Watch Northrop Grumman’s experimental X-47B in action: America’s UCAV UFO

The X-47B may never actually participate in combat operations, but the two technology demonstrators built by Northrop Grumman for the U.S. Navy produced some of the most interesting (and unusual looking) military aviation photos of the past ten years. The unmanned combat aerial vehicle (UCAV) is, put simply, a drone developed with low observability and […]

No pay? No problem. US Coast Guard still kicking ass despite shutdown

As a result of the partial government shutdown, members of the U.S. Coast Guard are now working without paychecks. According to a recent Facebook post from current Coast Guard commandant Admiral Karl Schultz, the Coasties “have not, and will not, be forgotten.” Still, no one can say for sure when the debate around government funding […]

The military’s southern border mission has been extended for another 9 months

U.S. service members currently deployed to the southern border can expect to stay there for another nine months. Although originally the deployment to the area was slated to conclude later this month, the Department of Defense (DoD) announced on Monday evening that the current operation would extend until September 30, 2019. The DoD did not […]

Take a guided tour through a Coast Guard command center

On the thirteenth floor of a nondescript federal building in downtown New Orleans sits the headquarters of Coast Guard District 8, which is responsible for 26 U.S. states. The district response operations are run by one man, Captain Dave Cooper, a 29-year veteran of the Coast Guard who spent the majority of his career as […]

CDC says flu cases are on the rise, but what are the costs?

Although the flu is not something most healthy Americans go around worrying about, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is warning that this year’s flu season could be a brutal one. According to a press release issued just days before Christmas of last year, the flu season was officially declared on December 15, […]

Unpaid government employees given sample letters that suggest trading services to landlords for missed rent

As the partial government shutdown continues, some 380,000 federal employees have been furloughed, with another 420,000 expected to continue working without pay. Now, the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) has released sample letters for those federal workers to send to creditors, mortgage companies, and landlords explaining why they are unable to meet their financial obligations. […]

DoD report reveals significant issues with military intelligence

Earlier this year, the Department of Defense (DoD) conducted an investigation to assess the standards and communication processes of the different intelligence units in the U.S. military. More specifically, the DoD investigated all the geographic combatant command joint intelligence operations centers (JIOCs) and intelligence directorates. JIOCs are responsible for the planning, coordination, and integration of […]

Green Beret saves man from exploding vehicle

A Special Forces soldier has been awarded the coveted Soldier’s Medal for pulling a man out of a flaming vehicle seconds before it exploded. In April 2017, Sergeant 1st Class Erik Kingsley was driving toward Raleigh airport in North Carolina. In the vehicle, alongside him, were his wife, two daughters, and airman brother-in-law. It was very […]

Trump’s border wall, the opioid crisis, and the hell of good intentions

This is part 2 of a 3 part series. You can read part 1 here. The border wall will make transportation of opioids and other drugs much more difficult, and therefore the cost of transportation will shoot up. When this happens, marginal, smaller suppliers will have to drop out of the (black) market, leaving larger, […]