This list unequivocally legitimizes why I end every article with the signature “Stay Armed”! Remember, an Armed Civilian is a CITIZEN, an UNARMED one is a SUBJECT! -SF This list was originally published by Ohioans for Concealed Carry PAC and then by the Kentucky Concealed Carry Coalition. It has ceased to exist on those pages. …
Texas News: Houston Shooter was a Veteran Suffering From PTSD
Really Sad News, but I am digging more into this story. -SF The gunman behind Sunday’s deadly rampage in Houston has been identified as Afghanistan veteran Dionisio Garza III by ABC13, which found a bag containing bullets and his personal papers at the scene. The bag, which held the 25-year-old’s birth certificate and military discharge…
The History of Terrorism: a Film Anthology
In creating a Memorial Day Movie list it got me to thinking about other movie list, so I thought I would start with a favorite subject of mine: The Study Of Terrorism and Guerilla Warfare. Here are some films worth watching if you are interested in learning more about this subject. Most of these films…
Military Aviation History: 11 of the Worst Soviet Aircraft
The Soviet Union lasted a mere sixty-nine years (the Spitfire has been flying longer), but in that time produced some of the largest, fastest, toughest and most agile aircraft. Even now, 25 years after its collapse, almost all Russian and Ukrainian aircraft have their roots in the communist super state. Favoring clever robust design over…
Military History: 10 of the Most Insane Military Disguises That Worked
Modern militaries use relatively standard camouflage patterns and netting to try to hide themselves from prying forces, but not all camouflage and disguise is so boring. Some military disguises that actually worked were outlandish and ridiculous. 10. Israeli Commandos Fooled Sentries By Cross-Dressing In 1973, Israel launched Operation Spring of Youth as part of a…
Know Your Weapons: The Spetsnaz AS VAL Assault Rifle & VSS Sniper Rifle
Russian Commandos Carry Suppressed Rifles That Can Shoot Through Body Armor The AS Val and VSS are fearsome weapons In the early 1980s, the Soviet Union’s Central Institute for Precision Machine Building — TsNIITochMash — developed the AS Val suppressed assault rifle and the derivative VSS sniper rifle specifically to outfit Russian special forces and intelligence agencies….
Profiles in Courage: “He Was One Of Us”
Not sure if any of you caught this story last night on ABC News, but it was a good’un. It is stories like this that as a historian and veteran, I absolutely love to learn about, mostly because you won’t find it in any official history books. I did some digging and found this amazing…
Espionage Files: North Korea’s Shadow War, Part III
How South Korea Thwarted Kim Il-sung’s Shadow War North Korea’s late-1960s commando campaign came to a bloody halt This is the third story in a series. Read parts one and two. In the late spring of 1969, a 75-ton North Korean speed boat hurtled through the Yellow Sea off the western coast of South…
World War Two History: When My Great-Uncle Liberated A Nazi Concentration Camp
The bartender at the Communist-themed pub in former East Berlin scrunches up his face and readjusts his glasses. Lenin looms on the wall beside him. “This is from Berlin?” I ask him. “No, it’s from a little town, you’ve probably never heard of it,” he says of the bottle of doppelkorn liquor he has…
How We Commemorate Memorial Day
Today, after writing this, I’ll walk to Swiss Cottage station, take the Jubilee line to Bond Street, and head east on the Central line from there. I’ll emerge from London’s labyrinthine underground network in the shadow of the towering dome of St. Paul’s Cathedral. Once inside, I’ll head to the eastern end of the building…