Category: Military History

Serving in the military instills a real sense of pride in many veterans. It’s not just the things you accomplished or the good you did while in uniform, but the understanding that you helped carry a torch passed to you by the previous generation. Your uniform, your title, even many of the challenges you face can […]

Though history remembers him as one of the bad guys, there is little doubt that a German named Otto Skorzeny played an influential role in demonstrating the power small specialized units could play on the battlefield. Once called ‘The Most Dangerous Man In Europe,’ his participation in planning and executing risky, even outlandish, operations earned […]

The U.S. Army recently announced it would be standing up six security force assistance brigades (SFABs), designed to provide the Army with units specifically trained to work as military advisors. As part of their training pipeline, these advisors will likely receive cultural and language training to facilitate working with their partner forces. They will have […]

One thing that Americans excel at is high-technology and perhaps nowhere do we enjoy the application of technology more than in the context of war.  I’ve written about this topic previously and how it hurts the Special Forces mission or how it hinders our espionage efforts, which was why I was interested to come across […]

One way to look at a 60-year-old, battle-worn M1 U.S. service rifle is as a cherished historical relic unfit for any duty more rigorous than color guard. Another way is as a military-grade firearm likely to be snatched up by street toughs and used for common crime. Over the past six years, the Obama administration […]

In 2010 the situation on the ground in Iraq was getting increasingly…convoluted. Even veteran Special Forces NCO’s were saying that it was the most difficult operational environment that they had ever seen. The difficulty was two fold, by this stage in the war the United States military had a heavy hand in Iraq while simultaneously […]

Winston Churchill, an officer in the British Army, Nobel laureate, and two-time UK Prime Minister solidified his place in history as the leader of the British people throughout the majority of World War II.  His unrelenting refusal to give in to the enemy and storied wit (accompanied with occasional drunken antics) have long been the […]

At the The National Museum of the Marine Corps located in Triangle, Virginia, there is an Academy Award on display.  While many Hollywood actors played the role of a Marine, this Oscar was won by real Marines filming Marines doing Marine things.  The 1945 Oscar for best documentary film went to… the envelope please… “With […]

A newly declassified CIA document explored multiple scenarios of Syrian regime collapse at a time when Hafez al-Assad’s government was embroiled in a covert “dirty war” with Israel and the West, and in the midst of a diplomatic crisis which marked an unprecedented level of isolation for Syria. The 24-page formerly classified memo entitled Syria: Scenarios of Dramatic Political Change was produced in July […]

This July marks the 73rd anniversary of the creation of the first true modern Special Forces unit, the First Special Service Force (FSSF). Canadian and United States SF units trace their lineage back to this historic Canadian/American joint unit, specifically the U.S. Army Special Forces and the Canadian Special Operations Regiment. The iconic red arrowhead […]

On 19 September, 1994, U.S. forces were deployed to the Caribbean nation of Haiti to remove the illegitimate military junta installed by coup d’état and return President Jean-Bertrand Aristide to power. The mission of 2nd Battalion, 3rd SF Group was to support the Multinational Force-Haiti in establishing and maintaining a stable and secure environment in […]

OSS – UNDERCOVER | SPY TRAINING FILM – ca. 1942 – ca. 1945: Analyze preparation, arrival, establishment, and “prevalent cover” for secret agents by presenting one movie within another, as introduced by Colonel Robertson, chief of Schools and Training at Office of Strategic Services. R.1: Gives examples of agents discovered because of inattention to details, […]