Afghanistan

Four hours into a nasty firefight with the Taliban near Jaghato, Wardk, A-10 Warthogs finally arrive on station and promptly put an end to the battle with a few well-paced and devastating gun runs.

The war in Afghanistan is both different and the same as Iraq. The Afghanistan theatre is seen as a righteous war. Iraq is not. The Iraqis have shown more progress than the Afghans. Empire after empire entered Afghanistan and went home empty-handed. Maybe because there’s nothing to do there. Except our Afghan war has much to […]

“I don’t care what you do for a living. If you don’t do your best, you are beaten,” he said.

“You train the hard way so you can live the easy way. Most people will always go for the easy,” he also mentioned.

“Pain and misery have made me who I am,” said the outdoors boy from Texas, then acknowledging he had left all he had this day on the forum stage, just as he had during his time in the military.

“That’s all I got for you,” he said.

U.S. military officials are considering whether to upgrade nearly 1,400 combat valor awards earned by troops throughout the past 15 years, a number that is significantly higher than the Pentagon initially projected. The review began in January, when Defense Secretary Ash Carter voiced concern about whether personnel have been recognized properly for their heroic actions […]

“Oh man, that made a mess of him…”
Pilots are not known for their understatements.

Attacking an airfield with nearby Apache helicopters in the air and on mission continues to work out for defending American forces.

“If you have [the Islamic State’s] No. 3 in the crosshairs and he’s using human shields, would we be able to strike him or not?” the officer asked. “This is an important debate. But are we fighting a war or are we not? They are clearly waging a war against us. Are we waging a war, or are we conducting a police action?
“How do you ‘advise and assist’ someone when you are not allowed to go into combat with them?” the officer added.

Former MARSOC team member Michael Golembesky has published his second book titled, “Dagger 22” and it goes on sale September 20th. Dagger 22 gives readers a “grittier feel; more aggressive, with a deeper personal story-line” from Ski’s deployment in Afghanistan with his MARSOC team. Below is a Q&A with Michael Golembesky: 1) You mention in the author’s note at the beginning of  Dagger 22, […]

Trump has already stated that our military is in terrible shape. It’s “very bad,” he’s hearing. Trump stated he knows more than the generals, a statement he backpedaled on during the IAVA forum. He seems to live and die by what he feels at the moment. Trump’s campaign staff have been shuffled. It’s not normal […]

A hard-charging Afghan police chief with deep experience in Afghanistan’s long conflict with the Taliban was killed in a blast on Sunday in the country’s eastern Nangarhar Province, which has been under threat from the Taliban and affiliates of the Islamic State. The police chief, Gen. Zarawar Zahid, was visiting an outpost in the Hisarak district when explosives […]

It’s not a matter of the Taliban learning their lesson. The Taliban has changed and the same original fighters do not comprise the bulk of the force. This is a question of what do they have to lose? Do they want revenge?

But there is still a very lethal terrorist element to it. Same thing with Jabhat al-Nusra; most of that is focused on trying to oust Assad. But we are concerned about their using Syria as a safe haven for attacks outside.