Shots in the Dark – Why So Many Western Covert Operations Have Failed Since WW2 A Great read both from a historical point of view and practical, Civilian Operator POV on the RELEVANCE of Guerilla Warfare in the 21st Century. You have to Understand the Lessons of History in order not to repeat the…
Category: Urban Warfare
Armed Citizen Corner Video: How to Shoot Through a Windshield
A quick down and dirty 5 minute primer on shooting through a windshield when the shit hits the fan while in your vehicle from John “Shrek” McPhee, an ex-D-Boy. I would be remiss if I did not mention the obvious here: You are sitting in a 2 to 3 ton weapon that trumps that bullet…
History of Domestic Terrorism: The Harvey Casino Bombing of 1980
One of the most intricate and complex IED’s ever built was not created in Iraq or Uzbekistan, but right here in the U.S. 36 Years ago. -SF Watch this video of an FBI special agent discussing the most complex IED ever encountered on U.S. soil. On the morning of Aug. 26, 1980, an employee…
Cold War Files: Codename – Chilbom
Shortly after 9:30 on the morning of September 21, 1976, a light blue Chevy Chevelle carrying three passengers moved along Washington, D.C.’s Embassy Row, merging into the flow of commuter traffic around Sheridan Circle. The man in the driver’s seat was Orlando Letelier, an economist and fellow at a left-leaning think tank, the Institute of…
Modern Crime: Security Firms are Big Source of Weapons for Rio Criminals
Over 30 percent of all weapons belonging to private security firms in Rio de Janeiro end up in the hands of criminals, authorities say, highlighting an important yet often overlooked source of firearms for criminal groups throughout Latin America. A Federal Police report accessed by Globo states that at least 17,662 firearms were diverted or…
Military Defense News: “Train and Equip” Program in Syria = Full Metal Retard, Part Deux
When you start reading this, you will begin shaking your head in disbelief. When you have finished reading this, you will be looking for a bottle of advil because your head will be pounding.-SF It would be difficult to find a program that better exemplifies the word “failure” than the Pentagon’s “train and equip” effort…
Examining Terrorist Tactics: The Changing Logic Behind Suicide Bombings
(Note from Hammerhead: It was just announced that yet another ISIS suicide bomber killed 29 people in a Football Stadium in Baghdad). What was once purely a strategic action has become a tactical move meant to help hold territory. In October 2015, two suicide bombers killed more than 100 people outside a railway station in the Turkish capital…
Military History: “Stalingrad on the Yangtze”, The Battle of Shanghai 1937
Today Shanghai is a hub of international trade and culture and one of the world’s great cities. But in 1937, it was a battlefield. Imperial Japanese troops fought the Chinese Nationalist army in the seaside metropolis in one of history’s most terrible battles. Westerners watched from their neighborhoods as two ancient rivals fought a new…
Military History: Battleground Dublin, Remembering the O’Connell Street Landmarks of 1916
“To commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Easter Rising, the Irish building supply company Chadwick’s is offering MilitaryHistoryNow.com this infographic exploring some of the O’Connell Street landmarks that were damaged and destroyed during the battle.” FOR MANY, Dublin’s famous O’Connell Street is considered ‘ground-zero’ for the Easter Rising of 1916. At the start of the five-day insurrection, which ran…
The Three Faces of Russian Spetsnaz in Syria
As the Russian drawdown from Syria continues, more information continues to emerge about the forces Moscow had committed to shoring up the Assad regime. One telling aspect is how involved Russia’s Spetsnaz special forces were in the deployment. They were involved in two of their three core missions — reconnaissance and special security missions —…