The M16 is Here to Stay

The United States Marines are finally getting rid of their M-16A4 rifles. The replacement will be smaller, lighter and will require almost no retraining. It will allow the Marines more mobility and make firing from vehicles much easier. It’s the M4, The M-16s shorter brother.

The U.S has Combat Troops in Iraq

About a week ago a U.S Marine was killed by a rocket attack near the city of Makhmur in Iraqi Kurdistan. The Marine’s (Staff Sgt. Louis F. Cardin) death led to the disclosure of the existence of an active U.S military facility known as Firebase Bell. A few days ago, this facility was attacked again by a group of ten ISIS fighters.

Fallout 4, and Why Millennials Don’t Care About Nuclear War

Recently, I read an article on Federation of American Scientist’s Bulletin of Atomic Scientists blog regarding youth perceptions of nuclear weapons and ways to educate them about nuclear arms. Part of the premise of the piece was to give them context to view such weapons and to fear them as their (our) parents did.

What Putin Did in Syria

After five months of bombing the enemies of Syrian dictator Bashar Al-Assad, Putin has declared that the Russian mission in Syria has been successful and he is taking Russian combat troops and attack aircraft out of Syria.Putin’s sudden decision to pull out came as a shock to the world. But should it have?

The Draft: Thinking the Unthinkable

In late November of 1942 General Georgy Zhukov launched Operation Uranus: a massive Soviet counter offensive aimed at liberating the city of Stalingrad. Two pincers, a massive one from the northern flank and a smaller one from the south, slammed into the Romanian troops on the German flanks. The German Sixth Army, commanded by General Fredrich Paulus, was encircled and cut off, trapped in what became known as the “Kessel.”

North Korea Tried to Show Off it’s Tanks and Embarrassed Itself

 

As part of it’s annual show of force in response the annual U.S / South Korea Military drills the North Koreans decided to hold what they called a “Tank Crews Competition” and posted it to Korean Central Television’s YouTube page.

Russia’s New Tanks Could be a Problem for the Baltics

More information continues to leak out about Russia’s new Armata series armored vehicles. So far, it has been relieved that the Armata has an unmanned auto loading turret, a better cannon, and improved armor relative to the T-72 and T-80 . Perhaps most troubling, it also features and a built in active protection system .

The Implications of Plan B

 

In February U.S Secretary of State John Kerry stated that a failed ceasefire in Syria could lead the United States to push for a partition of Syria. Despite Russian objections to such a partition, it is worth considering how such a split might impact Syria and the region. For the sake of simplicity I will focus on a potential successor Alawite state that would be ruled by Bashar Al-Assad’s regime.