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Clint Lorance had been in charge of his platoon for only three days when he ordered his men to kill three Afghans stopped on a dirt road. A second-degree murder conviction and pardon followed. Today, Lorance is hailed as a hero by President Trump and conservative media. His troops are still haunted by his crimes....

So I'm watching Platoon on demand for about the 15th time. I saw it the first time in a theater when it first came out with a former army grunt. The fact that I was a snot nosed, 24 year-old white boy who'd never been in the service and he was a 50 year-old black engineer had nothing to do with it. He told me he used to go out on patrol with no food or water so he could carry more guns and ammo. He wasn't going down without a fight. Walking out, he told me "that's EXACTLY what...

A gun specialist and a trauma specialist gives us an answer by reproducing a scene from the 1986 war film, Platoon. With the assistance of a fast camera, we will get a good idea on the degree of harm. The M16 slug 5.56 (.223) is known for its “tumble” which is essentially what causes the harm. Nonetheless, while most lead center slugs do this after they enter the tissue, the M16's speed also adds to the injuries. From a distance of 30 feet, what will happen to the ballistic gel mannequin? What will be the impact to the imperative organs?...

Bergdahl's platoon mates Cody Full and Evan Buetow explain their decision to back Trump on 'Hannity'.

Critics said the M-14 was what happened when the U.S. government took many years and spent millions of dollars designing a rifle that was really just a glorified M-1 Garand from World War II. The M-14 was the U.S. military’s last battle rifle. It appeared in 1959—the contemporary of the Pentagon’s first jet fighters and ICBMs. With its heavy steel parts and walnut stock, the M-14 looked positively archaic. It was hardly a Space Age weapon. And it only endured as America’s battle rifle until 1970, when the M-16 completely superseded it—the shortest service record of any U.S. military rifle...

White House Administration official apologizes for tweets suggesting Bergdahl platoon 'psychopaths' Published June 05, 2014 FoxNews.com WASHINGTON – An Obama administration official apologized Thursday after suggesting on Twitter that Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl’s platoon might have been filled with “psychopaths” – in an apparent attempt to defend Bergdahl against criticism from his fellow soldiers. Brandon Friedman, deputy assistant secretary for public affairs at the Department of Housing and Urban Development, sent out a series of tweets Wednesday night questioning those soldiers trying to “smear” Bergdahl for abandoning his post in 2009. The first said: “Here's the thing about Bergdahl and the...

The Army deployed 67 infantry divisions for the Second World War. Each was like a small town with its own equivalents for community services plus the eight categories of combat arms. Units such as artillery, engineering, and heavy weapons engaged the enemy directly. Yet of all categories, the foot soldier faced the greatest hazard with the least chance of reward. Except for the Purple Heart and the coveted Combat Infantryman’s Badge, recognition was often missing because so few came through to testify to the valor of many. The infantryman faced the most dismal fate of all whose duty was uninterrupted...

BAGHDAD , April 6, 2009 – Hours on a route clearance mission can lead to many inside jokes. For soldiers of the 688th Engineer Company’s 2nd Platoon, their platoon leader provided the ammunition. Army 1st Lt. Richard Warehime is pinned with the Bronze Star Medal, which is given for bravery, acts of merit, or meritorious service, just minutes before his team departs on its next route clearance mission in Baghdad, February 2009. U.S. Army photo by Scott Flenner  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. The holder of three types of martial arts black belts, Army 1st Lt. Richard Warehime...

WASHINGTON, April 28, 2008 – Ida Hagg knows all about care packages; in fact, after 10 years of sending them out, she's pretty much an expert. "The troops appreciate beef jerky, sunflower seeds, movies, DVDs,” she said. “In the outlying areas, they appreciate receiving baby wipes and socks and hygiene products -- and all this is topped off with tons of cookies." Hagg first realized the importance of care packages when her own son was deployed to the Balkans, she explained during an “ASY Live” BlogTalkRadio interview. The online radio program is an extension of the Defense Department’s America...

FORWARD OPERATING BASE HAMMER, Iraq, Jan. 14, 2008 – An Iraqi policeman ran toward a group of soldiers as they approached the pump station outside Kassipa, near Salman Pak, Dec. 21. Bent over with his weapon clutched tightly, he appeared worried. Army Capt. Chris Pearson, mortar platoon leader, Headquarters Company, 1st Battalion, 15th Infantry Regiment, and Army Sgt. 1st Class Robert Lucas, the platoon sergeant, meet with Sheik Hamed, a local leader in Kassipa, a village near Salman Pak, Iraq, at his home Dec. 21, 2007. Photo by Spc. Ben Hutto, USA   (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available....

The Vietnam War film Platoon concludes: I think now, looking back, we did not fight the enemy, we fought ourselves - and the enemy was in us... The war is over for me now, but it will always be there - the rest of my days. As I am sure Elias will be - fighting with Barnes for what Rhah called possession of my soul ... There are times since I have felt like the child born of those two fathers... but be that as it may, those of us who did make it have an obligation to build again,...

BAGHDAD, Dec. 4, 2007 – When Sgt. Jason Stisser, of Troop O, 4th Squadron, 2nd Stryker Cavalry Regiment, found out he was coming back to Iraq, he quickly brushed up on his Arabic. That preparation has been benefiting his platoon in its current duties. Nashville, Tenn., native Army Sgt. Jason Stisser, Troop O, 4th Squadron, 2nd Stryker Cavalry Regiment, provides security along with Iraqi army troops during a clearing operation in Baghdad’s Karkh district. Photo by Sgt. 1st Class Kap Kim, USA  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. Based out of Forward Operating Base Prosperity in central Baghdad, the...

Hollywood film-maker Oliver Stone shocked the audience at the British Comedy Awards with a bad-taste gag about the Suffolk murders. The director of 'Platoon' and 'Born On The Fourth Of July' was attending the ceremony to present the best comedy film prize to Wallace and Gromit creator Nick Park. Taking the stage, he quipped: "It's great to be back in England. I feel like Jack The Ripper days are back. Nothing ever changes here." But his attempt at comedy was met with jeers and gasps of horror from the celebrity audience. Realising his joke had bombed, Stone sneered: "You're a...

The Estonian Minister of Defense Jaak Aaviksoo addresses the Estonian platoon (ESTPLA) on Camp Taji, Iraq June 8 during a visit by the minister to the base camp. Estonian soldiers in the ESTPLA are teamed with Soldiers from Troop B, 1st Squadron, 7th Cavalry Regiment and have gone on 148 patrols in Sab Al Bor, Iraq with their U.S. partners. Photo by Staff Sgt. Jon Cupp. CAMP TAJI — For more than six months, an Estonian platoon known as the “Stone Platoon,” has been working with troops from the 1st Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division conducting combat operations together...

U.S. Army Pfc. Sergey Progushev, a radio transmission operator with 2nd Platoon, Company B, 4th Battalion, 31st Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division, walks along a road during a patrol in the village of Rushdi Mulla, April 17, 2007. Hard Rock Platoon Keeps Streets Safe in Salman Pak Dedicated group find strength within each other during mission. By Spc. Ben Hutto Multi-National Division-Central FORWARD OPERATING BASE HAMMER, April 27, 2007 — Young infantrymen face the fear of stepping on the streets of Baghdad. But not alone, combat veteran noncommissioned officers take them under their wings. Soldiers...

BAGHDAD, Iraq, April 9, 2007 — Staff Sgt. Darin Morgan’s platoon had just snatched a suspected insurgent off the streets. They had done it without Apache gun ships hovering overhead and without Stryker vehicles blocking the roads. They did it without blowing open any doors or damaging any property. And they did it without firing a single shot. All of which, Morgan said, means they did it the right way. "We live here. If we have to go in hard, we still have to come back the next day. So if we can take an insurgent off the streets with...

SHARQOT — In a moment reminiscent of the first triumphant days of the Iraq war, American Soldiers walked through a crowd of cheering Iraqi children. On a dirt road in the village of Sharqot, the children whistled loudly for the Soldiers, then, remarkably, broke into applause. Surprised, 1st Lt. Michael E. Havey Jr. beamed at the cheering crowd. “That was pretty monumental,” said Havey, platoon leader of 3rd platoon, Battery A, 5th Battalion, 82nd Field Artillery Regiment. “(Before) they wouldn’t even give us a wave.” Territory for Soldiers of 5-82 FA, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, out of...

Gun Platoon Protects Convoys Soldiers of the 101st Airborne Division 'Gun Platoon' risk their lives to protect vital supply lines and to ensure that efforts of coalition soldiers serving in Operation Iraqi Freedom continue. By U.S. Army Capt. Lyn Graves 133rd Mobile Public Affairs Detachment KIRKUK, Iraq, July 10, 2006 -- Protecting the convoys that supply and equip the 101st Airborne Division is an important mission, and one group of soldiers understands that importance and experiences the reality of protecting convoys every day. Soldiers of the “Gun Platoon” A Company, 426th Brigade Support Battalion, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 101st...

MARINE CORPS RECRUIT DEPOT SAN DIEGO (March 31, 2006) -- General Robert Magnus, Assistant Commandant of the Marine Corps, visited Naval Medical Center San Diego March 22, for a look into the health and welfare of local injured Marines. The general took time from meetings with the commanding officer of NMCSD and Navy Medicine West to spend lunch with injured Marines and Navy corpsmen who assist them aboard NMCSD. “You all represent an awesome team, a tremendous asset, and I have to thank you all for what you do. Semper Fi,” said Gen. Magnus. Between the entrée and dessert, Gen....

HAWIJAH, Iraq, March 30, 2006 — More than 60 Iraqi soldiers, from three separate units, graduated platoon-level training in Hawijah this week, increasing the effectiveness of the Iraqi Army in the war on terror and taking another step toward autonomy in protecting citizens of the region. "The soldiers show up a little apprehensive, and maybe even a little intimidated,” “But, with the Bastogne soldiers encouraging them, their motivation and performance improve once they start catching on." U.S. Army Maj. Greg Bishop Bastogne soldiers from the U.S. Army's 1st Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division, currently stationed in northern Iraq, use...