Rhodesian Bush War

A light helicopter over hostile bush. No spectacle, no margin for error. Just rotors, troops, and a war fought close and fast.

In the throes of the Rhodesian Bush War, resourceful Rhodesian forces, adept in marksmanship and reliant on the formidable penetration of the 7.62x51mm round, circumvented embargoes and sourced diverse FAL variants, countering the Kalashnikov-armed ZANLA and ZIPRA insurgents with tailored tactics and relentless grit, heralding a turbulent era that eventually birthed Zimbabwe and witnessed a consequential shift in military armament.

Pushing a man to his limits and instilling desire while holding to the rigorous standards gave the best results.

John Alan Coey was an American who fought and died in Rhodesia. This article is a commentary and analysis of a complicated and unique person based on his memoirs. It was received well and regarded as accurate by those who knew him, including his brother. I consider Rhodesia a bit of American Military History due […]

You can read part one here. Langebaan — Western Cape Province, South Africa. It has a predominantly white population of slightly over 8,000 and is located approximately 120 km north of the iconic city of Cape Town. Langebaan boasts of an ecosystem that is the epitome of natural serenity and the lagoon waters of its […]

Learning to track on the modern battlefield is less ancient art form, more hard science.

The ground doesn’t lie. Short of teleporting or being a ghost, a human being will leave some evidence of its presence or movement. It is science; tracking is empirical and fact-driven. It is not an abstract, ancient art form. Those two basic tenants would be drilled into our brains during the week-long combat tracking course with the […]

An aircraft goes down over Africa under “mysterious circumstances.” The secretary general of the United Nations and 14 others, the crew and other members of his team, died. The only survivor of the 15 was an American Army sergeant on special assignment to the secretary general as security. He flatly insisted that the plane was shot down. His statement was […]

A mercenary is traditionally defined as a person “primarily concerned with making money at the expense of ethics,” but I feel that’s incorrect.