Articles by Dave Patterson

“Space, the final frontier,” said William Shatner as Captain James Tiberius Kirk in the intro to every episode of the 1960s television show Star Trek. Kirk and his crew were military members of Starfleet whose mission was, among other things,… Read More

President Donald Trump is rapidly carrying out deportations of illegal alien criminals. He used military aircraft, most notably the C-17 Globemaster III cargo aircraft, to do that. However, the use of the large US Air Force airlifter has drawn criticism… Read More

Until Congress passed the National Security Act on July 26, 1947, no military department of the US Air Force (USAF) existed. Two months later, W. Stuart Symington became the first Air Force secretary, and a week later, Gen. Carl A…. Read More

“From the Halls of Montezuma to the shores of Tripoli” is how the US Marine Corps song starts. The Marines have historically been deployed over beaches in amphibious landings. According to the official History of the Marine Corps, in 1776,… Read More

America’s Navy is more powerful than any other in the world, but that wasn’t always the case. The US Navy was first designated the Continental Navy. Not long after the Revolutionary War ground battles at Lexington and Concord, Massachusetts, on… Read More

Syria has been all over the news lately. Surrounded by Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, and with Jordan, Israel, and Lebanon, to the south and southwest, Syria has been one of the most fought over and conquered… Read More

How did the United States of America develop into the most powerful nation in history? This is the first of a series on the history of the US Armed Forces that will answer that question. In this, the first part… Read More

On Wednesday, November 6, Donald Trump was officially elected the 47th president of the United States. What was so different from previous elections? Why Was This Election So Significant? This election year has been fraught with tension and, according to… Read More

The 2024 US presidential election has been non-stop drama. But it’s what you would expect when there are so many important issues to be considered. Former President Donald J. Trump and current Vice President Kamala Harris are competing for what… Read More

Why does the US Department of Defense (DOD) still find itself dependent on China? Despite years of efforts to reduce reliance on Beijing for raw materials, semiconductors, and other crucial supply chain items, the United States remains entangled in a… Read More

In 1787, not all 13 of the original colonies were enthusiastic about the proposed US Constitution. One of the sticking points was how the fledgling country was to “provide for the common defense,” a sentiment so prominent in the Preamble…. Read More