Iraq

Valkyrie – the Marines’ life-saving blood program

The Marines’ 2nd Battalion, 5th Marines is on the leading edge of implementing the first whole blood resuscitation program into a conventional war-fighting unit. The program is called “Valkyrie.” The Special Operations community has been utilizing whole blood resuscitation for battlefield casualties for some time. Now it is the Marines’ turn to take advantage of […]

U.S. coalition hands over Camp Taji to Iraqi Security Forces

The U.S.-led international coalition formally withdrew from Iraq’s Taji military base on Sunday. The coalition handed the base over to Iraqi security forces, coalition and local news reported. The base, 17 miles north of Baghdad, had been the site of frequent rocket attacks, in recent months, by Iran-backed militias targeting U.S.-led troops. Despite the long-term […]

The underground fate of Saddam Hussein’s air force

After the United States invaded Iraq in 2003 looking for weapons of mass destruction, American troops found a lot of bizarre things: toilets and guns made of gold, a Koran written in blood, and Saddam’s romance novel. Although they didn’t find any weapons of mass destruction, they did manage to find some weapons. Specifically, they […]

30 years ago Iraq invaded Kuwait and changed the Middle East forever

In the mid-summer of 1990, Saddam Hussein made a decision that changed the face of the Middle East and sealed the fate of Iraq and his own rule. In the early morning hours of August 2, 1990, Iraqi forces invaded Kuwait and in a lightning operation, quickly took over the country in just two days.  […]

The Pic of the Day: Mortarmen in Iraq

U.S. Soldiers from Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 2nd Battalion, 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, fire rounds from an M120 mortar system at Al Asad Air Base, Iraq, July 25, 2020. Mortar training enhances base defense operations and acts as a show of force.

3 rockets strike US-Iraqi Base, one Iraqi helicopter damaged

Three Katyusha rockets slammed into the joint U.S./Iraqi base at Taji on Monday night. No casualties were reported, although one Iraqi helicopter was damaged. It was the second rocket attack in the past three days against U.S-led coalition bases. On Friday, Katyusha rockets had hit the Besmaya base and caused material damage, but again, no […]

M1A2 Abrams tanks involved in friendly fire incident

On July 20, at Fort Bliss, an M1A2 Abrams Tank accidentally fired upon another tank during a training exercise. The Defence Blog was the first to report the incident, claiming that an M1A2 Abrams shot a round that impacted another tank 2,600 meters away. The incident took place during a tank qualification training exercise. According […]

What caused an US Air Force F-15 to buzz an Iranian airliner?

Several days ago, there were news reports that American F-15 Strike Eagle fighter aircraft flew close by an Iranian airliner. Videos from inside the Iranian plane also surfaced. The Iranian pilot sharply dropped the plane’s altitude, to reportedly avoid a collision with the F-15, causing a panic among the passengers, including a few minor injuries. […]

Iraqi TV shows clips of dead American soldiers & burned vehicles

An animated video, which is an obvious threat for the United States to get out of Iraq, was shown on al Etejah Television. The short 45-second video portrays American troops as occupiers and the fist of Kata’ib Hezbollah, wrapped in the Iraqi and Hezbollah flags, smashing American vehicles and tanks with the slogan, “expel the […]

The Middle Eastern influence on the world oil market

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), is an intergovernmental organization founded by Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Iraq, Iran, and Venezuela. OPEC is considered to possess majority control of the world’s crude oil production and the most considerable influence on oil pricing. OPEC also sets production targets for each member country in an attempt to […]

Risk aversion in Special Operations: When aid workers have more freedom in a combat zone

Who has more freedom of movement in a combat zone: a highly trained and well-resourced Special Operations fighter, or an untrained volunteer working for a cash-strapped religious non-governmental organization (NGO)? In the author’s opinion and experience, the answer is the NGO worker — and by a long shot. The reason for this predominantly boils down […]

British SAS commandos kill 100 ISIS Jihadists in silent campaign

The British SAS have been conducting several operations in the hilly, remote part of northern Iraq. They have been targeting ISIS leadership in an attempt to stop the terrorist group’s resurgence. ISIS has been largely, but not completely eradicated from Iraq.  The U.K. special operators have been working closely with Kurdish resistance fighters who have […]