U.S. military spokesman: every weapon given to Kurds will be accounted for

Defending against potential criticism of a recent Department of Defense decision to openly provide weapons to Kurdish fighters in Syria, Operation Inherent Resolve spokesman Colonel John Dorrian tweeted yesterday that every weapon will be completely accounted for and pointed at the Islamic State. Every single one of these weapons that will be provided to our […]

James Mattis announces US will ‘accelerate the fight’ against ISIS in Iraq and Syria

In a joint press conference conducted with Denmark’s Defense Minister Claus Hjort Frederiksen, American Secretary of Defense James Mattis announced that the coalition will begin accelerating its campaign against ISIS in Iraq and Syria. “We will further accelerate this fight to free people from ISIS’ crushing occupation and [the] enemy’s terror threat to Europe and […]

The Golden Age of Special Operations, but is the OpTempo too high?

The United States’ Special Operations Forces are seemingly everywhere and that perception is not far off. In 2016, they were deployed to 138 countries around the globe or about 70 percent of the world. From battlefields in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Syria, to Somalia and West Africa, to advising counter-narcotics units in the Andean Ridge, working […]

Special Operations Chief: ‘We are not a panacea’

The head of U.S. Special Operations Command (USSOCOM), General Raymond “Tony” Thomas III, testified before the Senate Armed Services Committee on May 4, 2017, and informed lawmakers and the public that the country’s elite special operations forces could not solve all of the world’s problems. “We are not a panacea,” said the Army General, former […]

Islamic State attacks kill two at Iraqi base where U.S. advisers stationed

At least two people were killed and six injured when multiple Islamic State suicide bombers attacked a base in northern Iraq where U.S. military advisers are stationed, security sources said on Sunday. In addition, two of the militants died when they detonated their vests at the entrance to the K1 base overnight, and three more […]

Smoke-filled pool halls are back in Mosul. After ISIS, ‘we seek joy.’

MOSUL, Iraq — Inside the Captain pool hall in eastern Mosul there are few signs that a war still rages in this city or that earlier this year the Islamic State was in control here. A gathering place for pool and snooker lovers since the 1990s, the smoke-filled room tiled with grimy beige marble exudes […]

Flooding forces Mosul residents to flee war in rickety boats

The Iraqi man laid the body of his wife, wrapped in a black shroud, gently on the bow of a small wooden boat and held onto it as a second man rowed slowly to pick up the man’s three children standing a few meters away. The two teenage girls and young boy climbed in, careful […]

U.S. Army approves $5,000 bonus for NCOs to stand up new train advise brigade

The United States Army is offering mid-level Non-Commissioned Officers $5,000 bonuses as an incentive to grow a new training and advising brigade the Army sees as critical to 21st century operations, the Associated Press reports. Long a staple of Army Special Forces and other special operations forces, advising and training foreign militias, paramilitaries, and professional […]

The military may now have a new tool to diagnose TBI

In the multiple conflicts ongoing since 2001, there has been a dramatic rise in Traumatic Brain Injuries (TBI) due to the close proximity our soldiers face with explosions, bombs, and weapons. TBI has been called the ‘invisible wound of war’ as many times the soldiers suffering from its effects won’t notice the toll for months, […]

The US Needs a Light, Turboprop, ground support aircraft

In a not-so-amazing turn of events, the Air Force has come to the realization that they need a lighter, more cost efficient, ground support aircraft. The Air Force hasn’t had those types of aircraft in the inventory since Vietnam and has been loath to even keep the invaluable A-10, preferring the sleek, sexier F-15, and […]