Over the last several months, violence has increased significantly in the 17-year war, sparking fears that the conflict may have reached a bloody stalemate. On November 28, a truck bomb explosion and subsequent firefight in Kabul killed 10 people and injured 19 others. The incident forced the international airport to close. The Taliban quickly claimed responsibility for the attack against …

In many ways, overseas contractors are a microcosm of the U.S. workforce. Of course, there is a significant difference between a place like Diego Garcia and a place like Delaware, but the work required in each can run parallel much of the time. American military and private contractors have served on foreign soil ever since before the United States was …

Veterans of the Global War on Terror who sustain traumatic brain injuries are twice as likely to end their own lives, according to a study released by the VA-funded Mid-Atlantic Mental Illness Research, Education and Clinical Center (MIRECC). Dr. Robert Shura and his team based their conclusions on interviews with almost 1,000 Iraq and Afghanistan veterans. In addition to a …

Even as combat operations wind down in the war-torn country of Syria, contractor presence is ramping up. No one knows how many combat contractors are in Syria right now, but there are about 2,000 U.S. soldiers in-country. Once combat operations end, Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said contractors would focus on rebuilding and pacification. Their duties will also include training local …

Soon after Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered a partial troop pull-out, the number of Russian visitors to the war-torn country reached an all-time high. These two items are probably related. According to the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB), 17,000 Russians went from Russia to Syria in the first half of 2018. That is far more than any other six-month period …