South courtyard of the Harry S. Truman Building in Washington, D.C., headquarters of the United States Department of State, where Cuban spy Kendall Myers worked. Photo from Highsmith (Carol M.) Archive, Library of Congress. In 2009, the FBI arrested Walter Kendall Myers, a former State Department analyst, and his wife, Gwendolyn Steingraber Myers, for spying…
If you are reading this, odds are you take training in various martial disciplines fairly seriously. You, the reader, are most likely not only a gun owner but an enthusiastic one at that. Someone who bought a firearm and keeps it in a safe where it remains always you are not; quite the opposite, in…
Chris Hoare, left, with his father, Mike Hoare, and the biography he wrote on Mike Hoare. Durban, South Africa, June 2018. Photo by Roy Reed / CC BY-SA 4.0. Colonel Thomas Michael “Mad Mike” Hoare was a legendary mercenary whose daring exploits and charismatic leadership made him one of the most infamous soldiers of fortune…
Collage of various gummed labels often carried and distributed by OSS agents All warfare is based on deception.” — Sun Tzu, “The Art of War.” Operation Sauerkraut was a series of covert missions carried out by the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) during World War II, from July 1944 to at least March 1945. The…
I have spent a great deal of time in wilderness areas as a hiker, camper, backpacker, and hunter. This means leaving behind the conveniences of modern living, including readily available clean water. In the great outdoors, access to fresh water can be unpredictable, and untreated water sources can harbor harmful pathogens that pose significant health…
Adnan Khashoggi’s Mount Kenya Safari Club, from which the alliance derives its name. Attribution: Collectie Wereldmuseum (v/h Tropenmuseum), part of the National Museum of World Cultures / CC BY-SA 3.0. The Safari Club stands out as a unique and intriguing chapter in the shadowy world of international espionage. Formed in 1976, this covert alliance of…
By Michael Kurcina Mike credits his early military training as the one thing that kept him disciplined through the many years. He currently provides his expertise as an adviser for an agency within the DoD. Michael Kurcina subscribes to the Spotter Up way of life. “I will either find a way or I will make…
The iconic bullwhip and hat used by Indiana Jones. Photo by Gary Stewart / CC BY 3.0. During World War II, the Office of Strategic Services (OSS), a precursor to the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), recruited a unique group of individuals whose skills went beyond traditional espionage. Among them were American archaeologists, whose expertise in…
By Michael Kurcina Mike credits his early military training as the one thing that kept him disciplined through the many years. He currently provides his expertise as an adviser for an agency within the DoD. Michael Kurcina subscribes to the Spotter Up way of life. “I will either find a way or I will make…
By Michael Kurcina Mike credits his early military training as the one thing that kept him disciplined through the many years. He currently provides his expertise as an adviser for an agency within the DoD. Michael Kurcina subscribes to the Spotter Up way of life. “I will either find a way or I will make…