On this day in history: The US invades Iraq

Many of our readers fought in this war and don’t need a rundown of events, but as the days stretch on, it draws further and further away. Many of today’s youth may be too young to remember — today’s 18-year-olds were only three years old at the beginning of the war. On March 20, 2003, […]

Russia reaches out to Turkey to discusses Syria

In a recent phone call between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the two leaders discussed the current Turkish military’s transgressional besiegement on the Kurdish Canton of Afrin in northern Syria as well as resolving humanitarian issues in the region. A Kremlin public statement made after the discussion supported that the situation […]

General Dynamics considers pulling out of Iraq

As Iraq has received a large order of Russian T-90 main battle tanks, General Dynamics has begun to question the use of the fleet of M1 Abrams that were provided prior to this. Nine of the M1 Abrams have landed in Shiite Militia hands, specifically the hands of the Iranian linked and Iraqi government supported […]

ISIS militants ambush Peshmerga during failed sheep heist

In the village of Kifri, just southeast of Erbil, members of the Islamic State attempted to kidnap a local shepherd and his flock of sheep on Friday afternoon. Local Kurdish security forces responded and a firefight ensued. The attack happened around 1500 and was committed by 8 military age males. Attacks and kidnappings like this are […]

Assad regime forces enter Afrin to aid Kurdish SDF

Pro Syrian Regime forces entered the city of Afrin last week under the request of the SDF (Syrian Defense Forces) and YPG to help them fight the Turkish armed forces at their doorstep. Over the course of a week 3 convoys packed with fighters and weapons have arrived in the city. The fighters will be […]

That first Claymore and getting switched on

We were heading out on our first reconnaissance mission, our objective was located in the no man’s land (but mostly Separatist controlled) that divided the Ukrainian military outposts and Separatist trenches. The countryside was a lush green and seemed rather peaceful given the circumstances. Sitting at an outpost smoking cigarettes, we had to wait for […]

Massive POW swap between Ukraine and Russian separatists is the first in 15 months

A massive prisoner swap has taken place between Ukraine and Russian separatist rebels. Hundreds of POWs were traded by both sides in one of the largest exchanges since the conflicts started in 2014. Nearly 230 men and women were returned to separatist controlled territory in exchange for 74 Ukrainian prisoners being held in the Donetsk […]

Four Ukrainian Marines killed by fellow servicemen

In a region of Donetsk territory under Ukrainian government control, four naval infantrymen were killed by their fellow Marines during an alcohol related incident. Ukraine’s press center released the following statement, “Representatives of the military law enforcement service of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and the National Police of Ukraine are investigating the causes and details of the death of servicemen […]

Turkey deploys military forces to Syrian border

Reports are coming through that a convoy of five tanks and multiple military vehicles have been dispatched to Turkey’s southern border with Rojava, northern Syria. This move by Turkey’s President, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, is presumably in response to the Kurds neglecting to heed his earlier threats of military response if they did not withdraw from the […]

Ukraine introduces bill to label separatists as terrorists

A reintegration bill regarding the retention of Donbass is being discussed by Ukrainian parliament members; there is an overall consensus of refusing to identify the out of control separatist territories of Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics (the DPR and the LPR) as legitimate terrorist organizations. The corresponding proposed amendment received only 76 votes out of the […]

The Karen and the Burmese Army: an insider’s perspective

Fighting between the Karen people and the Burmese (Myanmar) government dates back to World War II.  I went for a trip into the jungles of Burma to meet with the Karen people back in 2015, and it was quite the profound experience. The conflict between the Burmese and its surrounding ethnic minorities has been described […]