Archaeologists are a little like forensic investigators: They scour the remains of past societies, looking for clues in pottery, tools and bones about how people lived, and how they died. And just as detectives might re-create the scene of a crime, University of Washington archaeologists have re-created the weapons used by hunter-gatherers in the post-Ice Age Arctic some 14,000 years ... Read More »
Another female candidate has quietly made it through most of the first phase of the assessment and selection process of Marine Corps Special Operations Command in a quest to become the first female MARSOC Raider. A 25-year-old female sergeant has almost completed the 21-day first phase of A&S after beginning the course Jan. 16, MARSOC spokesman Maj. Nicholas Mannweiler confirmed ... Read More »
The Canadian Special Operations Forces Command (CANSOFCOM) has taken delivery of its first DAGOR Ultra-Light Combat Vehicles (ULCV) from Polaris. Polaris is delivering 52 DAGOR vehicles under a contract awarded in December 2016. A further ten vehicles were ordered under an exercised option in July 2017. Vehicle deliveries will continue through to April 2018, and Polaris is to provide technical support services and integrated ... Read More »
A secretive special air service base has been inadvertently revealed by a fitness app that has created a heatmap of running routes around the country. A SAS base in Hereford, along with a nuclear deterrent naval base and the government’s spy agency GCHQ has been placed on a heatmap of Strava’s customers, including the profiles of several people who regularly run ... Read More »
The search continues for information on a small-arms weapons heist from a base here in 2016, military officials said. Several semi-automatic pistols, one small-caliber automatic rifle and a shotgun were among the items taken in July 2016 from a weapons area at the U.S. Army’s Panzer Kaserne in Boeblingen, a Stuttgart suburb. In a sign that investigators could be struggling ... Read More »
General Dynamics is investing about $2 billion into its shipyards in the coming years to meet the demands of a growing U.S. fleet, the company’s top executive said Wednesday during an earnings call. “In response to the significant increased demand from our Navy customer across all three of our shipyards, we’re investing in each of our yards,” said Phebe Novakovic, ... Read More »
Defense hawks on Capitol Hill are eyeing a massive boost in defense spending, but even they are beginning to embrace what’s long been a mantra for deficit hawks: There’s fat to trim at the Pentagon. The military’s boosters are pushing for a budget-cap busting $150 billion increase in defense spending over the next two years, saying the department has been hollowed ... Read More »
Only one in four Britons trusts social media and users would like to see tighter regulation, according to the annual Edelman Trust Barometer. Its survey found two-thirds of Britons believe platforms such as Facebook and Twitter are not doing enough to prevent illegal and unethical behaviour, including cyber-bullying and extremism. But faith in traditional journalism rose sharply in the last ... Read More »
During the General Session held on Wednesday morning, attendees at the 2018 Commodity Classic in Anaheim, Calif. will hear the amazing story of the harrowing U.S. Army mission that was recounted in the movie “Blackhawk Down.” Commodity Classic takes place Feb. 27-March 1. The General Session is one of the most popular events at Commodity Classic. Comedian Mark Mayfield returns ... Read More »
Today in Kabul, five gunmen attacked a military academy, killing 11 soldiers and injuring 15. It was the fourth major terrorist attack in Afghanistan in just the last 10 days. On Saturday, more than 100 people died when an ambulance packed with explosives detonated on a crowded street in the capital. Both the Taliban and ISIS are ramping up the ... Read More »
The super lightweight, modular and feature-rich Ops-Core helmets used by special operations troops can inspire a serious case of gear envy from the conventional forces. And they may get even better. This week at SHOT Show, parent company Gentex introduced its new Fast SF helmet, its submission for the ongoing U.S. Special Operations Command upgrade program. The helmet retains all the protection ... Read More »
What type of person would go on Fox News after ISIS puts a price on their head and give out his home address and challenge ISIS to come get him? Maybe a Green Beret who was a Ranger sniper? Perhaps a UFC fighter? Possibly a guy who is “Hard To Kill” and is known for “Hunting Hitler”? The answer is ... Read More »
The 30mm cannon on the Air Force’s next gunship is having multiple problems, limiting its ability to track targets and maintain a full and consistent rate of fire, according to a new Pentagon report. The AC-130J Ghostrider’s 30mm cannon fires up to 200 Coca-Cola bottle-sized rounds per minute ― but it recoils so heavily it causes a “retrigger,” forcing the ... Read More »
Two sorties of A-10C Thunderbolt II aircraft struck Taliban militants in Helmand province, Afghanistan, on Jan. 24. It’s the first series of strikes by the aircraft since its return to Afghanistan on Jan. 19. The aircraft, commonly referred as the Warthog, has been absent from Afghanistan since 2014 as America began rapidly withdrawing forces from the region. The A-10 is ... Read More »
The immune system reacts similarly to a high fat and high calorie diet as to a bacterial infection. This is shown by a recent study led by the University of Bonn. Particularly disturbing: Unhealthy food seems to make the body’s defenses more aggressive in the long term. Even long after switching to a healthy diet, inflammation towards innate immune stimulation ... Read More »
SOFX The Crossroads of Special Operations