Vietnam War

To prove the value of mental management and rehearsal, I would often relate a true story related to the topic. A Navy fighter pilot was shot down in Vietnam, captured and imprisoned for years in the famous prisoner of war camp the “Hanoi Hilton”. The pilot was an avid golfer back home, and to get […]

Recently, Stars and Stripes and several other publications have posted pieces on a proposal for renaming Fort Hood in Texas for Roy Benavidez, the Medal of Honor (MOH) recipient from Lindenau, DeWitt County, Texas. Benavidez was awarded the MOH for extraordinary heroism while rescuing several Americans during the Vietnam War on May 2, 1968.  Normally, […]

I just finished reading Michael Herr’s Dispatches, his book about the year or so he spent in Vietnam during the war as a correspondent for Esquire. I read the book at least once per year, often twice. To me, it’s the best book ever written, about war or anything else (although if you haven’t read […]

On a recent trip to Sea World, I had an unexpected meeting with a retired sailor…a former member of the U.S. Navy Marine Mammal Program. Her name is Cascade, and she’s living out her retirement at Sea World. Her trainer mentioned that Cascade used to protect nuclear submarines and did all kinds of interesting things […]

On May 16, active-duty and veteran U.S. Marines from units stationed around the globe gathered in Camp Pendleton, California, to participate in the annual Recon Challenge. The Recon Challenge is an endurance event that takes participants through numerous tests inspired by the Reconnaissance Marine training and operational history. There is, for example, a grueling 30-mile […]

Members of the 1st Helicopter Squadron fly UH-1 Hueys over Washington, D.C. during opening ceremonies of the Joint Base Andrews “Legends in Flight” Air & Space Expo May 10, 2019. The weekend event in Maryland featured headliners the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds and the U.S. Navy Blue Angels, as well as an impressive lineup of […]

Tech. Sgt. Pete Rivera, a recruiter for the United States Air Force Air Demonstration Squadron “Thunderbirds,” looks at his reflection at the Korean War Memorial in Washington, D.C., May 8, 2019. Rivera has been on the team since 2018.

Inside the Brashear Conference Center at Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek-Fort Story, Virginia, stand a life-size photo of the late Master Chief Boatswain’s Mate Carl Maxie Brashear and the diving suit he wore during U.S. Navy Diving and Salvage training in 1948. Brashear is a pioneer in Navy history, becoming the first African American master […]

The online video platform YouTube decided to suspend the account of a retired Navy SEAL known for exposing numerous cases of stolen valor. Known for his direct manner and incisive humor, retired Senior Chief Petty Officer Don Shipley used his YouTube account, tagged Buds131, as a hammer against military imposters, specifically Navy SEAL imposters. His […]

In January 2019, the U.S. Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) inducted 20 special operators and Medal of Honor recipients into its prestigious Commando Hall of Honor. The honorees represent military personnel from all branches except the U.S. Coast Guard. The actions that led to their induction span across decades of American small and large military engagements. […]

In one of his more important undertakings as Secretary of Defense, General James Mattis had launched a project to review and improve the lethality of the military’s close-combat units. The Close Combat Lethality Task Force (CCLTF) is examining how it can increase the combat effectiveness of troops engaged in close combat. In an interview with […]

British media reports state that Special Air Service (SAS) operators were ordered to remove all Punisher patches and other similar insignias from their kits. SAS received the removal order after military VIPs visited the unit’s headquarters in Hereford, saw the skull-like emblems on troopers’ combat kits, and considered them controversial. The rationale behind the decision […]