This Week in U.S. Military History: February 17th, 2026–February 23rd, 2026 traces a sweeping arc from nineteenth-century borderlands to the deserts of the Persian Gulf. Listeners move from the Adams–Onís Treaty that brought Florida into the United States orbit, through desperate stands at the Alamo and Buena Vista, to the fall of Columbia and Wilmington as the Civil War’s grip tightens. The story then shifts to the Pacific, where carrier raids smash Truk Lagoon and Marines fight their way onto Iwo Jima and raise the flag on Mount Suribachi.

Across the same seven days, the episode steps back to the home front as Executive Order 9066 reshapes lives under wartime suspicion, then looks upward as Marine aviator John Glenn orbits the Earth and outward as coalition armored columns surge across Kuwait and Iraq in Desert Storm. Throughout, listeners hear how leadership, technology, geography, and hard moral choices intersect in a single week on the calendar. This Week in U.S. Military History is the Tuesday feature of Dispatch: U.S. Military History Magazine, developed by Trackpads.com.

Beyond the Call: Brigadier General Frederick Walker Castle at the Christmas Eve Air Raids over Germany, 1944 traces the final mission of an American bomber commander during World War Two, from the frozen skies above the Ardennes to a burning Fortress falling over Belgium. Listeners hear the story of a massive bomber formation sent to shield troops in the Battle of the Bulge, the engine failure that left Castle’s aircraft exposed, and his decision to hold the bombs and stay at the controls so his crew could escape. The episode weaves combat narrative with reflections on duty, restraint, and selfless leadership. Beyond the Call is the Monday feature of Dispatch: U.S. Military History Magazine, and the podcast is developed by Trackpads.com.

Arsenal: M109 Self-Propelled Howitzer in Desert Storm, 1991 follows tracked artillery batteries across the deserts of Kuwait and Iraq in the Persian Gulf War, showing how they moved, fired, and survived alongside armored divisions. Listeners hear the M109 in action on the gun line, the problem it was built to solve for fast moving Cold War armies, the story of its design and evolution into variants like Paladin, and the daily realities of crews living inside a steel box that bucks under recoil. The episode traces its baptism of fire, strengths and weaknesses in combat, and the legacy that lives on in museums, memorials, and modern artillery doctrine. Arsenal is the Friday feature of Dispatch: U.S. Military History Magazine, and the podcast is developed by Trackpads.com.

Headline Wednesday: Black Hawk Down, Somalia 1993 follows the October raid over Mogadishu’s Bakara Market, where a quick snatch mission turned into a long urban survival fight around two fallen Black Hawks. From Rangers sprinting to blocking positions to Delta operators pushing through walled compounds, the episode traces how a raid built on speed and surprise collided with dense streets, rising militia fire, and helicopters shot from the sky. Headline Wednesday is the Wednesday feature of Dispatch: U.S. Military History Magazine, developed by Trackpads.com.

Across the episode, you hear the full arc of the fight: the humanitarian mission that hardened into a manhunt, the convoys lost in alleyways, the crash-site perimeters that refused to fall, and the armored relief column that finally broke through. We follow small-unit choices under fire and the strategic shock that followed in Washington, showing how one day in Mogadishu reshaped thinking about urban combat and peace enforcement. Use this episode as a focused refresher for your own reading, study, or staff-ride preparation, and pair it with the Dispatch Audio Editions at dispatch.trackpads.com for more battles told this way.

This Week in U.S. Military History: February 10th, 2026–February 16th, 2026 follows a single winter week on the calendar from Tripoli Harbor to Havana, Dresden, Corregidor, and the halls of Congress. Listeners move from Stephen Decatur’s night raid to destroy the captured frigate Philadelphia and the bitter Civil War struggle for Fort Donelson to the sudden loss of USS Maine in Havana Harbor and the charged road to the Spanish-American War. Along the way, Abraham Lincoln’s birthday on the frontier frames what it means for a civilian president to learn the hard trade of command.

The story then shifts into the global crises of the twentieth century, with the Yalta conference shaping Allied victory and the postwar map, bombers turning Dresden into a symbol of strategic bombing’s terrible power, and paratroopers and amphibious forces fighting to recapture Corregidor in Manila Bay. The week closes with the Twenty-fifth Amendment, where quiet constitutional language secures continuity of command in the nuclear age. Together, the narrative shows how a single run of February dates can hold daring raids, fiery debates, heavy losses, and careful safeguards for those who carry the burden of national defense.

Beyond the Call: Private First Class Dirk John Cornelius Vlug at Limon, Leyte, 1944 follows an infantryman in World War II who steps alone onto a narrow Philippine road to confront an oncoming column of enemy tanks, turning a likely breakthrough into a line of burning wrecks. This episode presents a vivid narrative of the action, sets it within the brutal Ormoc corridor fighting on Leyte, and reflects on how Vlug’s initiative, sense of responsibility, and calm under fire shaped the outcome for his battalion. Beyond the Call is the Monday feature of Dispatch: U.S. Military History Magazine, and the podcast is developed by Trackpads.com.

Arsenal: Ohio-class SSBNs in the Sea-Based Nuclear Triad, Cold War and Beyond follows the silent patrols of United States ballistic missile submarines in Cold War oceans and later post Cold War deterrent patrols, where deep water and endless nights replace traditional battlefields. Listeners hear the Ohio class in action on North Atlantic and Pacific patrols, the strategic problem that drove its creation, how designers built a huge yet quiet hull around Trident missiles, and what daily life feels like for Blue and Gold crews on months long missions. The episode traces their deterrent record, the shift to guided missile roles, and their legacy as Columbia class boats arrive. Arsenal is the Friday feature of Dispatch: U.S. Military History Magazine, and the podcast is developed by Trackpads.com.

Headline Wednesday: Abrams vs T-72 in Desert Storm, Gulf War follows the M1 Abrams’ combat debut as it drives into the blacked-out Kuwaiti desert and meets Soviet-designed armor for the first time. This episode takes you from the tank commander’s view through thermal sights to the wider campaign plan that depended on American armor punching through Iraqi lines and shattering Republican Guard formations. Headline Wednesday is the Wednesday feature of Dispatch: U.S. Military History Magazine, and the series is developed by Trackpads.com to bring pivotal moments of United States military history to life in clear, concrete detail.

Across the episode, you follow the full arc of the fight: how the Abrams was built and trained for a Cold War battlefield, how it adapted to sand, heat, and burning oil, and how its crews met T-72s dug in across the desert. You hear the sequence of desert duels, the turning power of thermal sights and disciplined gunnery, and the combined arms web that made Iraqi counterattacks so costly. The story closes with the aftermath and lessons, offering listeners a crisp refresher they can use for personal study, classroom work, or staff ride preparation wherever modern armored warfare is discussed.

This Week in U.S. Military History: February 3rd, 2026–February 9th, 2026 follows a week where alliances are signed, rivers and islands are seized, and entire theaters of war turn on hard choices and harder fighting. Listeners move from the Treaty of Alliance with France and the Union capture of Fort Henry to the amphibious assault on Roanoke Island and the founding of the USO, then into the icy North Atlantic with the Dorchester and the jungle and surf of Guadalcanal and Manila.

This narrative episode also traces decisions made far from the front lines, from the Yalta Conference to the creation of United States Africa Command, and sets them alongside the street fighting in Hue and the attack on Pleiku to show how policy, logistics, and human courage intertwine. This Week in U.S. Military History is the Tuesday feature of Dispatch: U.S. Military History Magazine, developed by Trackpads.com, offering a guided walk through the week’s battles, turning points, and acts of service and how they fit into the larger story of American arms.

Beyond the Call: Private First Class Thomas Eugene Atkins at the Villa Verde Trail, Luzon, 1945 follows a lone infantryman holding a shattered ridge against repeated night assaults during the Pacific war, blending front-line tension with the human story of Gene from Campobello, South Carolina. Listeners hear how his quiet leadership, endurance under fire, and refusal to abandon his post shaped the battle and protected his company. Beyond the Call is the Monday feature of Dispatch: U.S. Military History Magazine, and the podcast is developed by Trackpads.com, bringing Medal of Honor stories to life in vivid, accessible detail.