News
‘Flashpoint Campaigns: Cold War’ is the ultimate OODA Loop wargame
Fifty years ago, a U.S. Air Force colonel named John Boyd offered a profound insight into why battles are won or lost. His famous Observe, Orient, Decide, Act — or OODA — Loop described the mental cycle by which combatants, from fighter pilots to generals, assess and react to a constantly changing situation. Those with a faster OODA Loop could exploit opportunities while their befuddled opponents ...[Read More]
‘Good Samaritans’ beware: Scammers ramp up targeting of troops’ goodwill
The father of a sailor is out to warn others in the military community about a “Good Samaritan” scam that cost his son thousands of dollars. On July 2, two men approached the young sailor, claiming they had lost their wallets and needed help paying for a hotel room. “The men gained possession of his phone under the pretense of entering reimbursement information electronically,” the father wrote in...[Read More]
‘Gunners!’ revives forgotten chapter of air war over Korea
Thomas Stevens’ first combat mission was memorable — and defied direct orders from the commander in chief. On Nov. 28, 1952, the 19-year-old airman was a tail gunner on a Boeing B-29 Superfortress on a nighttime bombing run over North Korea. After dropping its load of 20 500-pound bombs on a target along the Yalu River, the aircraft was caught in a strong wind and blown over the border into Manchu...[Read More]
‘He can run but he can’t hide’: Joe Louis and the fight of his life
For 12 years — longer than any fighter past or present — Joe Louis would be the undisputed king of boxing. So dominant, in fact, that the “Brown Bomber” transcended the stringent racial barriers of 20th-century America, cheered on by both Black and white citizens. Louis, the grandson of a slave and the great grandson of a slave owner, rose to prominence in 1930s to become the face of freedom and d...[Read More]
‘Hell ship’ responsible for the largest single-day loss of Allied POWs discovered after more than 80 years
More than 80 years after its sinking, long-buried documents in both the American and Japanese archives held the key to locating the seemingly lost location of the Japanese “Hell ship” Hōfuku Maru. Now, explorer Josh Gates, working with the Hellships Memorial Foundation, is taking viewers along for that historic journey in an all-new season of Expedition Unknown. The first episode of the two-hour e...[Read More]
‘Hidden Figure’ Gladys West, GPS pioneer and Navy civilian, dies at 95
Gladys Mae West, whose mathematical work became the integral foundation for modern GPS, has died. West, surrounded by family and friends, passed away peacefully on Jan. 17. She was 95. Born in rural Dinwiddie County, Virginia, in 1930, West sought to leave her family farm from the beginning. “I guess I found that a little bit contrary to what I had in my mind of where I wanted to go,” she told the...[Read More]
‘Hidden Figure’ Gladys West, GPS pioneer and Navy civilian, dies at 95
Gladys Mae West, whose mathematical work became the integral foundation for modern GPS, has died. West, surrounded by family and friends, passed away peacefully on Jan. 17. She was 95. Born in rural Dinwiddie County, Virginia, in 1930, West sought to leave her family farm from the beginning. “I guess I found that a little bit contrary to what I had in my mind of where I wanted to go,” she told the...[Read More]
‘I did that until I ran out of gas’: An American advisor and his MoH actions in Vietnam
The Vietnam War involved all manner of fighters, the quality of which varied on both sides. The communists ranged from local Viet Cong guerrillas to professional People’s Army of Vietnam (PAVN) soldiers and between them, VC trained in the northerners’ light infantry tactics. Besides the well-trained service personnel from the United States, Australia, Philippines and Thailand, South Vietnam’s form...[Read More]
‘I see ‘em. We’ll fight ‘em’: Patton’s Black Panthers
“I would never have asked for you if you weren’t good,” George Patton addressed the U.S. Army’s first Black tankers in an impassioned speech in October 1944. “I have nothing but the best in my army. I don’t care what color you are as long as you go out and kill those Kraut sons of bitches. Everyone has their eyes on you and is expecting great things of you. Most of all your race is looking forward...[Read More]
‘Infrastructure is the weapon’: Inside the race to build portable interceptor factories
KYIV, Ukraine — While interceptor drones have become one of the most sought-after commodities of the Iran war, Ukrainian officials and defense practitioners are cautioning allies to recognize that the pace of today’s battlefield requires them to buy into an entirely new system of production alongside the endpoint weapon. “Expertise is not a drone, but a skill, a strategy, a system where a drone is...[Read More]
‘It takes money to kill bad guys’: Pentagon seeks $200 billion in new funding for war in Iran
The Pentagon on Thursday said it is seeking roughly $200 billion to sustain its war in Iran, as senior military officials acknowledge that the Islamic Republic retains “some capability” to attack American assets and allies in the Middle East. Asked about the figure during a press briefing, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said “that number could move,” before adding in a blunt aside: “It takes money...[Read More]