Author: Braxton Taylor
War movie fans know that “Saving Private Ryan” begins with World War II veteran James Ryan visiting the grave of Capt. John Miller in one of Europe’s 13 American cemeteries. The rest of the movie is about how Miller ended up in the grave, but where it — and most war movies — stop the story is when the hero is killed in battle. No one ever seems to think about how their remains are actually interred and who takes care of the graves in the years to come.Everyone, that is, except author Robert Edsel. His new book, “Remember Us:…
Bye-bye, DEI. The Pentagon has shuttered and reassigned all personnel working in diversity, equity, and inclusion jobs. A Government Accountability Office report released Thursday announced that all DEI positions across the Defense Department had been “abolished” as of April to comply with recent White House executive orders. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth even celebrated Defense One’s coverage of the development Friday morning on social media. Fine print: Most of the roles were eliminated last year by an act of Congress. That is, as a result of a provision in the 2024 National Defense Authorization Act, as Defense One’s Lauren C. Williams…
The Marine Corps in 2025 is about halfway through its decade-long, top-to-bottom modernization plan, trying to balance that with staying ready for its core mission as the Defense Department’s crisis-response force, which is “is wicked hard to do,” Gen. Eric Smith, the service’s commandant, told Defense One in March.This is particularly true as the service stares down the barrel of a full-year continuing resolution, keeping the budget flat as the Marine Corps stands up new units, upgrades aircraft and procures new missile systems.“I would say everything is in danger of slipping,” Smith said, as the Corps sits about halfway through…
Discipline at the elite-shooting level is not just a virtue, it’s a foundational necessity. Professional shooters operate in a world where precision accuracy is often measured in millimeters and hundredths of a second. Every movement, drawstroke, grip pressure, sight acquisition et al is trained, repeated and extensively refined. There is no room for guesswork or thought interference. Just as a pro golfer must regulate their swing with robotic consistency or a major league batter must track a 95-mph fastball with microsecond timing, elite shooters must control their mind, body and firearm to the point where the three become one. This…
When President Donald Trump signed the Space Force into existence, he hailed space as the “world’s newest warfighting domain.” Five years later, the Space Force is fully embracing its role as “warfighters”—arguing for new gear to defeat enemy satellites and control the heavens.From Chinese satellites that can “dogfight” other satellites to Russia’s development of a nuclear weapon designed for space, the Space Force says its adversaries are becoming more aggressive in space, and it needs additional funds to deter and fight back.This call will likely be answered by the Pentagon, with longtime space official Troy Meink slated to lead the…
The Army is going all-in on its effort to finally crack the code on rapid acquisition in a giant bureaucracy.Transformation in Contact is in its second wave this year, expanding beyond infantry brigade combat teams to Stryker and armored units with planned expansion for protection and sustainment troops to get their chance to test the latest technology in the field and report back with their suggestions.“So in the Army, we like to say they’re only lessons observed—they’re not lessons learned until we actually change how we train and operate, change how we organize, and then change how we buy things,…
In this episode of MeatEater Roasts, Corinne Schneider and Maggie Hudlow go head-to-head in a wild game cook-off featuring Canada goose. Judges Hilary Byrne and chef Linda Huang taste, critique, and crown a winner. From meat prep to plating, the contestants bring their best to the table — and it all wraps up with a donation to support wildlife conservation. Read the full article here
Firearm: Taurus GX2 (MSRP: $309.99) Taurus released its new GX2 9 mm pistol as an entry-level option, but it shouldn’t be viewed as just an inexpensive handgun. Think of it as the concealed-carry handgun boiled down to the essentials: striker-fired operation, 13-round magazine, workable sights, accessory rail and bladed-safety trigger to prevent discharge if dropped. It’s simple to take down for cleaning, has moderate texture for excellent purchase and comes with a manual thumb safety. What the GX2 doesn’t have, interestingly enough, is an optics cut. In today’s day and age of seemingly every pistol on the market being cut…
The Air Force is in the midst of a large-scale endeavor to prepare for a potential showdown with China—an effort that will necessitate cutting-edge technology like stealthy jets and AI-powered drone wingmen. Just two months into the new presidential administration, it learned it will have a new tool in its arsenal: the first-ever sixth-generation fighter jet, the F-47. President Donald Trump, flanked by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and a rendering of the F-47 peeking through a shadowy background, called the jet “virtually unseeable” with “unprecedented power.”“America’s enemies will never see it coming,” Trump said during the Oval Office ceremony. “Hopefully we…
You can’t call in a henned up tom. Turkeys don’t move in the rain. Don’t overcall. Devoted turkey hunters know that this is just a bunch of hearsay. That’s doe poop and this is buck poop. Sure it is, pal. As it turns out, you actually can differentiate the sex of turkey excrement. It’s true, the elongated J-shaped turkey turd is left behind by a tom, while the round clumpy scat is that of a hen. This is due to the cloaca of a hen turkey being wider and more round in shape than that of a gobbler. More fun…