Much of the doctrinal literature concerning Army special operations is restricted from public disclosure, often for good reasons and sometimes for reasons that are hard to understand.
But one new special operations manual has been approved for unrestricted public disclosure.
As the title indicates, “Airdrop of Supplies and Equipment: Rigging Loads for Special Operations” (FM 4.20-142, September 2007) deals with the proper packaging of military supplies for aerial delivery via parachute. A copy is available here (in a very large 28 MB PDF file).
Also on the subject of new military publications, the Congressional Research Service updated its report “Defense: FY2008 Authorization and Appropriations” on September 28, 2007.
With summer 2025 in the rearview mirror, we’re taking a look back to see how federal actions impacted heat preparedness and response on the ground, what’s still changing, and what the road ahead looks like for heat resilience.
Satellite imagery of RAF Lakenheath reveals new construction of a security perimeter around ten protective aircraft shelters in the designated nuclear area, the latest measure in a series of upgrades as the base prepares for the ability to store U.S. nuclear weapons.
It will take consistent leadership and action to navigate the complex dangers in the region and to avoid what many analysts considered to be an increasingly possible outcome, a nuclear conflict in East Asia.
Getting into a shutdown is the easy part, getting out is much harder. Both sides will be looking to pin responsibility on each other, and the court of public opinion will have a major role to play as to who has the most leverage for getting us out.