlfriend – and injured a third – in a shooting at an apartment complex in Colorado has been identified. Police say Michael Zamora, 30, shot Colorado State University student Savannah McNealy, 22, and Tristan Kemp, 26, before turning the gun on himself early […]

More than 100 Soldiers earned the Green Beret during the 266th Special Forces Qualification Course graduation ceremony Feb. 23 at the Crown Coliseum in Fayetteville, N.C. Photo Credit: Staff Sgt. Russell Lee Klika, SWCS Public Affairs Office

Dozens of Egyptian police were killed in clashes with militants in the country’s western desert Friday, one of the deadliest attacks this year suffered by Egypt’s security forces fighting persistent and spreading Islamist militancy. At least 55 policemen, including 20 officers and 34 conscripts, were killed in a shootout during a raid on a militant […]