Opinion

While the Senate’s Iran resolution has a good basis and elements, it will obstruct both current and future special operations missions. The resolution states that President Trump will “terminate the use of United States Armed Forces for hostilities against the Islamic Republic of Iran or any part of its government or military, unless explicitly authorized by a declaration of war ... Read More »

A comprehensive review done by the U.S. Special Operations Command details how the past couple decades refined the SOF community but did so without proper civilian oversight. This has led to reckless behavior without many discipline measures in place. When the Command was originally created it was accompanied by a civilian, the assistant secretary of defense for special operations and ... Read More »

“Our adversaries are striking from the shadows. They are pursuing new tactics to divide and destabilize. Exploiting new technologies to exacerbate the uncertainties of an uncertain world and undermine our way of life,” commented UK defence secretary Ben Wallace at the NATO Engages in London. The NATO alliance has withstood the test of time for the past 70 years, and ... Read More »

Ken Harbaugh served in the Navy as an aircraft commander and taught classes at the Citadel. When Harbaugh joined the Navy, he swore an oath to uphold and defend the Constitution. Now he realizes that at the time, he knew little about the documents and what that would truly mean in times of crisis here in the States. With the ... Read More »

Since the anti-government protests began in October, over 600 protesters have been killed in Iraq. Continued instability in the government and throughout the country shows no sign of ending despite the presence of the U.S. military. The U.S. had the option to withdraw from the country in 2003, but Washington wanted to remake Iraq in their image. Over the next ... Read More »

AI-enabled technology has continued to become more integrated into the military, and the equipment is used by soldiers every day. While these advancements in technology create numerous benefits, what happens if they get out of control? What do we do if AI tells a soldier the wrong thing and innocent lives are lost? Without a machine having common sense like ... Read More »

Two Marines have asked and answered two questions: “What impact will the team leader, squad leader, platoon commander, and company commander have in the Marine Corps’ future? What can the small-unit leader do to make a difference within the organization?” A base to their answer is the belief that leaders should interact more with the Navy for future maritime operations. ... Read More »

While the war in Afghanistan seems to be never ending, peace talks have been slowly inching forward. Some have called for a complete withdrawal from the country due to elevated peace. A diplomat who previously served at the U.S. Embassy in Afghanistan has commented that pulling out of the country before proper peace talks and agreements will result in the ... Read More »

The well-known story of Mexican drug cartels bringing in high-powered firearms from the U.S. is only part of the truth. The Armament Research Services (ARES) have been analyzing weapons used by the cartels and discovering numerous European weapons, such as handguns from Beretta, Romanian-made AKs, and the FN Herstal MINIMI light machine gun from Belgium. Mexico’s Secretariat of National Defence ... Read More »

Debt-trap diplomacy has led to some fearful authors and officials comparing modern China to Nazi Germany. While it is clear that the U.S. has disagreements with China, we have failed to keep a strong military presence in the Asia-Pacific, and continue to have conflicting views with ourselves on the open internet and cyber security. By having so many restrictions on ... Read More »