U.S. defense chief visits Afghanistan amid questions over Trump’s foreign policy

U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter made an unannounced visit to Afghanistan on Friday, amid questions about what President-elect Donald Trump’s foreign policy will mean for the country as it faces a renewed Taliban-led insurgency. Carter will meet U.S. troops and Afghan President Ashraf Ghani while in Afghanistan. Trump has given few details on his foreign […]

My three favorite (but obscure) war movies

Everyone has seen Saving Private Ryan and Black Hawk Down about twenty times each, both are outstanding films but no need to retread these one more time for the sake of redundancy.  Here are my top three favorite war movies that you’ve probably never heard of before: 9 Rota (9th Company) I just recently became […]

Ties between Russia and the Taliban worry Afghan, U.S. officials

Afghan and American officials are increasingly worried that any deepening of ties between Russia and Taliban militants fighting to topple the government in Kabul could complicate an already precarious security situation. Russian officials have denied they provide aid to the insurgents, who are contesting large swathes of territory and inflicting heavy casualties, and say their […]

Trump administration urged to reassess use of Special Operations Forces in Counterterror

Washington, D.C. – A leading think tank told the Senate Armed Services Committee Dec. 6 that the incoming Trump Administration should undertake an assessment of special operations forces as part of any new counterterrorism strategy. The incoming Trump administration will have the burden to ensure SOF is enveloped into the Pentagon structure appropriately with new […]

Marine major who warned of danger before insider attack wins court case

A federal judge has overturned a Marine Corps decision to discharge Marine Maj. Jason Brezler, who was accused of mishandling classified information after he warned Marines in Afghanistan about an Afghan police chief days before a deadly insider attack in August 2012. A board of inquiry recommended in December 2013 that Brezler be discharged for […]

Women in Afghan Army overcome opposition, threats

Kabul’s military training academy is churning out classes of enthusiastic women to serve in Afghanistan’s army, but the realities of rising violence and a conservative society make the future for the young recruits far from certain. In the latest class, some of the nearly 150 women training to be officers say they feel proud to […]

UDT/SEAL history in brief

In the media of late, SEALs have been lumped in with a great many other SOF units seeming to be just another elite form of a conventional unit. However, due to their many unique assets, frogmen have an illustrious history with many noteworthy accomplishments outside of the predominantly land warfare mission of the last 15 […]

Thanksgiving Day on a remote fire base in Afghanistan

Thanksgiving ’02 memory: I will start by saying that Thanksgiving was my favorite day…one of the few days of the year where the dysfunction was kept at bay. So I always looked forward to them. In ’02, I happened to be deployed to a small, remote fire base. We would, however, be regularly resupplied via […]

In depth look at the tactics and strategy of guerrilla tunneling

Tunneling underground is a tried and true tactic of the guerrilla fighter, one that has become especially prevalent amongst those facing Western air power which they simply cannot match.  By the same token, it has also been argued that the suicide bomber is another tactic which the guerrilla, or terrorist rather, uses to a militarily superior […]

German cabinet backs continued military mission in Afghanistan

Chancellor Angela Merkel’s cabinet on Wednesday approved the continuation of Germany’s deployment of up to 980 soldiers to Afghanistan through the end of 2017, a government spokesman said. The decision, which must still be approved by parliament, came less than a week after armed Taliban militants stormed the German consulate in the northern Afghan city […]

Hague prosecutors say U.S. forces may have committed war crimes

Prosecutors at the International Criminal Court in The Hague said on Monday there were preliminary grounds to believe U.S. forces committed war crimes in Afghanistan and at secret detention facilities elsewhere in 2003 and 2004. In a report, prosecutors said there was a “reasonable basis to believe” that U.S. forces had tortured prisoners in Afghanistan […]