Islamic State Is Digging Trenches and Preparing For Battle
Islamic State fighters have reportedly begun digging trenches in the Iraqi city of Tal Afar ahead of a planned offensive by Iraqi security forces. The Iraqi military is fresh from a hard-won battle for the city of Mosul, which both Iraqi troops and supporting U.S.-led coalition spent years trying... Read more
That One Time the Nazis Helped China Fight Japan
This story originally appeared on Jan. 3, 2014. Most people who stayed awake for at least half of their high school history class knows that the Axis Powers in World War II consisted of Germany, Italy and Japan. But few know that German tactics and weapons—not to mention some... Read more
I’m a Portlander. Political Extremism Is Poison
On May 26, 2017, tragedy struck my hometown when a white supremacist stabbed three people on a train. Two died of their wounds. The incident began when 35-year-old Jeremy Christian began aggressively harassing two young women riding the Portland MAX line. The women were black and one wore a... Read more
The Pentagon Is Still Worried About Climate Change
U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis isn’t exactly the type of person environmentalists would typically pin their hopes on. The retired Marine general is best known to most Americans for his quotable musings on killing and the thrill of combat. However, while environmental issues may not be Mattis’ top priority he... Read more
El ejército francés se creó a base de soldados extranjeros
Al final de la Segunda Guerra Mundial, el ejército francés era la cuarta fuerza militar más grande del continente europeo, por detrás de la Unión Soviética, las fuerzas expedicionarias de Estados Unidos y Gran Bretaña. Las Fuerzas Francesas Libres bajo el mando de Charles de Gaulle habían luchado contra... Read more
It’s Time for War Shooters to Invade New Territory
The Call of Duty video game franchise has certainly gone on a wild journey. It started as a historical shooter that bounced around in perspective allowing players to see World War II through the eyes of American, British and Russian soldiers. This somehow gave way to Kevin Spacey and cyborgs.... Read more
Foreign Soldiers Built the French Army
At the end of World War II, the French Army was the fourth largest military force on the European continent, behind the Soviet Union, the United States’s expeditionary forces and Britain. The Free French Forces under Charles de Gaulle had battled fascism alongside the Allied armies and marched straight... Read more
Confederate Veteran John Mosby Knew the Lost Cause Was Bull
John S. Mosby, known as the “Gray Ghost,” was a Virginian who became legendary for his leadership of Mosby’s Rangers—a band of Confederate guerrilla fighters that harassed the Union Army and went toe-to-toe with George Armstrong Custer in the Shenandoah Valley. Mosby is still highly regarded as a strategist... Read more
The First Openly Gay U.S. Air Force Academy Commandant
U.S. Air Force colonel Kristin Goodwin will be moving to Colorado Springs to take over the role of commandant of cadets at the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs. Goodwin is currently the senior military adviser to the secretary of the Air Force and on March 14, 2016... Read more
Former FARC Fighters Make For Hot New Hires
In 2016, Colombia’s FARC guerrilla army — which had waged the world’s longest-running insurgency — officially agreed to cease hostilities with the Colombian government and demobilize. But not all members of the group accepted the agreement. There have been bloody clashes between rival factions and competition for lucrative criminal enterprises, including drug trafficking... Read more

Kevin Knodell

Contributing Editor