Large creatures under the sea give me the creeps. Grouper startle me, barracuda give me the heebie-jeebies, and sharks…well, sharks make masonry bricks come out of my ass. I wish like hell they didn’t scare me; I would have a bad-boy T-shirt printed up that says, “Ain’t Scared of Sharks.” I could rotate wearing it […]
Special Forces
Watch: The Green Beret is an outdoorsman trained to live and fight anywhere
As U.S. Special Forces recently turned 67 years old, it is interesting to take a look back at this public service announcement from the 1960s about the legendary Green Berets. Check out the video to learn more, but you may also enjoy this interview I did with Sergeant Major (Ret.) William Bowles. Sergeant Bowles passed […]
Watch: What does it take to become a Delta operator?
While covering a story recently, I had the opportunity to tour some facilities with a number of current and former elite operators hailing from various military branches and government agencies. Although these men may have different abbreviations on their identification cards, the community of people with their unique skill set and level of expertise is […]
‘Murphy’s Law’ — Covering the war against ISIS alongside the Peshmerga
An excerpt from the new book, “Murphy’s Law: My Journey from Ranger and Green Beret to Investigative Journalist“ Another story developed when a fixer we had hired to help translate informed us that there was a big battle going down early the next morning near Kirkuk. No way were we going to pass that up. […]
Gear in the Wild: Sailors have to fight fires in cramped spaces
A U.S. Sailor leads a hose team during a general quarters drill aboard the guided-missile destroyer USS Dewey (DDG 105), July 14, 2018, in the pacific Ocean. Dewey is underway participating in the Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) exercise. Twenty-five nations, 46 ships, five submarines, about 200 aircraft, and 25,000 personnel are participating in RIMPAC […]
Gear in the Wild: Search and Rescue personnel save lives
South Florida Urban Search and Rescue, Florida Task Force 2, out of Miami, Fla., conduct reconnaissance missions in Bucksport, South Carolina, Sept. 25, 2018, by GPS marking neighborhoods to identify areas and properties that are flooded, as a result of rising waters in the aftermath of Hurricane Florence. These reconnaissance missions are critical for first […]
Gear in the Wild: The fine line between bad camping and a good field op
Participants of the Swedish Basic Winter Warfare Course rest in front of a fire during the course’s culminating event in Arvidsjaur, Sweden, Jan. 23, 2018. Marines from the Black Sea Rotational Force and the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit, along with troops from 9 other countries, participated in the Swedish Basic Winter Warfare Course. U.S. […]
Gear in the Wild: It’s getting a little hot around here…
U.S. Marines assigned to Aircraft Rescue and Firefighting (ARFF) with Headquarters and Headquarters Squadron conduct fire containment drills at Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni, Japan, Oct. 12, 2018. The training was conducted in order to maintain proficiency extinguishing aircraft fires in support of the air station’s mission of launching and recovering aircraft. ARFF is a […]
Gear in the Wild: Divers work to recover bodies of lost WWII bomber crew
Per the Department of Defense: Army Air Forces 1st Lt. Eugene P. Ford, killed during World War II, has now been accounted for. On Dec. 17, 1944, Ford was the a member of the 765th Bombardment Squadron, 461st Bombardment Group, 15th Air Force, as the pilot of a B-24J aircraft known as The Tulsamerican. Accompanied […]
Op-Ed: Say it ain’t so, Joe—the Army unveils another unnecessary badge
On Friday, June 14—coincidentally the Army’s 224th birthday—the Army unveiled its newest and most unnecessary badge: the Expert Soldier Badge. If you read this and are rolling your eyes, trust me, you are not alone. According to a press release, the Expert Soldier Badge will recognize those individuals who demonstrate a mastery of physical fitness, […]