Zachary Mierva July 1, 2016 This essay was written in 2012 en route to my second deployment to Afghanistan with a reconnaissance, surveillance, and target acquisition squadron. A family friend and Vietnam veteran recommended I keep a journal to remember my deployments. I used this journal to create “dispatches” that I sent to my family…
Category: Military History
World War II History: Hitler’s Poison Propaganda Dwarf
The last eyewitness to the inner circle of the Nazis has described the party’s propaganda chief Joseph Goebbels as a ‘ranting dwarf’ and a ‘big pig’. Brunhilde Pomsel, now 105, was Goebbels’ secretary and got closer to the Nazi centre of power than anyone alive. From 1942 on, she worked closely with Hitler’s agitator and…
International Military News: Thanks to Russia, Hezbollah Now Has a Proper Army
For now its focus is on the Syrian civil war, where it is sustaining heavy losses, but the Lebanese Shiite terror group has become a far more formidable player in the 10 years since the Second Lebanon War Pictures being published from time to time by Hezbollah tell a great deal about its role in…
International Military News: The Russian Hind Mi-25 Gunship in Syria…The Devils Chariot Reigns Down Terror Once Again
For three weeks starting in early June 2016, the Damascus suburb of Darayya was exposed to merciless aerial bombardment carried out primarily by Mil Mi-25 — NATO code name “Hind” — gunship helicopters belonging to the Syrian Arab Air Force. The Hinds dropped no fewer than 564 bombs over this period, underscoring the Mi-25’s reputation as one of Syria’s…
Ancient History: 10 Little Known Facts About The Anglo-Saxons
It can be argued that no people are more important in English history than the Anglo-Saxons. This loose confederation of Germanic tribes not only gave Britain its language, but also its first and most enduring literary hero—the Geat warrior-king Beowulf. The Anglo-Saxons also bequeathed a culture of dispersed power and widespread liberty, which is still evident…
World War I History: British MG Barrage Fire Tactics
The British Army entered World War I with just two machine guns per battalion. In contrast, the Imperial German Army had long embraced the new weapon — and had already fully integrated it into its infantry regiments. As the stalemate of trench warfare took hold, the British quickly learned how to best use the machine gun. In…
Cold War Files: The Russian “Alfa” Attack Sub
The Soviet Union began the Cold War well behind the United States in submarine technology. Although the Soviets acquired several of the most advanced German submarine types towards the end of the war, the United States had amassed a wealth of experience in submarine and antisubmarine practice from the Pacific War and the Battle of…
In Memoriam: Michael Herr
Remembering Michael Herr, Author of the Vietnam War Memoir ‘Dispatches’ If you have positive notions of war, read this book to get that smacked out of you I was sad to learn that Michael Herr, the author of the Vietnam War memoir Dispatches, died Thursday at age 76. When I first opened a copy of…
Cold War Files: The Secret US/UK Plan To Bomb Middle East Oil Facilities
Recently uncovered documents shed further light on an ultra-secret plan, devised by the British and American governments, to destroy oil facilities in the Middle East in the event the region was invaded by Soviet troops. The documents, published on Thursday by George Washington University’s National Security Archive, were found in the British government archives and…
Modern War: How Tactics Used in Iraq and A-Stan Can Make The U.S. More Vulnerable in Future Wars
We need to ask ourselves which lessons are worth retaining versus which do we think we should retain but make us more vulnerable. Editor’s Note: This article is drawn from a talk given by the author to the Special Operations Medical Association Scientific Assembly in Charlotte, North Carolina, on May 24, 2016. Question: Do the…