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,…
Category: Warfare
Military History: What if the Kuomingtang Had Won the Chinese Civil War?
This is the first in a four-part mini-series of articles focused on key counter-factuals in the Asia-Pacific. What would China’s history look like if Chiang Kai-shek had ignored George C. Marshall’s request in 1946? History, paraphrased by the British historian Niall Fergusson in Civilization, can be taught in many ways. Lamenting the lack of proper…
Inspirational: How a US-born amputee fought his way back into the Israeli army
Floridian Izzy Ezagui, gravely injured in Gaza in 2008, wasn’t going to let the loss of his left arm stop him from heading back to combat duty JERUSALEM (JTA) — The hardest part was loading the assault rifle. That’s not because he was a newbie, unaccustomed to the workings of a Tavor rifle. Rather, 1st…
Military History: The Forgotten Task Force of the Forgotten War
The Korean War has often been referred to as the forgotten war. Sandwiched between WWII and Vietnam the Korean War is often lost in our histories and remembrances. There is very little in this war that is “sexy” for historians. In the end the final lines end pretty much where they started and nothing was…
USMC Ingenuity At It’s Best: The Ribbon Bridge
Much of the equipment the United States has given to the Iraqi army has ended up in the hands of the Islamic State. But now, with Iraqi troops fighting to take back Ramadi from the terror group, there’s finally a feel-good story about American-provided military supplies, and it involves a floating bridge. On Tuesday, Army…
What You Need to Know about Dirty Bombs
The attack has been in the planning stages for nearly two years. Surveillance of potential targets determined a downtown area near you as a prime location. Two years of gathering necessary materials have yielded a 3,000 pound improvised explosive device containing the high explosive PETN and a mixture of ammonium nitrate and fuel oil. Also…
This article Will NOT Boost Your Confidence in American Cyber-Defense Capabilities
Iranian hackers infiltrated the control system of a small dam less than 20 miles from New York City two years ago, sparking concerns that reached to the White House, according to former and current U.S. officials and experts familiar with the previously undisclosed incident. The breach came amid attacks by hackers linked to Iran’s government…
Military History: The Legendary Christmas Truce of 1914
This month’s original Task & Purpose comic is in the spirit of the season. During the Christmas Truce of 1914, German and British soldiers laid down their arms and met in no man’s land to play a spirited game of soccer. An incredible story that’s hard to imagine ever occurring. Read the Remainder of the…
Crusader Corner: When Terrorist Assault Cities
To be prepared for these Terrorist eventualities, we, as Civilian Operators, have to STOP thinking in these very broad, ambiguous terms of “Preparing for Terrorism” and start narrowing our focus in how EXACTLY we are going to prepare for these attacks. In the vast majority of attacks in the past decade, several small teams of…
Russia Using the 4th Dimension of Warfare (Space) to Gain the Upper Hand in the Syrian War
While Space has been called the final frontier, it is also an untapped resource in regards to warfare. Why is America always last to know in these matters while China and Russia are first in line? The answer is quite simple: BHO. -SF Russia is employing a significant portion of its space assets to gather…