Michael's Dispatches

$1 Billion Telescope to Shoot Photos 10 Times Sharper Than Hubble’s

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Details: Published: Thursday, 23 August 2018 16:57

This is great, but our space research remains frustratingly primitive. We are like a bunch of monkeys with a few pocket monoculars.

Even this, plus the Hubble, Chandra, Spitzer, Compton (R.I.P.), everything up on the hill in Hawaii, plus all the hills around the world, plus all the Celestron PowerSeeker 70AZs ever built, are together little more than the equivalent of handing out a few monoculars to map the earth on horseback.

Oh, and the Webb space observatory, gasp, which project first began when, 1848? Will it ever get off the ground at this rate? We sink billions after billions with enormous delays into single-use telescopes.

RAVENS CHALLENGE: Counter-Drone Technology to be demonstrated in Thailand: US Military Coming -- American firms staying home

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Details: Published: Friday, 17 August 2018 22:44

Afghanistan: British MQ-9 Reaper UAV Delivering to Taliban
Note: the author is aware that the word “drone” has been expanded by popular usage to include any unmanned vehicle whether remotely or autonomously guided.

“Drone” attacks are not new. From my upcoming book, THE BOMB BOYS:

“Chinese described using the fire pheasant about 1,000 years ago. The idea was to capture pheasants in enemy terrain and, when needed, attach incendiaries to the pheasants then release them to fly home.”

Canada Mass shooting: name of killer not yet released -- and for good reason: OODA Loop

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Details: Published: Saturday, 11 August 2018 18:01

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As per normal, some folks are upset that law enforcement has not immediately announced the name, and we all know the reasons why everyone wants to know the name and where the gun came from.
You will sometimes hear military and intelligence people using the term OODA Loop. Increasingly, my friends in law enforcement use the same term.

For those who never heard of OODA, great idea to study up. This is worth the time to web search and learn. Applications are endless.

Driving Mrs. Feinstein: Crucial, unpublished information about Feinstein’s 20-year spy

12 Comments

Details: Published: Wednesday, 08 August 2018 02:30

The Chinese wage three types of war: Economic, Information, and Kinetic.

Our team is neck deep studying and countering the information war.

Daily Caller reports that Senator Dianne Feinstein's Chinese spy, Russell Lowe, went to work for a Comfort Women (CW) organization when he left her. Feinstein has been a primary CW proponent.

Green Beret final Training Test: "It will look and sound like a war in 19 NC counties. It's supposed to"

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Details: Published: Sunday, 05 August 2018 15:46

This was our final test to earn entry into Special Forces (Green Berets). It's called Robin Sage.

The short version is that your 12 man A-Team receives a mission. The team plans the mission which requires a great deal of thinking and finally memorization of details of the plan. The team then conducts a "brief back" to the commander and other involved commanders and parties.

For Robin Sage, the mission is to parachute into the fictitious country of "Pineland." (North Carolina has a lot of pine trees.)

British Army Buddies: The Tragic Suicides of Kevin Williams and John Paul Finnigan

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Details: Published: Thursday, 21 June 2018 00:40

Kevin Williams, left, and John Paul Finnigan were battle buddies in Iraq

They saw a lot of combat. I was with them for some of it. Great Soldiers. Swift and Bold was the moto of their unit, the excellent 2-Rifles.

I do not know who made the photograph of Kevin. I made the photograph of John after a big firefight in which about 30 enemy were killed. The unit later was accused of war crimes for that firefight but that was a lie. I witnessed zero war crimes. Just a big shootout with thousands of bullets coming and going.

The firefight.

Combat, Cannibals, and other True Campfire Stories

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Details: Published: Tuesday, 29 May 2018 09:00

BookX – The Michael Yon Campfire Series

I am an author, photographer, war correspondent, and former cannibal hunter. Stick with me, and you might find this to be the most interesting fundraiser you’ve ever seen. The best parts are near the end.

According to Los Angeles Times, my simple website was once one of the busiest in the world. This success was accomplished with only a laptop, camera, and willingness to swim deeper into war than practically any correspondent.

According to the New York Times,

“…[Michael Yon] has spent most of the last three years in Iraq, writing prolifically and graphically, and racking up more time embedded with combat units than any other journalist, according to the United States military. He has been shot at, buffeted by explosions and seen more people maimed — fighters and civilians, adults and children — than he can count.”

I was just getting started when that article came out in 2008. The ‘best’ is yet to come. Readers who invested in me always got their money’s worth.

Scott Helvenston was lost in Iraq on 31 March 2004

108 Comments

Details: Published: Sunday, 01 April 2018 22:39

We attended Winter Haven High School together and sometimes worked out together and were on the same football team.

Scott went on to become the youngest Navy SEAL ever, at just 17. The same age that some students today say, "We are just kids, leave us alone." At 17, Scott was no kid. He was a man. And a SEAL.

Censorship: Facebook Strikes Again, in Favor of North Koreans

16 Comments

Details: Published: Wednesday, 07 March 2018 15:35

If it were not happening to me so often, all these complaints might seem like exaggeration. They are not exaggeration. Of the recent about 120 days, my account has been blocked for 60 days. Why? This earned the first 30-day Facebook suspension:

Facebook Blocked my Account, Again

33 Comments

Details: Published: Friday, 02 March 2018 14:17

Do not dare say any truth about Chong Dae Hyup on Facebook. Facebook blocked my account again, for 30 days, for this simple sentence: “Koreans sure are easy to fool. They even think Chong Dae Hyup is on their side.”

I researched Chong Dae Hyup (CDH) in Korea. Went to their headquarters, conducted long intervews with members there and on the Korean streets and in California. CDH is a straight up communist organization who works for North Korea and does bidding for China. One of their members already tried to assassinate our Ambassador.

Morgan Freeman Exposed

26 Comments

Details: Published: Tuesday, 09 January 2018 19:45

Morgan Freeman and National Geographic Caught in Tall Tales

In the first minute of Season 1, Episode 1, Freeman launches with:

“When I was 18, I joined the Air Force. And I did well enough on my tests to qualify as an electronics countermeasures operator. But, I was told I couldn’t take that job. Apparently, no black man could fly with the Strategic Air Command.”

Freeman joined the Air Force in 1955, the same year Rosa Parks courageously refused to vacate her seat in the colored section of a bus, to a white person. The white section was full. There were special building entrances for colored folk, waiting rooms, and separate schools for children. In 1955, three blacks were lynched.

Morgan Freeman served his country honorably during a period of severe racism in the United States.

Reality check: Freeman was born in 1937.

The first black fighter pilots entered U.S. Army Air Corps flight school in 1941. The Airmen served valiantly in Europe in World War II and helped end segregation. They became the famous The Tuskegee Airmen.

Afghanistan: Trump Going in Circles

31 Comments

Details: Published: Thursday, 24 August 2017 02:37

Helmand Province, Afghanistan. (cr. Michael Yon)

President Trump thinks he can solve the AfPak dilemma. In his speech, Trump talked about winning. There is no winning to be had beyond safeguarding our national interests.

This is all a distraction from a gigantic problem: China. On our scale of concern, Afghanistan is microscopic by comparison to China and other challenges, yet on our scale of priorities, the price of nation building in Afghanistan dwarfs the price of securing our borders.

Afghanistan is at the periphery of our influence bubble. Pluto. Our footprint is a speck in the Asian beyond. The President called on Pakistan and India to do their parts. How often we have heard this.

Iraq: How I got the Ammo to shoot at the al Qaeda Guy

24 Comments

Details: Published: Thursday, 15 June 2017 16:42

15 June 2017

Yesterday, a busy Facebook page published some of my work. This sparked lively conversation. Some Soldiers cued me in. The story revolved around an intense, close firefight in Mosul that ended with hand-to-hand combat and my finding an empty M-4 rifle, loading it and firing.

Pardon the language, but in the comments a reader named Mitchell Spillman asked:
"Want to explain to me how the fuck the journalist reloaded a rifle? Whered he pull the mag from, his ass?"

Thailand: Rivers of Tears Flow Tonight

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Details: Published: Thursday, 13 October 2016 15:32

13 October 2016

Kingdom of Thailand: The body of His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej, has passed away. His Loving Soul is with us now.

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With sad heart that I write these words. I was told by sources close to His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej that he passed away one hour ago, at about 1415 Thailand time. As I write these words, it has not yet been announced, but when you read these words, it will have been officially announced.

Danger Close as E-Book

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Details: Published: Tuesday, 11 October 2016 14:12

My book Danger Close is now Available as E-book -- please buy it:

4th Edition coverAMZb

ไมเคิล ยอน นักข่าวอิสระชาวสหรัฐชี้ นักข่าวต่างชาติและภรรยา มีเจตนาไม่หวังดีต่อประเทศไทย

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Details: Published: Friday, 22 July 2016 19:45

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ไมเคิล ยอน เป็นนักเขียนชาวอเมริกันและช่างภาพการสงคราม เขาเคยทำงานอยู่ในกองกำลังพิเศษ กรีนแบเร็ต ในช่วงต้นทศวรรษที่ 1980 ก่อนจะกลายเป็นนักเขียนเกี่ยวกับข่าวสงคราม ไมเคิล ยอนถือเป็นสื่อมวลชนที่สำคัญคนหนึ่ง ที่เคยเป็นพยานอยู่ในเหตุการณ์ ก่อการร้ายชายชุดดำ ในบริเวณแยกราชประสงค์ กรุงเทพมหานคร ปี พ.ศ.2553

ล่าสุด ไมเคิล ยอนได้เปิดเผยถึง กรณี ของ ภรรยาชาวไทยของนาย แอนดูร์ แมคเกรเกอร์ มาแชล ซึ่งพึ่งถูกจับกุม ข้อหา ตัดต่อภาพใส่ร้ายสถาบันฯ เมื่อเช้าวันที่ 22 กรกฎาคม 2559 ที่ผ่านมา โดย นาย ไมเคิล ยอน ได้ระบุ ลงในเฟสบุ๊คส่วนตัว Michael Yon โดยระบุว่า ตัวภรรยาและนาย แอนดูร์ แมคเกรเกอร์ มาแชล สามีของเธอ เคยพยายามตามรังควานข่มขู่ นาย ไมเคิล ยอน ในกรณี ที่ นาย ไมเคิล ยอน เขียนข่าวนำเสนอ เกี่ยวกับชายชุดดำ และการ พยายามก่อการร้ายของกลุ่มหวังเปลี่ยนแปลงทางการเมืองในประเทศไทย นายไมเคิลยอน ยังระบุอีกว่า

Crucial Declassified Document

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Details: Published: Tuesday, 19 July 2016 02:47

Newly released declassified Top Secret document.

I read it several times. Generally speaking, we already knew of Saudi culpability in the 9/11 attacks. After all, 15 of 19 hijackers were Saudi, and there remains mountains of other evidence.

These 28 pages contain many specifics ranging from Florida and across the country to California to Oregon. These pages should be of great interest to journalists, and to people who live in neighborhoods where some of these mosques exist, etc.

911 Call: Former Ambassador Kristie Kenney back in Thailand

3 Comments

Details: Published: Thursday, 14 July 2016 00:52

13 July 2016

by Michael Yon

911: “What is your Emergency?”

Caller: "She's back!"

911: "Who is back?"

American Unrest: Officers Shot, Killed in Dallas

15 Comments

Details: Published: Friday, 08 July 2016 14:37

8 July 2016

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Many veterans of Iraq, Afghanistan, Vietnam, and other such wars, likely view this news cycle through a different glass.
Using Iraq as example, after things truly began to spin out of control in 2004, many people were fighting for vastly different reasons. The situation was difficult to track even for dedicated analysts. Just who was fighting whom, and for what reasons, often was a great mystery even to our intelligence people.

Amid the chaos of unstructured conflict and war, the always-there lunatic fringe is uncorked. Suddenly the actions of a serial killer look like the work of an insurgent or group. Criminality skyrockets, and what would earlier have been seen as just a bank robbery looks like part of a movement.