The following are three articles from the Cipher Brief I collated into one big article for the convenience of reading it in one sitting. These are good, relevant and succinct articles with little fluff.-SF Ground Warfare After the United States emerged from the Vietnam War, it witnessed the events of the 1973 Yom…
Category: Military History
Military History: What the 173rd Airborne Looked Like Two Centuries Ago
Historic reoccurrence is a controversial concept. However, events, especially in military history, often take place in similar sites. The reason for this phenomenon is simple. Throughout centuries logistics, weaponry and technology change, but terrain and strategic points continue to shape military campaigns. Consequently, soldiers’ accounts share similarities in impressions, discomforts and adventures, even if they happen…
Wingate’s Way: Leadership Lessons from Britain’s Maverick General
I highly recommend Anglin’s book Orde Wingate: Unconventional Warrior for those of you who have an interest in learning about Counter-Insurgency Warfare and it’s timeless principles.-SF “Orde Wingate’s experiences from World War Two offer lessons for 21st Century military planners, particularly in the areas of counter-insurgency, covert and special operations and proxy wars.” By Dr. Simon Anglin MAJOR GENERAL Orde…
WWII History: Uncovering Holocaust Perpetrators Where Few Have Looked
Muslim Nazis, women in the SS, and Dutch ‘bounty hunters’ are coming out of the archival closet, even as fewer Shoah eyewitnesses remain alive to testify BOSTON — With new access to archives and other primary sources, historians are supplanting archetypal images of Aryan Nazi men as the Holocaust’s sole perpetrators. Previously obscured perpetrator “sub-groups”…
Profiles in Dishonor: Stolen Valor Ruled a Form of Free Speech?!
Well, it is official my friends. This Country has gone to SHIT. I never thought I would see the day when it would be LEGAL to wear military medals you DID NOT EARN and trample the memory of all those brave men who DID EARN THEM. This DISHONORS the very essence of what the United States…
Cold War Files: The Rise and Fall of the Soviet ‘Death Star’
The ambitions of the United States and the Soviet Union, late in the Cold War, to launch massive weapons into outer space sounds like a fever dream today. Few however know just how serious it got, with the USSR making impressive progress on plans for a so-called “Red Death Star” to be launched into orbit….
Historical Study: The Jolt of Electricity that Forever Altered Warfare
On Jan. 6, 1838, a current ran along two miles of wire, forever changing how we wage war. In the wake of the Civil War, there were many legacies left by Abraham Lincoln’s presidency, with the abolition of slavery and the foundation of a national American identity at the front of most people’s lists. But…
Profiles in Courage: Ssgt. Jared Monti, United States Army
Staff Sgt. Jared Monti died to save a teammate in the middle of a firefight. On June 18, 2006 Army Sgt. 1st Class Jared Monti led 16 fellow soldiers on a mission up a mountainside into enemy territory near Gowardesh in northeastern Afghanistan. The soldiers, all forward observers, were on assignment as part of the…
Cold War Files: Declassified: U.S. Military’s Secret Cold War Space Project Revealed
Newly released documents describe the U.S. Air Force’s secret cold war project known as the Manned Orbiting Laboratory (MOL) A newly released treasure trove of historical data reveals intriguing details about a secret Cold War project known as the Manned Orbiting Laboratory (MOL). The U.S. Air Force’s MOL program ran from December 1963 until its cancellation in…
Cold War Files: Gary Powers, The U-2 Spy Pilot the U.S. Did Not Love
Steven Spielberg’s most recent movie, Bridge of Spies, tells the story of a Cold War prisoner exchange between the Soviet Union and the US. The deal allowed US spy plane pilot Gary Powers to return home – but once there he faced a chorus of criticism. Gary Powers had been in flight for four hours…