Author: Braxton Taylor

Alternate history writing looks at “what if” scenarios; What if the Soviet Union won the Cold War? What if the Roman Empire never fell? It’s not just interesting escapism; it also allows readers to look critically at the world they really live in and reflect on current events. Popular alternate history stories have even become major television shows or movies. Philip K. Dick’s 1962 novel “The Man in the High Castle” is set in an alternate timeline where an assassin killed Franklin D. Roosevelt and Germany and Japan won World War II. The book was later adapted into an Amazon…

TAMPA, Florida–Cruise missiles are getting smaller and that’s opening up ways to give older drones fighter jet-like capabilities, the head of Air Force Special Operations Command said Tuesday. “If you could use a gunship, or an MQ-9, or an OA-1K [Skyraider II] that had a small cruise missile that could go four,  five or 600 miles and hit a target, that seems like a capability that a combat commander could use,” said Lt. Gen. Michael Conley, who spoke to reporters at the Global SOF Foundation’s SOF Week event here. The vision is aspirational, an AFSOC official said. But it’s built on the…

The opinions expressed in this op-ed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Military.com. If you would like to submit your own commentary, please send your article to [email protected] for consideration.As this is being written on the 50th anniversary of the fall of Saigon and the final end of the Vietnam War, that history is being echoed as we are bombing Yemen and using much of the same tactics we employed in the infamous and ineffectual “Rolling Thunder” campaigns of the mid- and late 1960s in Vietnam.This got me wondering whether we have learned…

A recent executive order from the White House, “Achieving Efficiency Through State and Local Preparedness,” calls on state and local agencies to take greater responsibility in building resilience to cyber threats, natural disasters, and other emerging hazards. This emphasis on “local forces for local missions” is timely—and essential. Yet, as the Department of Defense reportedly considers cutting 90,000 active-duty Army soldiers, with an inevitable workload increase for the National Guard, a critical question arises: who will fill the gap?One answer has been hiding in plain sight: Title 32 State Defense Forces, or SDFs.State Defense Forces are military units authorized under…

The State Department aims to cut some 3,400 employees beginning in early June, substantially more than generally expected, according to the agency’s briefings to lawmakers and employees with knowledge of the matter.That’s because the 700 jobs that will be cut in a departmental reorganization will not count toward the planned 15-percent reduction in the department’s roughly 17,000-person domestic workforce, and because foreign service officers whose jobs are eliminated are not expected to be permitted to apply for other roles.These details, which could be altered before final notices go out, were spelled out in State officials’ notes of a meeting obtained by Government…

The mimeographed flyer was printed on green paper and illustrated second- and third-generation, dark-contrast, cut-and-paste photocopies of various firearms for sale by McGee Industries of Mississippi. I was 15 years old at the time, and in the 48 years since, I have never seen a shoddier example of marketing than that flyer, but at the time, it was my “golden ticket.” A cap-and-ball, percussion, steel-frame, .44-caliber reproduction of the Colt 1860 Army revolver made by SILE Co. was only $77, and I was sure I could not live without it. I literally sat on the doorstep for days waiting for…

The State Department aims to cut substantially more employees than generally expected: some 3,400 instead of roughly 2,000, report GovExec’s Eric Katz and Nextgov’s David Dimolfetta. That’s because the 700 jobs that will be eliminated in a departmental reorganization will not count toward the planned 15-percent reduction in the department’s roughly 17,000-person domestic workforce, and because foreign service officers whose jobs are eliminated are not expected to be permitted to apply for other roles.These details could be altered before layoff notices go out starting in early June. They were spelled out in State officials’ notes of a briefing to lawmakers,…

Firearm: Springfield Armory TRP 1911 AOS 9 mm (MSRP: $1,999) Springfield Armory added several 9 mm chamberings to the TRP line in 2025, and we’ve chosen the 4.25-inch barrel, AOS-equipped version for today’s kit. This is a marked departure for Springfield Armory, as all previous TRP pistols have been chambered in .45 ACP, providing yet another data point toward the ubiquity of 9 mm. Fear not, those who prefer their 1911s in .45 ACP, there are plenty of TRP variants in the old standard. Sizewise, the TRP 1911 is well-suited for concealed carry. The 4.25-inch barrel gives the pistol an…

Hosts Spencer Neuharth, Ryan Callaghan, and Randall Williams touch on a primal fight against a primate, talk with Okaloosa County’s Natural Resources Chief Alex Fogg about creating the world’s largest artificial reef, get another round of turkey reports from the crew, cheer on Seth in 1-Minute Fishing, play show-and-tell, and hear from Duncan Murdock, a paleontologist from the University of Oxford Museum of Natural History about the newly uncovered dinosaur highway in England. Read the full article here

Some turkeys are still gobbling and dropping all over the place, while others live to see another day. Brent’s got a story about a fairly recent father and son turkey hunt in Pennsylvania. He’s also sharing an oldie but goodie about his friend and filming mentor in Missouri. It’s time for MeatEater’s “This Country Life” podcast.  Read the full article here