When an AH-64 went down near the Iraqi city of Najaf, 12 Army paratroopers unleashed hell on an enormous enemy force. On Jan. 28, 2007, a 12-man Military Transition Team, or MiTT, composed of paratroopers from the 4th Brigade Combat Team (Airborne), 25th Infantry Division was called upon to assist an Iraqi army unit that…
Category: Warfare
Military Defense News: Stop Panicking About Russian “Hybrid” Warfare
There is currently a great deal of alarmist concern, triggered by a recent RAND report, about Russia’s supposed ability to conquer the Baltic states — Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania, three former Soviet republics that are now part of NATO — and thus drive a wedge into NATO without the West being able to do anything…
Crusader Corner: Syrian Kurds Blow Up ISIS Suicide Bomber ala’ Mad Max Style
If you thought “Mad Max”-esque moments can only occur with the help of CGI, think again. On Monday, France24 uploaded a video showing a group of Syrian Kurds attempting to blow up an explosives-laden truck driven by an ISIS fighter. The Kurds succeeded, in an event so dramatic it begs the question: When does Tom…
Espionage Files: Russian Spies Put Full-Court Press on Sweden
The Swedish state security police, or SAPO, is getting pretty worried about a dramatic uptick in Russian espionage activity in Sweden, according to leaks in the Swedish press. And SAPO is hinting that it’s related to the fact that Sweden is gearing up for a May 25 parliamentary debate about ratifying a “Host Nation Support…
Iran Watch: Iran’s Shadow War in Africa
The Islamic Republic plants spies and weapons across the continent in a bid to outmaneuver the West The Cyclone-class patrol ship USS Sirocco closed in on a small boat in the Arabian Sea. After boarding, the American warship’s sailors discovered hundreds of Kalashnikov assault rifles and rocket-propelled grenade launchers. The source — Iran. The destination — Houthi rebels in…
Learning From Terrorist Tactics: ISIS’ Sniper Propaganda
For those of you interested in this subject of Guerilla Snipers and how Propaganda in sniping can often be a valuable weapon in and of itself, I would highly recommend the Book Fry the Brain by John West. -SF Snipers stalk the sprawling battlefields of Iraq and Syria. Hiding, quietly waiting and squeezing off long-distance…
Military History: The Saga of the Six-Legged Soldiers
The U.S. Army Wanted to Conscript Insects to Fight the Viet-Cong But the six-legged soldiers weren’t terribly reliable! Mao Tse-Tung famously wrote in On Guerrilla Warfare that guerrillas are proverbial fish who have to swim in the water of the people in order to win their struggle against powerful governments. “It is only undisciplined troops who…
Military History: Six Astounding 18th Century Rules of War
“Yes, the objective of any general is to defeat the enemy, but that doesn’t mean you should be a boor about it.” Editor’s Introduction THE GENEVA CONVENTION is in the news of late, thanks to Republican presidential hopeful Donald Trump. The bombastic billionaire-turned-politician has been taking aim at international lawsgoverning the use of military force, characterizing…
Military History: Dowsett’s War
DOWSETT’S WAR It is a story common to many Australian families – a history of military service that spans generations and decades. It is the story of the soldiers of the Dowsett family of the Bexley-Hurstville area of Sydney, New South Wales and their time serving with the First Australian Imperial Force (1st AIF) in…
World War I History: Gallipoli
With the war along the Western Front at a standstill in early 1915, allied leaders were looking for ways to break the stalemate. Many were worried that the deadlock might be permanent. Lord Kitchener, the British secretary of state for war, reluctantly conceded that operations needed to be established elsewhere. Breaking the Stalemate That “elsewhere,”…