Brian Castner’s new book offers unflinching testimony of how the IED devastated the EOD community in Iraq and Afghanistan. The face of the man who wanted to kill me wasn’t immediately visible — the photo of him required close examination. My company commander took the picture while deployed to Iraq in 2005. On a…
Category: Guerilla Warfare
Border Security: The Legacy of Pancho Villa’s Raid on America
Ever since “Black Jack” Pershing rode into Mexico to hunt for Pancho Villa, the United States started a pattern of personalizing Latin American security threats. In the words of one U.S. cavalry officer, Columbus, New Mexico in 1916 was little more than “a cluster of adobe houses, a hotel, a few stores and streets knee…
The Rise of the Russian PMC (Private Military Contractor)
On Jan. 28, the Duma began discussing the possibility of legalizing private military companies in Russia. The law, which counts influential vice prime minister Dmitry Rogozin as a supporter, has one major goal — to ensure that Iraqi oil fields where Russian firms Rosneft and Gazprom operate no longer come under the protection of British…
The Rise of the Hybrid Warriors: From Ukraine to the Middle East
The Iraqi Army defenders of Ramadi had held their dusty, stony ground for over a year and become familiar with the increasing adeptness of their opponents waving black flags. At first, these Iraqi Army units simply faced sprayed rifle fire, but then it was well-placed sniper rounds that forced these weary units to keep under…
Brush-Up On Your History: When Terrorist First Attacked the U.S.
A hundred years ago this month, the nation was blindsided by the first act of terrorism on U.S. soil—at the hands of Mexican troops commanded by the revolutionary Pancho Villa. It has been 100 years since the first act of terror on U.S. soil was committed by revolutionary Francisco “Pancho” Villa. On March 9, 1916…
Stand with Israel: Hamas Boost Cooperation with ISIS in Sinai
The Gaza terror group’s armed wing is digging tunnels in broad daylight to smuggle in Islamic State jihadists for medical care The Egyptian soldiers stationed on the border of the Gaza Strip have encountered this sight more than once in the past few weeks: Hamas-owned bulldozers and tractors appear and begin excavations on the…
Crusader Corner: How ISIS Gets it’s Bombs
Nearby farming and mining mean easy access to explosive components Islamic State builds its improvised explosive devices using components from 51 different companies in 20 countries. That’s the startling conclusion of a new report from Conflict Armament Research. “These findings support growing international awareness that [Islamic State] forces in Iraq and Syria are very…
Is Putin Really Dr. Moriarty?
An excellent article on understanding how Russian Hybrid Warfare manipulates the current geo-political spectrum. -SF We know ISIS is bad because it killed people in San Bernardino and Paris. We know Iran is bad because it’s still developing nuclear weapons. We know Russia is bad…because…well, didn’t Charlie Rose once say something about that? Or was…
Espionage Files: Richard Sakakida Spied on the Imperial Japanese Right Under Their Noses
The Nisei war hero endured torture and near-starvation, yet passed valuable intelligence to the U.S. Army It was 1942, not long after the fall of the American stronghold of Corregidor that guarded Manila Bay in The Philippines. U.S. Army Sgt. Richard Sakakida was in the hands of the dreaded Kempeitai, the Imperial Japanese military…
Matthew Bracken Talks SHTF and Dirty Civil War
MATTHEW BRACKEN is a former Navy SEAL (BUD/S Class 105), a Constitutionalist, and a self-described “freedomista”. This interview was first published in the Fall 2014 issue of Forward Observer. You might think that the most courageous thing Matt Bracken’s ever done is taking a SEAL team to Beirut, Lebanon in 1983, the same year of…