If you know the enemy and yourself, you need not fear the results of a hundred battles. - Sun Tzu While serving in the US Special Operations Forces, I supported counterterrorism. While serving with the United Nations, I worked in antiterrorism. While… [Read more…]
If you know the enemy and yourself, you need not fear the results of a hundred battles. - Sun Tzu While serving in the US Special Operations Forces, I supported counterterrorism. While serving with the United Nations, I worked in antiterrorism. While in Baghdad, Iraq in August of 2003, I became an actual victim of terrorism in a vehicular jihadist suicide bombing attack. These … [Read more…]
“Today, we are opening an entirely new and truly meaningful chapter in our…relations between Ukraine and Sweden…for Ukraine to acquire a substantial fleet of Swedish-made, fighter jets—Gripens. These are great aircraft, strong, aviation platforms capable of performing a wide range of missions…the future contract will enable us to obtain at least 100 of these jets.” — Volodymyr … [Read more…]
When I first arrived in Rio de Janeiro, the city struck me like a revelation. The Atlantic rainforest spilled down from the highlands and pressed against the edge of the sea, where the famous beaches shimmered under a merciless sun. Mountains rose like sentinels behind the city, their granite faces veiled in mist. On the sand, men and boys played barefoot football, chasing a … [Read more…]
In this drone war, there are endless chances to kill the enemy: by the scores, if you are good at it. At the Kyiv suicide-drone operator’s course, I once overheard students debating whether to target medics tending the wounded—the same tactic Russians were practicing on a much larger scale. The idea sickened me at first. Then I remembered: snipers have been shooting at medics … [Read more…]
Let’s get something straight before we jump into icy waters. This isn’t your grandpa’s America, the one with pensions, affordable homes, and politicians who at least pretended they gave a damn. No, this is Hunger Games: Red, White, and Screwed Edition. And average Americans are the tributes. The economy is a bloated casino rigged by carnies in cheap suits. The … [Read more…]
By Remo Butler and Robert Bruce Adolph There are few more important topics than the absurd notion, accepted by far too many, that skin color is determinant of character or capability. Geneticists have scientifically proven that homo sapiens globally share 99.5% of our DNA. The remaining .5% is mostly about how we look: the least important characteristic of all. What we … [Read more…]
Let’s get something straight right off the bat. Vladimir Putin isn’t some cartoon villain hiding in a bunker, twirling a mustache. He’s an apex predator — an ex-KGB operator who plays geopolitics like high-stakes poker with the nuclear codes in his pocket. And right now, he’s teaching Donald Trump a master class in bait and switch so slick it should come with a “Brought to … [Read more…]
Last Monday morning at Hartsfield‑Jackson Atlanta International Airport - the world’s busiest airport - U.S. law-enforcement officials intercepted a male suspect before he could execute what appears to have been a planned mass shooting inside the terminal. According to the Atlanta Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, 49-year-old Billy Joe Cagle of … [Read more…]
Shaving 101: You’re Probably Doing It Wrong By Hansel Rayner, PA-C, FASEPA -- Editor's Forward: If you've been paying attention to military affairs recently (and if you're a regular SOFREP reader, you more than likely have been), you've noticed there has been a lot of talk about grooming standards and getting rid of beards in the military. Pete Hegseth’s message to … [Read more…]
I left Ukraine for the last time on January 1, 2024. At the time, I carried deep doubts about Kyiv’s ability to sustain the fight. I had seen the strain firsthand, having served alongside Ukrainian units, and I wondered how long the country could endure. Now, as the war stands on the threshold of 2026, my perspective has changed. Ukraine has not broken. It has … [Read more…]
Genesis In the beginning, Man created the gun and the cartridge. The gun was without form and void; darkness was on the face of the targets that Man sought, and he was afraid, for he could not see them. And Man said: "Let there be light — let there be target acquisition and fire control implementations for this gun." And there was light; there was a 1000-lumen SureFire M600 … [Read more…]
As President Donald Trump unveils yet another comprehensive peace proposal aimed at ending the war in Gaza and securing the release of Israeli hostages, history suggests we should temper our optimism. The latest October 2025 plan—which Hamas has conditionally accepted while maintaining ambiguity on key points—follows a tragically familiar pattern that has defined … [Read more…]
