What happened to most of Saddam’s blinged-out weapons
It’s no surprise that psychotic despots and drug lords who came to power through violence and intimidation would be fascinated with gold-…
The 5 strangest military mission names from the Iraq War
If you think Operation Inherent Resolve is a mission name that makes no sense, you’re not alone. The U.S. military operation against ISIS in Iraq and Syria was supposed to have a different name altogether. The Pentagon initially rejected OIR and on…
How Desert Storm changed modern aerial warfare
As laser-guided bombs incinerated Iraqi tanks from the sky, surveillance aircraft monitored enemy troop movements and stealth bombers eluded radar tracking from air defenses in the opening days of Operation Desert Strom decades ago – very few of t…
This Iraq War veteran’s new novel, Empire City, answers the question, ‘What if we conquered Vietnam?’
We’ve all played the “What If” game. In the military, this can lead to some rather interesting questions: What would happen if I was in charge of this op? What if I put my hands in my pockets? What if 1st Sergeant was nicer?
In his most recen…
6 foreign films where the US military are definitely the bad guys
When America has a national enemy, the U.S. media is pretty good at falling in line (no matter what anyone tells you – just look at the buildup to the Iraq War). So whether the enemy is the Germans, the Japanese, the Germans again, Communists, or …
Unique new veterans memorial installed 40 feet under the sea
As soon as Shawn Campbell saw his name on a plaque next to a statue sunken 40 feet on the seafloor, the memories of soldiers he had once served with flooded his mind.
The life-size statue, one of a dozen concrete figures that make up the nati…
Annual event encourages healing and support for veterans
The seventh annual Gathering of Warriors Veterans Summit hosted by the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde, Native Wellness Institute, and VA Office of Tribal Government Relations, held July 11-12, 2019, brought together hundreds of individuals from …
Was this ‘Game of Thrones’ episode a metaphor for the Iraq War?
In episode five of season eight of “Game of Thrones,” countless civilians were burned alive in dragon fire as the city of King’s Landing was “liberated” by Daenerys Targaryen from the tyrannical ruler Cersei Lannister.
Prior to the devast…
President Trump just pardoned a soldier who killed an Iraqi prisoner
Army 1st Lt. Michael Behenna was convicted of killing an al-Qaeda suspect in a combat zone during a 2008 deployment to Iraq. A military court sentenced the officer to 25 years in prison, though an appellate court noted his argument of self-defense. …
A Saddam Hussein loyalist still fights an insurgency in Iraq
Izzat Ibrahim al-Douri was with Saddam from the very beginning and on through to the very end when the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in 2003 spread him and his compatriots to the winds. The next thing he knew, he was the King of Clubs on the U.S. milita…