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Belgian Military Recruitment Surge Reflects Renewed National Confidence
Military recruitment across much of Western Europe is in decline as younger generations appeared increasingly detached from the idea of service, defence budgets languished and armed forces struggled to compete with the private sector for talent. Yet Belgium is now…
Tristan da Cunha: How Britain’s Paratroopers Pulled Off a Modern Miracle
Every so often an operation comes along that reminds the country precisely why the British soldier still commands admiration across the world. The extraordinary parachute mission to Tristan da Cunha — the world’s most remote inhabited island — was one…
Parliament security committee turns to Ukraine defence pillar and veterans support
The European Parliament’s security and defence committee has placed Ukraine’s military support and veterans policy on its 6–7 May agenda, with members examining the €60 billion defence pillar of the Ukraine Support Loan and EU assistance for Ukrainian veterans. The…
Grave Robbery in Brabant: 232 Soldiers’ Plaques Stolen in Night Raid
The theft of memory is rarely as stark, or as unsettling, as the desecration of a grave. Yet in the quiet Brabant town of Braine-l’Alleud, that is precisely what has occurred: not merely an act of petty criminality, but something…
Paying for Power: How Military Salaries Diverge Across the US, UK and Europe
A meaningful comparison of military salaries across the United States, the United Kingdom, and Europe must begin with a structural observation: all modern armed forces use broadly similar rank hierarchies—enlisted personnel (other ranks), non-commissioned officers (NCOs), junior officers, and senior…
Ukraine expands private air-defence network as companies join protection effort
Ukraine says 24 companies have joined a private air-defence initiative designed to protect industrial sites and employees from drone attacks, while keeping civilian teams under the control of the Air Force’s command structure. Ukraine’s Ministry of Defence says 24 companies…
Ypres Reveals Its Dead: Two Lost Officers of 1915 Finally Identified
The long silence of the Western Front has a way of keeping its secrets. Even now, more than a century after the guns fell quiet, the earth around Ypres still yields the dead — and, occasionally, their names. This week,…
Shoulder to Shoulder: Allied Forces Sharpen the Edge of Deterrence in Balikatan 2026
In the humid littorals of the western Pacific, where shifting tides carry both commerce and contest, a quiet but unmistakable message has been delivered. Exercise Balikatan 2026—already the most expansive iteration of the long-running US-Philippine military partnership—has demonstrated not merely…
Integration Without Illusion: Women in Europe’s Combat Roles
The integration of women into combat roles across Europe has proceeded not with a trumpet blast of revolution, but with the steady, sometimes grudging, rhythm of institutional change. What was once unthinkable—women in infantry units, armoured corps, even special forces—has…
Germany publishes first military strategy as Berlin sets out force-growth and reserve plans
Germany has published a new strategic framework for the Bundeswehr, combining its first military strategy with a force-growth plan, a revised reserve model and an administrative reform agenda, in what Berlin presents as a response to the deteriorating European security…