Author: Braxton Taylor

Book review writer Richard Sisk on “Grant’s Enforcer” by Guy Gugliotta, Vietnam-era Navy swiftboat veteran and award-winning former reporter for The Washington Post, the Miami Herald and United Press International.President Ulysses S. Grant had put the night riders of the Ku Klux Klan on notice that he was ready to use the full powers of his office to break their white terrorist grip on the states of the former Confederacy. But he needed to pick an enforcer to break the Klan’s hold on the South. Grant’s GroundworkGrant already had the legal and legislative tools at his disposal for the job. In…

A 22-year-old Army Reserve Officers’ Training Corps cadet died Thursday during a land navigation exercise at Fort Knox, Kentucky, the service announced.Cadet Neil Edara, of Ridgewood, New Jersey, became unresponsive while participating in a routine land navigation drill, a core component of the Army’s ROTC summer training event, which draws thousands of cadets from colleges nationwide.Edara was taking part in daytime training when he collapsed and was medically evacuated by helicopter to the University of Louisville and pronounced dead, though Army officials have not released an official cause of death. The incident is under investigation.Read Next: Airman Killed by M18…

More than 150 years after the first regiments of Buffalo Soldiers were formed, a bipartisan pair of senators is looking to bestow Congress’ highest honor on the storied Black troops.Sens. Andy Kim, D-N.J., and Tim Scott, R-S.C., will introduce a bill Monday evening that would award the Congressional Gold Medal to the four Buffalo Soldier regiments. The introduction is timed to the day of the 159th anniversary of Congress approving legislation to create what became known as the Buffalo Soldiers.”The Buffalo Soldiers served our nation selflessly in uniform and in the face of racial discrimination, and it is long past…

The nominee to lead the Veterans Health Administration hopes to streamline Veterans Affairs medical care so patients face fewer obstacles when they seek treatment, whether at a VA facility or with a community provider.During his confirmation hearing for VA under secretary for health, Air Force Reserve Maj. Gen. John Bartrum addressed the ongoing debate over the future of VA health care — the role the federal government has in managing and providing care for veterans, either within VA facilities or by paying private doctors.Bartrum told the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee on Wednesday that he sees “an opportunity to revisit the…

A 19-year-old airman who was killed in a Humvee rollover during a 2023 convoy back to F.E. Warren Air Force Base in Wyoming was not wearing a seat belt and the driver was going over the recommended speed, according to an investigation report.Airman Trinity Reinhart, an Oregon native who had been assigned to F.E. Warren just shy of four months, was riding as a passenger in the second vehicle of a two-vehicle convoy on Sept. 16, 2023, after working security for maintainers at a missile facility near Grover, Colorado, the Ground Accident Investigation Board report released earlier this month detailed.While…

The Pentagon recently asked Congress to shift $200 million in funding — originally allocated for projects such as barracks, aircraft hangars and military-operated elementary schools — to construct a roughly 20-mile-long, 30-foot-high barrier across the U.S.-Mexico border in Arizona.The proposed wall would replace a smaller mesh barrier at a desert training complex adjacent to the border known as the Barry M. Goldwater Range, or BMGR, a 1.9 million-acre training area shared between the Air Force and Marine Corps, according to a letter the Pentagon sent to Congress on May 28.Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said that construction of the permanent barrier,…

Navy SEAL and Navy SWCC training share a foundation rooted in rigorous training, water competency and high fitness standards. Many people ask about the differences between these Navy Special Warfare programs, and while both are highly selective and physically challenging, they differ in their tactical mission and training focus.Navy SEALs (Sea, Air and Land) and SWCC (Special Warfare Combatant-Craft Crewmen) are special operations forces within the U.S. Navy. While they often work alongside each other on critical missions, their training pipelines are similar yet distinct; they are tailored to their respective tactical skills and missions. Understanding where these programs intersect…

A U.S. spaceplane will head to the heavens next month to test a quantum sensor that could help navigation in orbit without GPS, and to demonstrate new methods of space-based communications, the Space Force said in a release today.  The X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle has been used by the U.S. military for over a decade to experiment with new technologies in space, but details around the program’s missions have largely been kept secret. The Space Force has been releasing more information about the X-37 in recent years, and announced that the upcoming launch—the spacecraft’s eighth known mission—would test the “world’s highest performing…

Arsenal, Inc. is one of the best-known brands in the U.S. for Kalashnikov and AK-pattern firearms market. The company has just launched three new AK focused accessories: A new AK flash-hider muzzle device, a new AK side-rail compatible optics mount and a new AK-compatible aluminum skeletonized side-folding stock. Arsenal SM-23 Scope Mount The Arsenal SM-23 Scope Mount clamps over the traditional Kalashnikov-pattern side rail and holds an optic over the receiver via a suspended 19-slot, 7.5-inch-long Picatinny rail. This low-profile AK scope mount is machined from a single piece of aluminum, and customers can purchase it in three different colors:…

Konus has just launched a new second-focal-plane 5-50x60mm target/hunting riflescope with a 34mm diameter main tube, called the Konus Invincible. The Invincible is Konus’ first ever 34mm main tube model. The majority of scopes in today’s market typically have ¼-MOA or 1-MRAD click values, but the Konus Invincible instead was designed with even finer and more precise ⅛-MOA click values. Between its finer level of adjustment, its powerful zoom range, wider main tube and 60mm objective lines, the Konus Invincible is equipped to handle any long-distance shot with ease. In addition, this second-focal-plane optic includes easy-to-dial tactical exposed turrets that…