KINGSLEY, Mich. — Each time Victor Rioux sits in a church pew he takes a minute to say a special prayer. He honors the 28 men who died during the Cold War when Texas Tower No. 4 collapsed amid a fierce winter storm. “I never forget those guys,” Rioux said from his Kingsley farm house….
Category: Military History
10 Conflicts to Watch in 2016
Pulling together a list of the wars most in need of international attention and support in 2016 is challenging for all the wrong reasons. For 20 years after the end of the Cold War, deadly conflict was in decline. Fewer wars were killing fewer people the world over. Five years ago, however, that positive…
WW2 History: The Most Amazing Lie in History
How a chicken farmer, a pair of princesses, and 27 imaginary spies helped the Allies win World War II This story originally appeared in the September 2014 issue of Mental Floss Magazine. In the weeks leading up to D-day, Allied commanders had their best game faces on. “This operation is not being planned with any…
Ankara’s Hidden Hand: Turkish Covert Ops Then and Now
To put it mildly, Turkey has been substantially involved in Syria since the eruption of the Arab Spring in 2011. After Turkish F-16s recently downed a Su-24 Russian tactical bomber over the region where Turkmen anti-Assad groups are based, Turkish President Erdogan tacitly confirmed Turkey’s covert support for Syrian rebels fighting against Damascus, stating that “anyone…
WW1 History: 1916, A Most Terrible Year
This year I am going to start reading in earnest, a chronological history of The Great War: World War One.-SF BOOKS that focus on what happened in a particular year have become a publishing phenomenon. So Keith Jeffery, a British academic historian whose last work was a fascinating, if slightly plodding, official history of Britain’s…
China’s Military Intelligence System is Changing
As American families dined on turkey and stuffing, China’s Central Military Commission (CMC) was hard at work in Beijing hammering out military reforms. These reforms were then announced to the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) by President Xi Jinping, who also serves as the CMC chairman. The proposed organizational changes may make this round of reform…
Coolest Military Tech for 2016
America’s troops have cool gear coming their way in 2016. Here’s a look at some of it: 1. The first Ford-Class supercarrier will take to the seas Photo: US Navy Mass Communication Specialist Second Class Aidan P. Campbell The PCU Ford will join the fleet in 2016. It will be the largest and most expensive warship to ever…
Mosul: Turkey’s Fulda Gap
With all the hoopla lately between Russia and Turkey, this is an interesting article to consider. As I have been studying the history of the Middle East this year, I have added The Fall of the Ottomans to my 2016 reading list. -SF “Our national borders pass through Antioch and span east-ward, containing Mosul,…
The Lessons of Debaltseve: Armored Vehicles Still Matter
After nearly fifteen years of counterinsurgency in Iraq and Afghanistan, American advocates of heavy armored forces interpreted Ukrainian forces’ defeat at the battle of Debaltseve as an indication that “tanks still matter.” But the key lesson of the Debaltseve fight is a broader one: Combat vehicles of whatever kind must provide the mobility, protection,…
Cold War Files: John F. Kennedy was the Absolute Worst U.S. President of the 20th Century
As I studied the Vietnam war over the last 14 months, I began to think that John F. Kennedy probably was the worst American president of the previous century. In retrospect, he spent his 35 months in the White House stumbling from crisis to fiasco. He came into office and okayed the Bay of Pigs…