Mike Drop

Iran says it took control of two U.S. attack drones over the Strait of Hormuz as the U.S. military finishes preparations for possible resumed major combat. MIKE DROP NEWSROOM | 05 NOVEMBER 2026 Iran's Revolutionary Guard says its navy's electronic warfare unit took control of two U.S. LUCAS one-way attack drones in the Hormuz area, part of the low-cost drone force the Pentagon has been ram...

Democrats won control of Congress, putting war funding for the Iran conflict on the table, while Israel warns that Iran is weighing chemical weapons. MIKE DROP NEWSROOM | 4 NOVEMBER 2026 Democrats won control of both the House and Senate on Tuesday. Current government funding runs out December 11, and the new Congress is sworn in January 3, with Democrats promising bills to end the Iran war. Meanw...

Iran fired a surface-to-air missile at a U.S. fighter jet over the Strait of Hormuz, and U.S. forces struck back at Qeshm Island on the eve of Election Day. MIKE DROP NEWSROOM | 3 NOVEMBER 2026 U.S. officials say Iran's Revolutionary Guard fired on an American jet Monday evening, and U.S. forces answered with a limited strike on Qeshm Island, the largest island in the Persian Gulf. Officials c...

Former Navy SEAL Justin Hughes, BUD/S Class 293, SEAL Team Five, JTAC, and BUD/S second phase instructor, informally known as a professional drowner, joins Mike Ritland. He’s also a self-taught oil painter, and Mike calls his work spectacular. They dig into second phase training and the pool comp test, where students get bloody noses, teeth ripped out, and end up throwing up underwater and blackin...

Iran's Supreme Leader has ordered an immediate response with no geographic limit to any new attack, and Mike Ritland lays out how he thinks about being ready at home. MIKE DROP NEWSROOM | 2 NOVEMBER 2026 Iran's Supreme Leader ordered the military to meet any attack with an "immediate, impactful and geographically unrestricted response," and to update its target bank so all kinds of...

Iran went after America's radars first, then hit hangars, warehouses and troop housing at 26 bases across the Middle East. MIKE DROP NEWSROOM | 1 NOVEMBER 2026 A new AP satellite analysis found more than 115 drone and missile strikes claimed by Iran or its militias damaged or destroyed structures at 26 bases and sites with U.S. equipment through August. Iran hit early-warning radars first, inc...

The Pentagon's top war planner has been fired and his case referred to the Justice Department after he was accused of leaking classified information about the Iran and Ukraine wars. MIKE DROP NEWSROOM | 30 OCTOBER 2026 Army Lt. Gen. Brett Sylvia, the Joint Staff's director for strategy, plans and policy, coordinated the options for the Iran campaign. A Pentagon official accused him of leak...

The U.S. has told Middle East allies to prepare for renewed strikes on Iran after the Nov. 3 elections, and for Iran and its proxies to hit back. MIKE DROP NEWSROOM | 29 OCTOBER 2026 Two diplomats told the AP that U.S. officials warned allies a new round of strikes could last several days, with Iranian retaliation expected against energy sites and critical infrastructure. The USS Theodore Roosevel...

Five Army bases are first in line for their own nuclear reactors as the Pentagon plans for every major U.S. base to run on its own for 90 days if the grid goes down. MIKE DROP NEWSROOM | 28 OCTOBER 2026 The Army has paired five companies with Fort Bragg, Fort Campbell, Fort Hood, Fort Benning and Fort Drum to build nuclear microreactors, a deal worth up to $2.2 billion, with the first reactor targ...

Airborne Ranger, FBI Hostage Rescue Team operator, sniper, breacher, and FBI Crisis Negotiation Unit veteran Kyle Vowinkel, author of the upcoming book Shaping Chaos , sits down with Mike Ritland to break down the night he was called in to talk to the most wanted man in America. With 400 officers on scene, a dozen flashbangs thrown into the boat, and nothing working, the call came down from the FB...

U.S. forces in the Middle East could launch a major new strike on Iran within 96 hours of a presidential order, and the target list now includes Iran's energy infrastructure. MIKE DROP NEWSROOM | 26 OCTOBER 2026 According to CNN, U.S. officials say forces already in the region could launch a bigger operation than past strikes within 96 hours of an order, with a target list covering energy infr...

Iran's armed forces chief says U.S. warships will never be allowed in the Persian Gulf, as a U.S. envoy says strikes on Iran could come this weekend. MIKE DROP NEWSROOM | 24 OCTOBER 2026 Iran's armed forces chief of staff, Ali Abdollahi, says Iran will not allow U.S. military ships in the Persian Gulf under any circumstances. Hours earlier, U.S. ambassador to Turkey Tom Barrack said a U.S....

Roughly 10,000 more U.S. sailors and Marines are headed for the Middle East with the USS Theodore Roosevelt and the USS Makin Island, as the buildup around Iran grows. MIKE DROP NEWSROOM | 21 OCTOBER 2026 The USS Theodore Roosevelt carrier strike group and the USS Makin Island amphibious group, with the 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit, are headed for the Middle East and expected by the end of Novem...

In this episode, retired U.S. Army veteran Tom Spooner discusses his 21 years in the 82nd Airborne, 7th Special Forces Group, and Delta Force, and how he was an alcoholic who still crushed it in the 82nd. He explains how a sponsor, a notebook, and a very different idea of God helped him get sober. He also covers the Gulf War, going through Delta selection right around 9/11, and the 2006 mortar str...

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth made an unannounced visit to an Israeli air base that hosts U.S. tankers and fighter jets, as the U.S. and Israel discuss resuming major combat operations against Iran. MIKE DROP NEWSROOM | 20 OCTOBER 2026 Hegseth met Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at Ovda Air Base in southern Israel, with UAE officials present, according to Axios. Mike Ritland breaks down...

Iran says the Strait of Hormuz reopens only if the U.S. lifts its naval blockade and leaves the region, as attacks on ships near the strait hit a record for the war. MIKE DROP NEWSROOM | 19 OCTOBER 2026 Iran's foreign minister laid out Tehran's conditions on Sunday: lift the U.S. blockade of Iranian ports, lift oil sanctions and end hostilities, while an Iranian army spokesman said the str...

Iran's new defense minister, a veteran of its missile program, says the U.S. will take casualties if strikes resume, as new details emerge about the Kuwait attack that killed six American troops. MIKE DROP NEWSROOM | 18 OCTOBER 2026 Iran's parliament confirmed Mehrdad Akhlaghi Ketabchi, a U.S.-sanctioned veteran of its missile program, as defense minister, and his first message was a threa...

Iran just attacked a record number of ships in the Strait of Hormuz while U.S. forces wait in range, and the Pentagon is openly talking up the MOAB for Pickaxe Mountain. MIKE DROP NEWSROOM | 17 OCTOBER 2026 Former Navy SEAL Mike Ritland breaks down the record week of attacks on ships near the Strait of Hormuz, the talk of using the MOAB (Massive Ordnance Air Blast) on Iran's Pickaxe Mountain,...

U.S. officials say the military has built plans to drop the 21,600-pound MOAB on Iran's nuclear sites if the war resumes, with Trump saying no strikes before the Nov. 3 midterms. MIKE DROP NEWSROOM | 16 OCTOBER 2026 Former Navy SEAL Mike Ritland breaks down the Pentagon's MOAB strike plans for Iran and whether hitting the same targets again will work this time. Mike asks the question the h...

U.S. Navy sailors pulled the crew off an Iranian-linked spy boat watching American warships in the Gulf of Oman, then attack helicopters fired missiles and set it ablaze. MIKE DROP NEWSROOM | 15 OCTOBER 2026 Former Navy SEAL Mike Ritland breaks down the strike on Iran's spy boat and why boarding it first was worth the risk. Mike has done boarding and maritime operations in the region, and he e...

President Trump says a decision on Iran is coming "very soon," the Pentagon has asked for new strike options, and Iran is reportedly fortifying its nuclear sites. MIKE DROP NEWSROOM | 14 OCTOBER 2026 Former Navy SEAL Mike Ritland breaks down what a second round of U.S. strikes on Iran would look like and who would be flying it. With the USS Abraham Lincoln gone, a fresh set of pilots and c...

MIKE DROP NEWSROOM | 13 OCTOBER 2026 The Houthis are warning of a "swift and painful response" if the U.S. joins Saudi strikes in Yemen, and American troops across the Gulf are already within reach. Former Navy SEAL Mike Ritland breaks down the Houthi threat and whether striking them now would put more U.S. troops in danger. Mike explains why the U.S. held off on Iran during the Iraq War,...

Roman historian and creator of The Roman Pattern , Jeremy Ryan Slate, breaks down the rise and fall of the Roman Empire and the troubling parallels to modern America. From corrupt political leaders and the execution of Rome's most capable generals to military decline, currency debasement, and failing institutions, Slate explains how one of history's most powerful empires weakened from with...

MIKE DROP NEWSROOM | 12 OCTOBER 2026 A Houthi strike on Riyadh’s airport killed an American, the attacks haven’t stopped, and President Trump says the U.S. “may” join Saudi Arabia’s fight. Former Navy SEAL Mike Ritland breaks down what the Houthis mean for the war with Iran and why the U.S. response has been so quiet. Mike doesn’t think the American was targeted for being American, but he says the...

MIKE DROP NEWSROOM | 11 OCTOBER 2026 The soldiers chosen for the Fort Hood shooter’s firing squad may have no way to opt out, and the Pentagon still wants the execution livestreamed. Former Navy SEAL Mike Ritland breaks down how military firing squads work and why he thinks this one should be volunteers only. The last U.S. military firing squad, in January 1945, was drawn from the condemned soldie...