Military

Mission Accomplished 2.0: How Pete Hegseth Could End Up Under the Bus

by

Twenty-three years after Bush’s infamous “Mission Accomplished” moment, Washington may be preparing the sequel. Pete Hegseth stormed the Pentagon with a sledgehammer to destroy wokeness, only to discover that fighting bureaucracy and winning wars require entirely different skill sets. As the Iran war drags on and loyalty threatens to replace honest military advice, Trump may need a spectacular victory announcement—and someone to blame. History suggests Hegseth could become the next Rumsfeld. In Washington, the most dangerous weapon isn’t always an enemy missile. Sometimes it’s the bus parked outside the White House.

Old Men, Old Lies, and the Business of War

by

Maybe it’s time we changed the military draft. Ages 50 to 62. Seriously. After a career in uniform, I’ve learned there’s a difference between defending your country and fighting somebody else’s geopolitical chess tournament. At West Point, we memorized the fourth verse of The Star-Spangled Banner, written during the War of 1812: “Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just.” Those last six words matter. Sometimes overwhelming violence is necessary, but war should never be a spectator sport for politicians willing to sacrifice somebody else’s children. Let the old men fight the next war. Something tells me there would be considerably fewer of them.

Loyalty Is a Two-Way Street. Too Many Leaders Forget That.

by

I’ve spent much of my adult life in leadership positions, first in the Army, then in corporate America, and eventually as a small business owner. Along the way, I’ve encountered leaders who inspired tremendous loyalty from the people around them. Then…there were the others.

US Chokepoint Control vs. China’s Chokepoint Bypass Strategy

by

Exploring the tension in the first great power rivalry since the end of the Cold War

In May, the US Dept of the Navy released its “Fiscal Year 2027 Shipbuilding Plan, outlining the Administration’s long-term strategy to expand fleet capacity, strengthen the maritime industrial base, and deliver a more capable, ready, and lethal naval force.” The goal is to expand the fleet from 291 to 450 vessels by 2031 through a $65.8 billion investment in shipbuilding.

Join the Coast Guard. Become a Pirate!

by

The Coast Guard has apparently discovered a new recruiting strategy: Join the military, sail the Caribbean, board suspicious ships, and seize hidden treasure! Washington calls it maritime interdiction. Havana calls it economic warfare. Captain Jack Sparrow is smiling… Either way, Uncle Sam has discovered that piracy comes with excellent benefits, a federal pension, and considerably more paperwork. Arrr, matey!

Democrat Agenda: Ally With Communists & Islamists

by

The Democrats’ hatred for Trump knows no bounds. Their craving to set themselves apart from Trump has led to an alliance with communists and Islamists. 

There is a global effort as well, organized and funded, that is spreading mayhem, chaos, crime, and dissatisfaction among Western nations. Many of them are inside the governments of France, the UK, the United States, and many others.

A Quiet Giant Awakes: Why Japan Is Shedding Decades of Strategic Passivity

by

I spent almost 10 years of my journalistic career covering Japan—a place long considered inscrutable by Westerners, even though today’s decidedly Westernized Japan is about as inscrutable as Iowa. During those years, I watched Japanese leaders wrestle with a foreign policy hamstrung by a constitution that essentially prohibits war as an option for failed diplomacy.

MOA vs. Mils: No, Mils Aren’t More Accurate

by

MOA vs. mils: no, mils aren’t “more accurate.” Math is math. They’re just beautifully idiot-resistant.

Tell Private Snuffy to add ½ and ¼ and you can smell the electrical fire. Tell him to add .3 and .5 and he can probably do it on his fingers. Suddenly the military’s love affair with mils makes perfect sense.

PRS speaks decimals. Traditional American riflemen speak fractions. Different dialects, same X-ring.

Game Theory for WW3: When Rational Decisions Create Insane Outcomes

by

What if the geopolitical insanity of 2026 isn’t actually insane? Game theory suggests something more disturbing: perfectly rational nations, each acting in their own self-interest, can collectively produce disastrous outcomes that nobody actually wanted. Born from Cold War-era work at RAND, the Prisoner’s Dilemma explains everything from arms races to alliances and deterrence. Sometimes nobody has to be crazy for the world to go completely nuts.

US troops exit Iraq after more than two decades

by

US forces have withdrawn from their remaining bases in Iraq, bringing an end to two decades of military presence in the country. The departure, agreed in 2024, is being carried out by the Trump administration despite the ongoing war against Iran. It’s led to fears that a security vacuum could embolden Iran-backed militias and lead to a resurgence of Daesh. Rahul Radhakrishnan reports.

Stop Losing Your VA Claim: A Combat Medic’s No-Excuses Guide to Getting the Rating You Actually Earn

by

I FAILED MY OWN CLAIM. MORE THAN ONCE.

Let me start with a confession, because somebody needs to say it out loud.

I am a medically retired Army combat medic. Twenty-three years. Iraq. I spent my career documenting injuries on OTHER soldiers — SF 600s, sick call notes, MEDEVAC paperwork. If anyone on this planet should have walked into the VA claims process and crushed it on the first try, it was me.

I did not.

5th Generation War, 1462: Vlad the Impaler Understood the Human Domain

by

History remembers Vlad the Impaler as a blood-soaked medieval psychopath. But what happens if we assume Vlad was a rational actor? Suddenly the stakes, the terror, and the infamous Forest of the Impaled start looking less like random savagery and more like calculated deterrence. Vlad couldn’t outspend or outfight the Ottoman Empire, so he weaponized the one battlefield where a small power could compete with a giant: the human mind. Five hundred years before “fifth-generation warfare” became fashionable, Dracula was already playing game theory—with sharpened stakes.