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.
Navy
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.
The Shadow War Off Venezuela’s Coast: How U.S. Special Operators Are Quietly Shaping Operation Southern Spear
Out on the dark water where the rules get thin and the trigger gets heavy, Southern Spear is less a drug bust than a deliberate message: if you run narco-terror cargo under a cartel flag, the United States will hunt you down and end the problem at sea, not in court.
SOFREP Cartoon: U.S. Southern Command’s Pirate Upgrade
SOUTHCOM’s Pirate Upgrade. The mission is sus, but the fit is fire!
Evening Brief: Hegseth’s Signal Storm, Benin Coup Try, and Lockheed’s Hypersonic Push
Three quick hits this evening: Lockheed just fired up a new Huntsville hypersonics lab to speed Army strike programs, Benin swatted down a coup attempt when most of the army stayed loyal, and back in D.C. Pete Hegseth is catching shrapnel for allegedly pushing Yemen strike details over Signal like OPSEC is optional.
The Bolduc Brief: Accountability for War Crimes – The Case of the Boat Strikes
If the bombing of that vessel is ultimately judged to have targeted civilians or used grossly disproportionate force, then everyone in the chain of command, from the trigger-puller up to President Trump and his Pentagon leadership, must answer for it as a potential war crime rather than dismiss it as routine business of war.
Medal of Honor Monday: Mervyn S. Bennion – From Utah Farmlands to Pearl Harbor
On that brutal Sunday morning at Pearl Harbor, Captain Mervyn Bennion stayed on the burning bridge of West Virginia with his guts torn open, still fighting for his ship and his men long after any reasonable man would have let go.
Morning Brief: Congress Eyes Narco Strikes as Maduro Postures and NYC Anti-ICE Protests Turn Chaotic
Congress is tightening bipartisan oversight on the Trump administration’s Caribbean counter-narco strikes even as the White House keeps pressure on cartel networks and Maduro’s inner circle. At the same time, Maduro is trying to project calm from behind blacked-out glass in Caracas, while New York’s anti-ICE protest at Federal Plaza crossed from lawful dissent into street-level disorder and drew a firm NYPD response.
From El Alamein to Fallujah, November’s Record of Decision
November has repeatedly served as war’s decision month, delivering hinge battles from El Alamein and Guadalcanal to the Somme and Fallujah that either broke enemy momentum or forced conflicts into their endgame.
Terrifying Account of a Navy SEAL Killed by a Shark
When people ask if Navy SEALs fear sharks, I tell them the truth which is that during BUD/S you are too focused on surviving the next evolution to waste a thought on whatever might be circling beneath you.
The SECRET to Navy SEAL Training
Graduating from BUD/S demands nothing less than unyielding mental toughness and the refusal to quit, no matter how brutal the training gets.
USS Gerald R. Ford Rolls Into SOUTHCOM — and Nobody’s Pretending This Is Just About Panga Boats
Parked off Venezuela like a steel cathedral, the Ford isn’t here to chase panga boats — it’s a billion-dollar warning flare meant to make someone, somewhere, think very hard about what happens next.
