“COME AND FIGHT ME!” THE CULTURE AND LEGACY OF UNITED STATES MARINES By W. Thomas Smith Jr. AS WE NEAR THE 245TH BIRTHDAY OF MY MARINE CORPS (about 12 days from now), I was thinking about why annual November 10 birthday celebrations and…
By Sheriff Leon Lott We are in the midst of the holiday season when most of us more-deeply embrace that which we all want: “Peace on earth; good will toward men.” Unfortunately, those among us with more selfish, self-serving aims will capitalize…
By W. Thomas Smith Jr. Countless law enforcement agencies have achieved fame and notoriety over the previous 100 years. High profile criminal cases have led to the renown of many, as have the sheer number of police departments, sheriff’s offices and other…
COMMEMORATING NATIONAL AIRBORNE DAY, AUGUST 16, 1940-2018 By W. Thomas Smith Jr. When I attended jump school nearly 40 years ago, there was a saying among non-paratroopers that ground week separated the men from the boys. Tower week separated the fools from…
Five questions for RCSD’s Elder Abuse Awareness Team director W. Thomas Smith Jr. By Chris Carter Writer, editor, and military analyst W. Thomas Smith Jr. [pictured above] has long-been recognized as an expert in infantry combat, special operations, and counterterrorism. But his…
Commentary by Bill Connor Recently my 17-year-old son and I enjoyed a truly great movie: 12 STRONG, which was the story of the first U.S. Army Special Forces team to deploy inside Afghanistan in the wake of the 9/11 attacks. Having served in…
By SHERIFF LEON LOTT The world has changed. Nowhere is this more evident than in this modern culture which has given rise to mass-shootings like the recent horrific attack at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. As is always predictable,…
By Sheriff Leon Lott A recent article my department had written and published in POLICEONE.com again reiterated the absolute necessity of front-of-the-pipeline conditioning training for those who are the most-susceptible to post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD); what the military services had in previous…
By COL Bill Connor The top enlisted member of the U.S. Army, Sergeant Major John Wayne Troxel, recently posted on Facebook that remaining members of ISIS had two options: “Surrender or die.” He further explained: “If they surrender, we will safeguard them to their…
