The publication of the long-awaited report by Sir John Chilcot and his committee on Britain’s involvement in the 2003 invasion of Iraq proved more surprising and damning than expected. Many of the report’s conclusions confirmed what was widely understood to be the case. But the authoritative, exhaustive, and rigorous nature of the report has made…
Category: Military Naval History
Military History: 8 Legendary Military “SNAFU’s”
Everyone makes mistakes … militaries included. The internet is packed with YouTube videos, news stories, and Facebook pages dedicated to bizarre military blunders. Just a few months ago, Task & Purpose even reported about a British helicopter that created a literal shit storm by blowing down a row of porta-potties. In most cases, if a…
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…
Modern War: Drone Choppers Help Hunt Top-Tier Terrorist in Africa
On Jan. 14, 2014, USS Elrod left her home port in Norfolk, Virginia for what, to outsiders, might have seemed like a routine six-month trip to the Mediterranean. Carrying a detachment of four MQ-8B Fire Scout drone helicopters, the nearly 30-year-old frigate would visit various ports and train with America’s allies, according to an official…
Military History: The Barbary Wars and the USMC
By John Farnam George Washington, even before he was president, lobbied heavily for a full-time, standing, Federal Army. In 1792, a distrustful Congress gave him and his successors, instead, the Uniform Militia Act, which involuntarily inducts every able-bodied male, in all states, between the ages of eighteen and forty-five, into his State’s “Militia,” which can…
Cold War Files: The Best Attack Subs of the Cold War
Putting 20th century ship killers to the test History’s three great submarine campaigns include the First Battle of the Atlantic, the Second Battle of the Atlantic, and the U.S. Navy’s war against Japanese commerce in World War II. The contestants fought these campaigns through asymmetrical means, with submarines doing battle against aircraft and surface escorts….
Military History: 10 Amazing Military Underdog Stories
Underdogs have a special place in the hearts of many, whether it’s the upstart Celtic Iceni tribe led by Boudicca revolting against the Romans or the ice-veined Spartans fighting in one of history’s greatest last stands against the Persians at Thermopylae. Either through superior tactics or more technologically advanced weaponry, the outnumbered often achieve some…
On This Day in History: Remembering D-Day
Today take a moment to Remember the Military Men and Women who participated and gave their Lives in D-Day. And let General Patton’s words ring true: “It is foolish and wrong to mourn the men who died. Rather we should thank God that such men lived.” Seventy-two years ago, on June 6, 1944, Allied troops…
Military History: InfoGraphic of Combat Vehicles of the U.S. Military
Pop Chart Lab has created this nifty print, presented here as an infographic, of every U.S. military combat vehicle currently in service. Want a copy for your office? Click here. Read the Original Article at War on the Rocks
Military Intelligence History: The Battle of Midway, The Complete Intelligence Story
The Battle of Midway in June of 1942 was one of the most important naval battles in world history and a turning point in the Second World War. Between June 4 and 7, aircraft from aircraft carriers Enterprise, Yorktown, and Hornet of the U.S. Navy’s Task Forces 16 and 17 ambushed and sank the Imperial…