This article by Benjamin Brimelow was originally published by Business Insider. Before the first ballistic missiles arrived in 1944, there was only one way a military could deliver large amounts of ordnance to enemy territory: bombers. Bombers have played an essential part of warfare since their introduction. Their ability to flatten cities and cripple critical infrastructure and […]
The first special ops mission deep inside Afghanistan just weeks after 9/11, from troops who were there
Special OpsThis article by Stavros Atlamazoglou was originally published by Business Insider. On October 19, 2001, only a few weeks after the September 11 terrorist attacks, American commandos struck back in Afghanistan. A task force composed of Delta Force operators, Rangers, and Night Stalkers conducted two simultaneous raids deep inside the territory of the Taliban, which had hosted Al Qaeda, […]
Crucial Alaskan islands of WWII strategically important again
HistoryThis article by Christopher Woody was originally published by Business Insider. August marked the 78th anniversary of the end of the Aleutian Islands campaign, a yearlong battle along a chain of islands stretching from mainland Alaska across the northern Pacific Ocean. The islands of Attu and Kiska were the only North American territory captured during […]
3 movies that Green Berets say actually got a lot of it right
LifestyleThis article by Stavros Atlamazoglou was originally published by Business Insider. Hollywood is usually quite off the mark when it comes to war and the military, but there are a few films that actually reflect the Army Special Forces experience, according to Green Berets themselves. “Military movies have always been a challenge for me to […]
The $1 part in the B-2 that was designed by high-schoolers
AirpowerThis article by Ryan Pickrell was originally published by Business Insider. The US Air Force’s $2.2 billion B-2 Spirit bombers, a key component of US nuclear deterrence, are protected from “catastrophic” accidents by a $1.25 part designed by a group of high-school students. Switch covers designed by the Stealth Panthers robotics team at Knob Noster […]
US Navy headed for another fight over the fate of its cruisers
Military AffairsThis article by Benjamin Brimelow was originally published by Business Insider. After the decommissioning of its final battleship in 1992, the US Navy’s cruisers became the largest and most well-armed warships of the surface fleet. Today, the Navy has 21 active Ticonderoga-class cruisers, with one laid up. Able to carry a whopping 122 missiles and […]
An A-10 pilot describes what it feels like to fire the GAU-8
AirpowerThis article by Ryan Pickrell was originally published by Business Insider. US Air Force Lt. Col. Matthew Shelly’s first big combat mission as an A-10 Warthog pilot was a nighttime attack on a Taliban training camp in the mountains of Afghanistan. “These were Taliban who were training to kill friendlies, to kill Americans,” Shelly said. […]
The crucial skill for US special operators most don’t think of
Special OpsThis article by Stavros Atlamazoglou was originally published by Business Insider. Mental and physical fitness, ingenuity, and grit are among the more important traits a special-operator can have. Resources and technology are great bonuses that can take a commando to the next level. And yet, according to Congress, foreign language capability is now equally if […]
China attempting to shake Taiwan’s confidence in US resolve
Military AffairsThis article by Ryan Pickrell was originally published by Business Insider The Chinese military conducted live-fire exercises near Taiwan on Tuesday, responding to what it called “provocations” by US and separatist forces on the island. The People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theater Command said in a statement that warships, anti-submarine aircraft, and fighter jets carried out […]
Why Navy SEALs hate the Charlie Sheen movie ‘about’ them
Special OpsThis article by Stavros Atlamazoglou was originally published by Business Insider. In 1990, a military action movie about a not-very-well-known special-operations unit came out. Starring Charlie Sheen, “Navy Seals” was another attempt by the Navy to attract recruits following the release of Tom Cruise’s “Top Gun,” which had caused a recruiting boost a few years before. Written […]
