<ul class="summary-list"><li>In honor of US Navy Chief Petty Officer <keyword id="2467560" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Charles-Keating">Charles Keating</keyword> IV, the US special operations community created a "workout of the day."</li><li>Keating, a 31-year-old <keyword id="640165" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Navy-SEAL">Navy SEAL</keyword>, was killed battling <keyword id="174501" type="COMPANY" weightage="60" keywordseo="ISIS">ISIS</keyword> fighters in Iraq on May 3, 2016.</li><li>Service members who took part in the exercise in Kuwait shared non-alcoholic "near" beer, the only authorized drink resembling the alcoholic beverage in the country, from an emptied ammunition can.</li><li>Here's what the "Chuck Heavy" exercise consists of.</li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/?hprecirc-bullet">Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories</a>.</li></ul><p>Members of the US Special Operations Joint Task Force stationed in Kuwait conducted a training session dubbed "Chuck Heavy" in honor of a US Navy SEAL who was killed four years ago this week during a firefight with ISIS fighters in Iraq.</p><p>US Navy Chief Petty Officer Charles Keating IV, 31, was a member of a quick-reaction force responding to a request for assistance from US advisers who were assisting local Kurdish peshmerga forces in Tel Askuf, about 20 miles north of what was an ISIS-held city of Mosul.</p><p>After around 120 ISIS fighters and 20 armored vehicles assaulted the town, a group of Navy SEALs were called in to repel the advance. The ensuing battle was so fierce that aerial support was also dispatched — A-10s, F-15s, F-16s, B-52s, and drones were all scrambled to assist the ground forces.</p><p>Keating, who was on the rooftop of a building picking off the militants, was fatally shot by small-arms fire.</p><p>"This was a large fight, there's [no] question about it," Col. Steve Warren, a Defense Department spokesman, said at the time.</p><p><div type="image" title="charles keating push up" height="714" width="1428" msid="75647435" hostid="261"></div></p><p>Keating was the leading petty officer of the SEAL's sniper and reconnaissance training cell in the West Coast of the US, according a military press report.</p><p>"Everybody loved Chuck," Lt. Cmdr. Jeff Gardner, an executive officer for the Special Operations Joint Task Force, said. "There's not a person that didn't love him, and he always had this huge smile on his face. He was just a fun guy that everyone wanted to be around."</p><p>In honor of Keating, the special operations community in 2016 created a new "workout of the day" (WOD), a training session consisting of "functional exercises for the type of role they undertake."</p><p>At the completion of the exercise in Kuwait, service members shared non-alcoholic "near" beer, the only authorized drink resembling the alcoholic beverage in the country, from an emptied ammunition can.</p><h2>Here's what the "Chuck Heavy" consists of:</h2><ol><li>1-mile run</li><li>100 push-ups</li><li>1-mile run</li><li>100 thrusters using equipment or air squats</li><li>1-mile run</li></ol>Read the original article on <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/chuck-heavy-workout-navy-seal-charles-keating-2020-5">Business Insider</a>

US troops completed this brutal workout and shared fake beer in honor of this Navy SEAL — here's what the 'Chuck Heavy' exercise looks like

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5a32f5874aa6b580708b4aa9-2000/gettyimages-79791869.jpg" border="0" alt="John McCain" data-mce-source="Joshua Lott/Getty Images" data-mce-caption="John McCain." /><p class="source"><span>Joshua Lott/Getty Images</span></p><p class="caption">John McCain.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><ul><li><strong>Republican Sen. John McCain died Saturday at the age of 81.</strong></li><li><strong>McCain suffered from an aggressive form of brain cancer.</strong></li></ul><hr /><p><br />Republican Sen. John McCain, an internationally renowned Vietnam War hero who served for 30 years in the Senate representing Arizona, died Saturday due to complications stemming from brain cancer.</p><p>His office said in a statement that his wife Cindy McCain and their family were alongside him when he died.</p><p>"At his death, he had served the United States of America faithfully for sixty years," his office said.</p><p>McCain, 81, was a part of many of the past three decades' most significant political moments. He was the 2008 Republican presidential nominee in a contest he lost to President Barack Obama. He also sought the presidency in 2000, mounting a primary campaign against President George W. Bush.</p><p>A graduate of the Naval Academy, the Arizona Republican followed both his father and grandfather, who were four-star admirals, into the US Navy, where he carried out airstrike missions.</p><p>During a 1967 bombing run over Hanoi, McCain's plane was shot down, nearly killing him. He was captured by North Vietnamese forces and spent six years as a prisoner of war, suffering brutal beatings at the hands of his captors, which left him with lifelong physical ailments.</p><p>He quickly lost 50 pounds and saw his hair turn white. His captors did not treat his injuries from the plane crash.</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5a3447c1b0bcd50f048b5652-2000/rtr1kla.jpg" border="0" alt="john mccain ss" data-mce-source="Reuters" data-mce-caption="FILE PHOTO 26OCT67 - John McCain is pulled out of a Hanoi lake by a mix of North Vietnamese Army (NVA) and Vietnamese citizens in this October, 1967 file photo. McCain, currently a Republican presidential candidate, was shot down by a Surface-to-Air Missile (SAM) and had broken both arms and his right knee upon ejection, losing consciousness until he hit the water." /><p class="source"><span>Reuters</span></p><p class="caption">John McCain is pulled out of a Hanoi lake by a mix of North Vietnamese Army (NVA) and Vietnamese citizens in October, 1967. McCain was shot down by a Surface-to-Air Missile and had broken both arms and his right knee upon ejection, losing consciousness until he hit the water.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p>Because his father was named commander of US forces in Vietnam that same year, the North Vietnamese offered to release McCain early. He refused unless every prisoner of war taken before him was also released. He was soon placed in solitary confinement, where he would remain for the next two years. He was not released until March of 1973.</p><p>Upon returning to the US, McCain was awarded a number of military medals, including two Purple Hearts. He soon set his sights on <keyword id="6358883" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="politics">politics</keyword> and ran for an Arizona congressional seat in 1982, winning a tough primary and subsequently the general election.</p><p>In 1986, he ran for the Senate seat vacated by longtime Republican Sen. Barry Goldwater, who was the Republican presidential nominee in 1964. He won that election as well, and he has been reelected to the Senate for five additional terms - most recently in 2016.</p><p>Early in his Senate career, McCain became embroiled in the "Keating Five" scandal. McCain was one of five senators who received campaign contributions from Charles Keating Jr. and was later asked by Keating to prevent the government from seizing his Lincoln Savings and Loan Association.</p><p>McCain met twice with regulators to discuss the government investigation. He later returned the donations and admitted the appearance of it was wrong. The episode led McCain to become a leader on campaign finance reform, which included the passage of the McCain-Feingold Act.</p><p>During his 2000 campaign for president, the press became enthralled with the candidate who won over a reputation as a "maverick," rebuffing his party's conservative orthodoxy at the time. He famously traveled on a bus called the "Straight Talk Express" during his 2000 bid.</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5a3449294aa6b527008b566e-2000/rtxa9mv.jpg" border="0" alt="john mccain ss" data-mce-source="Jessica Rinaldi/Reuters" data-mce-caption="U.S. Republican presidential nominee Senator John McCain (R-AZ) greets his running mate, vice presidential nominee Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, at his election night rally in Phoenix November 4, 2008." /><p class="source"><span>Jessica Rinaldi/Reuters</span></p><p class="caption">U.S. Republican presidential nominee Senator John McCain (R-AZ) greets his running mate, vice presidential nominee Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, at his election night rally in Phoenix November 4, 2008.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p>In 2008, McCain fared far better. He won the Republican presidential nomination but ultimately was defeated by Obama in a year in which he faced defending an unpopular war in Iraq and a faltering economy under the Bush administration. McCain selected then-Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as his running mate, a move criticized by some as having opened the floodgates for the Republican Party to be infiltrated by a number of far-right candidates who went on to be elected.</p><p>After the 2008 campaign, McCain returned to the Senate, his stature even more prominent, leading on national security and military issues.</p><p>He was diagnosed with brain cancer early in his sixth term. He battled through it, returning to Congress this past summer. In perhaps his last signature political moment, McCain cast a <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/john-mccain-health-care-vote-video-breakdown-2017-7" target="_blank" rel="noopener">dramatic vote against his party to stop the repeal of Obamacare</a>, coming to the floor in the middle of the vote before pausing and pointing his right thumb down. The moment highlighted a contentious relationship between the senator and President Donald Trump.</p><p>The type of brain tumor with which he was afflicted, glioblastoma, is particularly aggressive and difficult to treat. He had been receiving chemotherapy, but his family announced in August that he would no longer seek medical treatment.</p><p>McCain is survived by his seven children and his second wife, Cindy, whom he married in 1980 following a 15-year marriage to Carol Shepp.</p><p>Most famous among his children is Meghan, who is a prominent conservative pundit and cohost of ABC's "The View." During a December <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/joe-biden-comforts-meghan-mccain-john-mccain-cancer-2017-12" target="_blank" rel="noopener">episode</a>, former Vice President Joe Biden consoled her and said that if "anybody" could overcome that cancer, it was her father.</p><p>"Your dad is one of my best friends," he said.</p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/what-happens-to-north-korea-defector-2018-8">A North Korean defector's harrowing story of escape</a></h3>        <div>            <iframe class="bijwplayerclass" data-player="jwplayer" src="https://content.jwplatform.com/players/DihAKWFg-CEZHWCBG.html" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" scrolling="auto" style="margin:0px;" allowfullscreen=""></iframe><script>function receiveMessage(event){ console.log(event.data.fullscreen); Android.fullscreen(event.data.fullscreen); }window.addEventListener("message", receiveMessage, false);</script>        </div>    </div>

John McCain, war hero and longtime senator, dead at 81

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/572a5ef89105842a008c0d71-2400-1800/keat.jpg" alt="Charlie Keating IV" data-mce-source="US Navy Photo" data-mce-caption="Special Warfare Operator 1st Class Charles Keating IV, 31, of San Diego." /><p class="source"><span>US Navy Photo</span></p><p class="caption">Special Warfare Operator 1st Class Charles Keating IV, 31, of San Diego.</p></div><p></p></div></div>New details about the death of <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/the-navy-seal-killed-in-iraq-has-been-identified-2016-5" target="_blank">Charlie Keating IV</a>, the Navy SEAL killed by ISIS fire in Iraq on Tuesday, have come to light after the cessation of fighting near Tel Askuf, a town just north of ISIS' Iraqi capital of Mosul.</p><p>US Army Col Steve Warren, the leader of Operation Inherent Resolve, the US-led mission to degrade and destroy ISIS, told reporters at the Pentagon that Keating was part of the quick reaction force (QRF) that responded to a request for help from a small group of US forces approximately two miles away from the front lines between Peshmerga and ISIS forces.</p><p>According to Warren, a team of fewer than a dozen US advise-and-assist operatives in Tel Askuf called for help after 120 or so ISIS militants poured into the area using around 20 "technicals," or commercial vehicles used to transport troops, as well as at least one bulldozer.</p><p>"After the enemy forces [punched] through the forward lines there and made their move into Tel Askuf, our forces automatically became kind of embroiled in the ensuing battle," Warren said, <a href="https://news.usni.org/2016/05/04/u-s-officials-describe-fight-that-killed-navy-seal-charles-keating-iv#more-19465" target="_blank">according to the US Naval Institute</a>. "They rapidly called for the quick reaction force and continued on the fight until such time one service member was shot and then medevaced out."</p><p>Within two hours of receiving the call for help, Keating and the QRF were on the scene supporting the US and peshmerga forces against ISIS.</p><p>At around 9:32 a.m. Keating "was struck by direct fire, and although he was medevaced within the all-important golden hour, his wound was not survivable," according to Warren.</p><p>"No other coalition or American forces were injured, though both medevac helicopters were damaged by small arms fire," Warren added.</p><p>"He was killed by direct fire. But this was a gunfight, you know, a dynamic gun fight, so he got hit just in the course of his gun battle - whether it was a sniper or some fighter with his AK is unclear ... This was a gunfight so there were bullets everywhere," Warren explained.</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/572a5fe29105844e018c0dbd-1423-795/screen shot 2016-05-04 at 4.45.54 pm.png" alt="blackhawk medevac helicopter" data-mce-source="The Guardian" data-mce-caption="A still from a Peshmerga video acquired by The Guardian shows a US Blackhawk medevac helicopter rushes to the scene of the fighting where Keating was killed." data-link="http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/may/04/charles-keating-iv-navy-seal-isis-battle-video?CMP=share_btn_tw" /><p class="source"><span><a href="http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/may/04/charles-keating-iv-navy-seal-isis-battle-video?CMP=share_btn_tw">The Guardian</a></span></p><p class="caption">A still from a Peshmerga video acquired by The Guardian shows a US Blackhawk medevac helicopter rushes to the scene of the fighting where Keating was killed.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p>The clash continued for about 14 hours, with US air support eventually dealing decisive blows against the advancing ISIS forces.</p><p>"Coalition air responded with 31 strikes taken by 11 manned aircraft and two drones. Air power destroyed 20 enemy vehicles, two truck bombs, three mortar systems, one bulldozer [and] 58 [ISIS] terrorists were killed. The Peshmerga have regained control of Tel Askuf," said Warren.</p><p><a href="http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/may/04/charles-keating-iv-navy-seal-isis-battle-video?CMP=share_btn_tw" target="_blank">Footage of the firefight</a> obtained by The Guardian shows the US troops fighting alongside the Peshmerga, as well as medevac helicopters rushing to the scene.</p><p>On Wednesday, US Secretary of <keyword id="6354810" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="Defense">Defense</keyword> Ash Carter <a href="http://www.defense.gov/News/News-Transcripts/Transcript-View/Article/749856/joint-press-conference-by-secretary-carter-gen-dunford-and-gen-scaparrotti-stut?source=GovDelivery" target="_blank">described</a> Keating's death as "a combat death, of course. And very sad loss."</p><p><span><span><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/572a5f5891058424008c0b7e-2308-1162/keating.png" alt="ISIS technicals armored vehicles tel askuf" data-mce-source="USNI" data-mce-caption="Photos released by ISIS that show some of the technicals used in assault on Tel Askuf." data-link="https://news.usni.org/2016/05/04/u-s-officials-describe-fight-that-killed-navy-seal-charles-keating-iv#more-19465" /><p class="source"><span><a href="https://news.usni.org/2016/05/04/u-s-officials-describe-fight-that-killed-navy-seal-charles-keating-iv#more-19465">USNI</a></span></p><p class="caption">Photos released by ISIS that show some of the technicals used in assault on Tel Askuf.</p></div><p></p></div></div></span></span></p><p>However, President Barack Obama has repeatedly avoided using the term "boots on the ground," and steered away from describing Special Operations deployments to Iraq and Syria as taking a combat role.</p><p>Instead, Obama explained on April 25 that a deployment of <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/r-obama-to-send-up-to-250-extra-us-military-personnel-to-syria-wsj-2016-4" target="_blank">250 Special Operations troops to Syria</a> was "not going to be leading the fight on the ground, but they will be essential in providing the training and assisting local forces that continue to drive [ISIS] back."</p><p>Warren maintained that the primary role of US troops in Syria would be to advise and assist, but the events on Tuesday that left Keating and several Peshmerga soldiers dead shows just how quickly these missions can turn into full on combat.</p><p>General Wahid Kovali, the leader of a Peshmerga counter-terrorism unit that fought alongside the US forces, told The Guardian that Keating and the QRF "were very good fighters."</p><p>Keating joins Louis Cardin and Joshua Wheeler as the only three US forces killed by ISIS in Iraq.</p>     <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/canadian-model-in-syria-fighting-isis-2016-3">A Canadian model went to Syria to fight ISIS</a></h3>        <div>            <div>    <script src="http://player.ooyala.com/v3/6e12e8b3387a44daacfb73afba25a76e"></script>    <div class="ooyala-video-player" data-video-autoplay="false" data-video-id="d5bG03eDqQM_59Ro-t1EMkQGaD6QR63g" data-player-variable="ooyalapopvideo" id="ooyalaplayer_popvideo" style="width:1280px;height:720px"></div>    <script>    if (typeof RunFunctions === 'undefined') { var RunFunctions = []; }     RunFunctions.push(function()    {         var ooyalapopvideo = OO.Player.create('ooyalaplayer_popvideo', 'd5bG03eDqQM_59Ro-t1EMkQGaD6QR63g',{ autoplay: 'false' });     });    </script>    <noscript><div>Please enable Javascript to watch this video</div></noscript></div>        </div>        <script>(function() { function createPlayer() { OO.ready(function() { RunFunctions.forEach(function(ooyalaFunction) { ooyalaFunction(); }); RunFunctions = [];}); } createPlayer(); }()); </script>    </div>

'There were bullets everywhere': New details emerge about the US Navy SEAL killed by ISIS fire in Iraq

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/57c49701b996eb03258b4f25-1145/11__skitched__copy.jpg" alt="peshmerganor SS11.5" data-mce-source="Courtesy of Peshmerganor" /><p class="source"><span>Courtesy of Peshmerganor</span></p><p class="caption">Peshmerga are in a defensive position, preparing for an incoming ISIS assault.</p></div><p></p></div></div>It had been relatively quiet for a month when in the morning of May 3, 2016, one of the largest assaults from Islamic State militants began.</p><p>Over 120 ISIS fighters, 20 armored vehicles equipped with crew-served weapons, and at least one <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tXj8ECE_Kd4" target="_blank">bulldozer</a> attempted to push into Tel Askuf, a once predominately Christian city, about 20 miles north of the ISIS-held Mosul.</p><p>In their minds, the jihadists had good reason for their surprise attack: according to Kurdish sources, within the town's walls was a handful of US advisors who had been assisting the local Kurdish Peshmerga forces along with the Asayish, a Kurdish security and intelligence agency, and several Christian militiamen.</p><p>After about <a href="http://abcnews.go.com/International/inside-battle-isis-killed-us-navy-seal/story?id=38876899" target="_blank">20 minutes</a>, ISIS fighters managed to punch through the Peshmerga front lines and advance toward Tel Askuf. When the US advisors in the town finally made contact with ISIS forces, the area's Quick Reaction Force (QRF) was called, and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PMzfEZghhhc" target="_blank">around</a> 20 Navy SEALs arrived with weapons at-the-ready.</p><p>However, about 2-hours in, one of the QRF members, Naval Special Warfare Operator 1st Class <a href="http://www.navy.mil/submit/display.asp?story_id=94542" target="_blank">Charles Keating IV</a>, was hit by small arms fire after climbing to a roof to pick off ISIS militants. A Black Hawk medevac was called in to evacuate the wounded, but Keating's injuries proved to be fatal.</p><p>The ensuing battle was so fierce that additional aerial support was required - A-10s, F-15s, F-16s, B-52s, and drones were all scrambled to assist the ground forces. Ultimately, ISIS was forced back from Tel Askuf.</p><p>Keating, 31, an Arizona native, was posthumously <a href="http://www.navy.mil/submit/display.asp?story_id=94649" target="_blank">promoted</a> to Chief Petty Officer.</p><p>"This was a large fight, there's [no] question about it," <a href="http://www.defense.gov/News/Transcripts/Transcript-View/Article/751781/department-of-defense-press-briefing-by-col-warren-via-teleconference-from-bagh" target="_blank">explained</a> Colonel Steve Warren, a spokesman for the US Department of <keyword id="6354810" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="Defense">Defense</keyword>.</p><p>Though media coverage has centered around the scenes in Tel Askuf, Business Insider obtained new footage from a Peshmerga soldier who claimed to be on the front lines against the initial ISIS assault. The images that follow not only depict the chaos and fear from ISIS' attack on the front lines, but the dangers that US medevac helicopters face to ensure a servicemember receives medical care.</p><p>We have turned the footage into a series of stills below.</p><p><em><strong>Warning: The following images may be graphic to some.</strong></em></p>

Never before seen images show the failed ISIS assault that led to the death of a US Navy SEAL

<img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/58f60613c75d4a7a008b4fcd-1333/undefined" alt="Vladimir Putin" /><p class="source"><span>Alexei Nikolsky/Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP</span></p><p class="caption">Russian President Vladimir Putin.</p>Geopolitical risk is creeping back into the markets.<p>The <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/russian-ruble-falls-after-us-strike-syria-2017-4">Russian ruble and markets fell</a> after US President Donald Trump's surprise strike on Syria, and <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/us-stock-market-update-april-13-2017-4">US stocks retreated</a> after the US bombed Afghanistan with its largest non-nuclear bomb.</p><p>Meanwhile, the <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/korean-won-april-18-2017-2017-4">Korean won and markets tumbled</a><span> as tensions remain elevated around North Korea and<span> the spread between French and German 10-years have widened as we <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/what-marine-le-pen-plan-to-leave-euro-means-for-france-2017-2">near the French elections</a>.</span></span></p><p>This emotional response to political shocks and risks is typical of investor (or, more broadly, human) behavior. Geopolitical events tend to make traders and investors nervous, which then sometimes leads to volatility in financial markets.</p><p>However, as history has shown time and time again, these events generally do not have a sustained impact on markets.</p><p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/geopolitical-events-rarely-have-sustained-market-impact-2015-6">Reviewing data</a> on major geopolitical events in the past 100-plus years, C<span>redit Suisse's former head of research and deputy global CIO Giles Keating and his team previously found t<span>hat stocks generally bounced back after such shocks.</span></span></p><p><span>"The large majority of individual major events - ranging from the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand 100 years ago through to 9/11 and recent events in Iraq and Ukraine - impact major stock markets by around 10% or less, with the effect being fully reversed within a month or so," he wrote in a note to clients. </span><span>"<span>This suggests that the most profitable strategy has usually been the contrarian one of buying into price falls caused by such incidents."</span></span></p><p><span><span>To get a better sense of what this actually looks like in the markets, we pulled a few <span>charts of various geopolitical shocks.</span></span></span></p><p><span><span><span>The first chart shows what the Hang Seng looked like in the immediate and long term after the Tiananmen Square protests, from a note shared by a Credit Suisse research team led by Andrew Garthwaite <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/how-to-trade-a-geopolitical-event-2016-6">last year</a>.</span></span></span></p><p><span><span><span><span>"In our experience, markets tend to over-react to political shocks, as was seen in the example of Tiananmen Square - where the Hang Seng fell 22% in a single day, losing 37% from its peak over the entirety of the protest period, before steadily recovering back to previous peak over the following year," the team wrote.</span></span></span></span></p><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/57fba91f8109ee87238b4619-800/screen shot 2016-06-27 at 75340 am.png" alt="screen shot 2016 06 27 at 7.53.40 am" /><p class="source"><span>Credit Suisse</span></p><p>The next chart from <a href="http://www.schwab.com/public/schwab/nn/articles/Missiles-and-Markets-An-investor-guide-to-geopolitical-risks">Charles Schwab's Jeffrey Kleintop</a><span> shows that stocks followed similar trajectories </span>after the<span> Cuban Missile Crisis (left hand side) and the Invasion of Iraq in 2003 (right hand side).</span></p><p><span>"While the [geopolitical] events are often unpredictable and the countries involved vary, the markets' reactions are often predictable," he wrote. </span>"Our analysis of 37 geopolitical developments since 1980 reveals that stocks have not always declined in response to developments that heighten geopolitical conflict. But when they have, the global stock market averaged a 3% decline with an average duration of just seven days."</p><p><span>"<span>While a regional military conflict with significantly negative market impact is plausible, the long history of market response to military strikes and operations along with diplomatic efforts to contain the North Korean threat suggest most likely outcome is a negligible market impact," he added.</span></span></p><img style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/58f60af9c75d4a62008b5032-627/similarstockmarketperformancesurroundinggeopoliticalevents.png" alt="Similar_stock_market_performance_surrounding_geopolitical_events" /><p class="source"><span>Charles Schwab</span></p><p>And finally, although markets were in <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/closing-bell-june-24-2016-6">meltdown mode</a> shortly after Britons voted to leave the European Union last June, stocks bounced back then, too, as you can see in the chart below.</p><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/581f57f0691e881c008b508b-1200" alt="brexit" /><p class="source"><span>Andy Kiersz/Business Insider</span></p><p>To be fair, there have been a several times that markets didn't recover <em>as </em>quickly after seismic geopolitical events such as the invasion of France in 1940 and the Yom Kippur War (which led to a complete realignment of control over global oil), <span>according to the Credit Suisse team led by <span>Keating</span>. </span>B<span>ut even then stocks saw recoveries within 2-3 years.</span></p><p><span>Notably, <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/markets-chart-of-the-day-april-23-2015-4">Warren Buffett also champions the stay-calm-when-all-hell-breaks-loose strategy</a><span>. </span><span>At the height of the financial crisis, in October 2008, he wrote in a New York Times op-ed article:</span></span></p><p style="padding-left: 60px;"><span><span><span>"</span><strong>Over the long term, the stock market news will be good. </strong><span>In the 20th century, the United States endured two world wars and other traumatic and expensive military conflicts; the Depression; a dozen or so recessions and financial panics; oil shocks; a flu epidemic; and the resignation of a disgraced president. Yet the Dow rose from 66 to 11,497."</span></span></span></p><p>As an interesting side note on the geopolitical side of things, Napoleon <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/things-everyone-should-know-about-investing-and-the-economy-2014-12">defined "military genius"</a> as "a man who can do the average thing when all those around him are going crazy."</p><p>As <a href="https://twitter.com/tmfhousel/status/522414685740875776">some</a> have pointed <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/things-everyone-should-know-about-investing-and-the-economy-2014-12">out</a>, the same can be said of investing.</p><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/58f609f0c75d4a05018b4fac-1032" alt="markets cotd april 23" /><p class="source"><span>JP Morgan Asset Management</span></p><p class="caption">How Warren Buffett sees the stock market.</p>            <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/samsung-galaxy-s8-vs-apple-iphone-7-2017-3">6 things the Samsung Galaxy S8 can do that the iPhone can't</a></h3>                                    Please enable Javascript to watch this video                    

Here's how to trade a geopolitical shock

<p>LeBron James raised some eyebrows <a href="http://uk.businessinsider.com/prince-william-kate-nba-game-2014-12#ixzz3LPBxjq00" target="_blank">when meeting the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge yesterday in Brooklyn</a>.</p>
<p>In exchanging gifts, the basketball star raised his athletic arm and placed it on Catherine Middleton's  shoulder, a move that is regarded as a breech of etiquette.</p>
<p>Commoners <em>do not touch</em> the Royal Family, except to shake their hands when introduced.</p>
<p>Here was the scene:</p>
<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table click-to-enlarge"><div><div class="image on-image"><a title_source="The Telegraph" title_caption="" class="zoomin" href="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5486fe9add0895bd578b45c1-960/kate lebron.gif"><span class="sprites click-to-enlarge-icon" title="Click to enlarge"></span><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5486fe9add0895bd578b45c1/kate lebron.gif" alt="Kate Lebron" border="0" /></a><p class="source"><span>The Telegraph</span></p></div><p></p></div></div></p>
<p>Note that Prince William doesn't seem to know where to look. Catherine keeps her grin fixed. James had just spent 34 minutes playing for the NBA's Cleveland against the Brooklyn Nets. We assume he had a shower.</p>
<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right click-to-enlarge"><div><div class="image on-image"><a title_source="Reuters" title_caption="" class="zoomin" href="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5486fe9add0895bd578b45c2-960/prince charles tango.jpg"><span class="sprites click-to-enlarge-icon" title="Click to enlarge"></span><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5486fe9add0895bd578b45c2-1200-2000/prince charles tango.jpg" alt="Prince Charles Tango" border="0" /></a><p class="source"><span>Reuters</span></p></div><p></p></div></div>Having said that, breeches of the no-touching rule occur all the time with the Royals. And it's not as if James is putting a leg around her waist, as happened to her father-in-law Prince Charles in 1999 on a visit to Argentina.</p>
<p>Prince William's reaction (he hardly noticed) tells you a lot about the modern Royals' attitude towards etiquette. The Prince simply looked away.</p>
<p>"I don't think that they are as hot on etiquette as most people think they are," <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-13558270" target="_blank">said Jennie Bond, the BBC's Royal correspondent for the last 14 years</a>.</p>
<p>Times are changing, and so does the etiquette.</p>
<p>Many still remember <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RHCqU3yHtSE" target="_blank">Charles' encounter with the Spice Girls</a>, when Geri Halliwell broke more than one rule by pinching his backside.</p>
<p>Here is how it looked. You can see the action behind Victoria Beckham, who is mugging for the camera.</p>
<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table click-to-enlarge"><div><div class="image on-image"><a title_source="Youtube" title_caption="" class="zoomin" href="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5486fe9add0895bd578b45c3-960/prince charles spice girls.gif"><span class="sprites click-to-enlarge-icon" title="Click to enlarge"></span><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5486fe9add0895bd578b45c3/prince charles spice girls.gif" alt="Prince Charles Spice Girls" border="0" /></a><p class="source"><span>Youtube</span></p></div><p></p></div></div></p>
<p>Meeting the Queen is another story, as <a href="http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/International/story?id=7228105&amp;page=1&amp;singlePage=true" target="_blank">Michelle Obama would remember from her 2009 visit to London</a>. On that occasion, the hug between the First Lady and the monarch caused an uproar:</p>
<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container click-to-enlarge"><div class="image on-image"><a title_source="REUTERS/POOL" title_caption="" class="zoomin" href="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5486fe9add0895bd578b45c4-960/michelle-obama-hugs-queen.jpg"><span class="sprites click-to-enlarge-icon" title="Click to enlarge"></span><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5486fe9add0895bd578b45c4-1200-924/michelle-obama-hugs-queen.jpg" alt="Michelle Obama hugs Queen" border="0" width="800" /></a><p class="source"><span>REUTERS/POOL</span></p></div><p></p></div></p>
<p>Here is former prime minister Tony Blair grabbing Her Majesty's hand on New Year's Eve of 1999/2000 in Glasgow. It's not strictly a breech of the rules. She does not appear to appreciate his common touch:</p>
<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table click-to-enlarge"><div><div class="image on-image"><a title_source="BBC Pool" title_caption="" class="zoomin" href="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5486fe9add0895bd578b45c5-960/tony blair queen.gif"><span class="sprites click-to-enlarge-icon" title="Click to enlarge"></span><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5486fe9add0895bd578b45c5/tony blair queen.gif" alt="Tony Blair Queen" border="0" /></a><p class="source"><span>BBC Pool</span></p></div><p></p></div></div></p>
<p>And when Paul Keating, then Prime Minister of Australia, met the Queen in 1993 <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/queen-elizabeth-II/8840245/Paul-Keating-told-the-Queen-monarchy-was-an-anachronism.html" target="_blank">he did not think twice about putting an arm around her back to guide her through MPs and bystanders</a>. Keating also wanted Australia to become a republic rather than a dominion ruled by the British monarchy, so the Queen probably did not like it either.</p>

LeBron James Touched The Duchess Of Cambridge - And That's A HUGE Faux Pas

<p class="p1"><span class="s1"><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">A former Nike employee pleaded guilty last week to </span><a href="http://www.oregonlive.com/portland/index.ssf/2015/04/ex-nike_employee_sentenced_in.html">stealing limited-edition sneakers from the company </a><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">and selling them for hundreds of thousands of dollars, the latest in a recent string of sneaker thefts.</span></span></p><p class="p1"><span class="s1">Kyle Yamaguchi illegally sold more than 630 pairs of shoes for almost $680,000, according to court documents cited by the <a href="http://www.oregonlive.com/beaverton/index.ssf/2014/12/ex-nike_employee_pleads_guilty.html" target="_blank">Oregonian</a>. The scheme involved selling shoes to collectors willing to pay up to $20,000 a pair for the sneakers.</span></p><p class="p1"><span class="s1">A Business Insider scan of current shoe listings on eBay found dozens of pairs listed for thousands of dollars, including red Nikes <a href="http://www.ebay.com/itm/Nike-Air-Yeezy-2-SP-Red-October-nrg-solar-platinum-ii-1-blink-net-zen-yeezys-i/141466686634?_trksid=p2047675.c100009.m1982&amp;_trkparms=aid%3D777000%26algo%3DABA.MBE%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D30084%26meid%3D20cff3b5c51b48158336d490f0ea09a7%26pid%3D100009%26rk%3D1%26rkt%3D1%26mehot%3Dpp%26sd%3D161039300645" target="_blank">designed by Kanye West</a> selling for almost $20,000.</span></p><p class="p1"><span class="s1"><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/552d6206eab8ea3d534fe556-708-546/screen shot 2015-04-14 at 2.42.32 pm.png" border="0" alt="Sneakers on eBay"><p class="source"><span>eBay</span></p><p class="caption">An eBay auction uncovered Tuesday by Business Insider shows a single pair of sneakers listed for $15,000. Yamaguchi and Ho exploited this demand for their personal gain, according to prosecutors.</p></img></div><p></p></div></div><br /></span></p><p class="p1"><span class="s1">Perhaps motivated by these gaudy numbers, Yamaguchi explained to investigators that his scheme involved ordering promotional pairs of shoes known as "Look See" models directly from factories in China and shipping them to a Florida middleman who sold them online, according to <a href="http://media.oregonlive.com/portland_impact/other/nikeindictment.pdf" target="_blank">an indictment</a> filed last year.</span></p><p class="p1"><span class="s1">The plan was made viable because of fanatical collectors known as "<a href="http://campless.com/" target="_blank">sneakerheads</a>" who will empty their pockets to buy <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/kanyes-sneaker-is-expensive-on-ebay-2015-2" target="_blank">certain pairs of shoes and sneakers</a> from <keyword id="6354851" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="Retail">retail</keyword> stores or other black markets.</span></p><p class="p1"><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">One collector paid $20,000 on eBay for a pair of limited MVP edition Lebron IX shoes believed to be stolen by Yamaguchi and Ho, according to the </span><a href="http://www.oregonlive.com/beaverton/index.ssf/2014/12/ex-nike_employee_pleads_guilty.html" target="_blank">Oregonian</a><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">.</span></p><p class="p1"><span style="line-height: 1.5em;"><span>Other high-profile sneaker heists have made headlines in recent years. Last November, a cargo truck company employee in Memphis used his ID to get access to a parking lot and drove away with a truck full of 7,500 pairs of the newest LeBron 12 Nike shoes </span><a href="http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/12017786/man-charged-theft-property-driving-away-truck-full-lebron-12-nike-shoes">worth about $1.5 million</a><span>, reports ESPN. </span></span></p><p class="p1"><span style="line-height: 1.5em;"><span>Charles Jennings reportedly soon started selling pairs of the sneakers to collectors. When an FBI task force finally busted him a week later, 700 pairs of sneakers were missing. He is currently free on $75,000 bond.</span></span></p><p class="p1"><span class="s1">Yamaguchi began his scheme sometime during his employment at Nike and allegedly handed it off to Tang Ho when the former left the company in 2012. Ho is said by authorities to have become the pointman from then until 2014.</span></p><p class="p1"><span class="s1">The district attorney agreed to a plea deal with Yamaguchi in December. He was reportedly sentenced last week to five years probation and 50 hours of voluntary community service.</span></p><p class="p1"><span class="s1">Yamaguchi admitted to working with Ho to bill the shoe orders to different Nike departments in an effort to conceal their theft and then funnel them to Jason Keating, who bought the pairs for a total $679,650 and sold them in various places including eBay, court documents revealed.</span></p><p class="p1"><span class="s1">Keating then kicked a percentage of the profits back to both men, according to reports. Yamaguchi, who commanded a 20% cut of sales, made about $200,000 and Ho pocketed about $600,000, according to <a href="http://qz.com/380398/the-great-nike-heist-employees-are-accused-of-stealing-hundreds-of-valuable-rare-sneakers/" target="_blank">Quartz</a>.</span></p><p class="p1"><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">When confronted by Nike about the scheme, Ho reportedly pointed a finger at Yamaguchi, who instantly copped to the plan, handed over reams of evidence to <keyword id="6355470" type="CITY" weightage="60" keywordseo="Law">law</keyword> enforcement and even wore a wire to an exchange with Keating.</span></p><p class="p1"><span class="s1"><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">Ho was caught smuggling shoes off the company's Beaverton, Oregon campus and police recovered 1,941 pairs  of sneakers and a "large sum of cash" during a March 14, 2014 raid of his home, according to Quartz.</span></span></p><p class="p1"><span class="s1">Ho has pleaded not guilty, along with Keating, and has yet to stand trial.</span></p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/apple-fanboys-sneakerheads-nike-sneakers-fans-obsessed-brand-loyalty-2015-3">Nike sneakerheads put Apple fanboys to shame</a></h3>        <div>            <div>    <script src="http://player.ooyala.com/v3/6e12e8b3387a44daacfb73afba25a76e"></script>    <div class="ooyala-video-player" data-video-autoplay="false" data-video-id="k0ZWhzczpdQhPYjpILLN6KzlWvIaz8e4" data-player-variable="ooyalapopvideo" id="ooyalaplayer_popvideo" style="width:1280px;height:720px"></div>    <script>    if (typeof RunFunctions === 'undefined') { var RunFunctions = []; }     RunFunctions.push(function()    {         var ooyalapopvideo = OO.Player.create('ooyalaplayer_popvideo', 'k0ZWhzczpdQhPYjpILLN6KzlWvIaz8e4',{ autoplay: 'false' });     });    </script>    <noscript><div>Please enable Javascript to watch this video</div></noscript></div>        </div>        <script>(function() { function createPlayer() { OO.ready(function() { RunFunctions.forEach(function(ooyalaFunction) { ooyalaFunction(); }); RunFunctions = [];}); } createPlayer(); }()); </script>    </div>

A former Nike employee stole hundreds of limited-edition sneakers to collectors willing to pay up to $20,000 a pair

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/533bf2b5ecad04f0260a1aaf-1200-924/hands-10.jpg" border="0" alt="HANDS" /><p class="source"><span>AP</span></p><p class="caption">People on the Mexican side of the international border worship while Cardinal Sean O'Malley leads mass, Tuesday, April 1, 2014, in Nogales, Ariz.</p></div><p></p></div></div>Good morning! Here's what you need to know.</p>
<p><strong><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/jobs-report-optimism-2014-4#ixzz2xisQChGO">ADP's Private Payrolls Report.</a> </strong>We get our first look at March jobs data today as ADP releases its employment report at 8:15 a.m. in advance of Friday's non-farm payrolls survey. Expectations are for a 195,000 increase in private payrolls from 139,000 in February. Economists are generally expecting the numbers in Friday's official report to be impressive. "<span style="line-height: 1.5em;">While the median estimate stands at 200K -- up from 150K just one month ago -- </span>BTIG thinks job growth could be on the order of 225K while many with whom we're meeting have been speaking of a much stronger snapback," <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/jobs-report-optimism-2014-4">BTIG's Dan Greenhaus wrote in a note</a>. "<span style="line-height: 1.5em;">If you believe, as we do, that weather was instrumental in weighing on the economy more generally, then this number should provide evidence for just such a belief. Conversations with clients suggest we're not alone in the "possibly stronger" camp. On that front, [today's] ADP report should be closely watched."</span></p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;"><strong><span><a href="http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/ed3ee914-ba4f-11e3-aeb0-00144feabdc0.html#axzz2xiytvd3E">New China Bitcoin rules.</a> </span></strong><span>The FT reports China is preparing a fresh crackdown on Bitcoin. "The People's Bank of China is considering whether to order the country's banks to close Bitcoin trading accounts, according to people familiar with the matter. If that order goes through, it would eliminate the last major remaining channel by which people in <a href="http://www.ft.com/world/asia-pacific/china" title="China news headlines - FT.com">China</a> can buy the virtual currency."</span></span></p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;"><span><a href="http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/3df910cc-ba06-11e3-a3ef-00144feabdc0.html?siteedition=intl#axzz2xXG5z4xQ"><strong>Virtu delays IPO. </strong></a><span>Michael Lewis' book on high-frequency trading continues to ripple through the market: "</span><span>Virtu Financial, a high-frequency trading company, has delayed a planned US initial public offering after its bankers advised it to hold fire as this week's publication of Flash Boys thrust the business of lightning fast trading into the spotlight," the FT wrote.</span></span></span></p>
<p><strong style="line-height: 1.5em;">Markets. </strong><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">Stocks are up around the world, led by the Nikkei at 1%. Gold and silver were higher. Bitcoin prices climbed </span><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">8%</span><span style="line-height: 1.5em;"> to $490.  </span></p>
<p><strong>Factory orders. </strong>The Census releases factory orders data for February at 10 a.m. Expectations are for a gain of more than 1% after a decline of 0.7% in January.</p>
<p><strong>Fed speeches. </strong>Atlanta Fed President Dennis Lockhart presents in Miami at 12:30 p.m. St. Louis Fed President Jim Bullard speaks in St. Louis at 5 p.m.</p>
<p><span><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/greek-10-year-bond-2014-4"><strong>Greek</strong> <strong>borrowing</strong></a><strong>. </strong></span><span>Greece's borrowing costs have fallen to a 2010 low of 6.4%. "</span><span>Yesterday </span><a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303978304579475040662055748.html?KEYWORDS=greece">Matina Stevis at WSJ</a><span> reported that Greece is getting set to return to the market with its first long-term debt issue since the bailout," BI's Joe Weisenthal writes. "</span><span>Obviously the pain has been wrenching, and much of it unnecessary. More than anything, what saved Greece is what saved all of Europe: The implicit commitment by Mario Draghi (made in the summer of 2012) to backstop Eurozone governments." </span></p>
<p><a href="http://on.ft.com/1fpd5LQ"><strong>More easing in Japan?</strong></a><span> Corporate managers are skeptical the Bank of Japan can hit its 2% inflation target, meaning more easing could be in the offing. </span><span>"The finding that corporate managers do not believe a 2% inflation target can be achieved in coming years should be a strong reason for additional easing," said Masamichi Adachi, economist at JPMorgan in Tokyo according to the FT.</span></p>
<p><span><strong><span style="line-height: 1.5em;"><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/02/business/charles-keating-key-figure-in-the-1980s-savings-and-loan-crisis-dies-at-90.html?hp">Charles Keating dead.</a> </span></strong><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">The protagonist of the '80s and '90s savings-and-loans crisis passed away aged 90. "<span>The S. &amp; L. debacle of the 1980s and 90s, when a thousand institutions collapsed in an implosion of reckless investments, may be a distant echo in a nation stricken by economic turmoil," the New York Times' Robert McFadden writes. "But to millions old enough to have been dragged through the mess, Mr. Keating is remembered, perhaps unjustly, as the pre-eminent villain of an era when depositors, many of them older Americans and naïve investors, lost life savings they had squirreled away in hometown thrifts they thought were safe."</span></span></span></p>
<p><strong><span style="line-height: 1.5em;"><a href="http://www.thewire.com/global/2014/04/flight-mh370s-disappearance-is-now-a-criminal-investigation/360013/">#MH370 disappearance now criminal.</a> </span></strong><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">Malaysian authorities officially classified the disappearance of flight #MH370 as criminal, but said they may never solve the mystery. <span>"At the end of the investigations, we may not even know the real cause. We may not even know the reason for this incident," the country's police chief said.</span></span></p>

10 Things You Need To Know Before The Opening Bell

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/57bc841edb5ce94e008b8567-840/screen shot 2016-08-23 at 1.11.17 pm.png" alt="Peshmerganor" data-mce-source="peshmerganor/Instagram" /><p class="source"><span>peshmerganor/Instagram</span></p></div><p></p></div></div>He simply goes by "Mike."</p><p>As a Kurdish refugee from Iraq in the 1980s, his family luckily made their way into Norway to escape the horrors inflicted by Saddam Hussein's <span>Ba'athist regime.</span></p><p>After growing up and joining the <span>Norwegian Armed Forces, the soldier, now in his early 30s,</span> served in an elite mechanized-infantry unit and eventually completed a tour in Afghanistan.</p><p>However, it wasn't until <span>August 2014, <span>when ISIS took control of Sinjar, Iraq,</span></span> that Mike decided to join the Peshmerga - Iraqi-Kurdistan's independent military force.</p><p>It was at Sinjar that stories of ISIS' atrocities - from the <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/islamic-state/11160906/Isil-carried-out-massacres-and-mass-sexual-enslavement-of-Yazidis-UN-confirms.html">execution</a> of 5,000 Yazidi men, to the systematic raping and selling of women and children - first broke out in major news headlines.</p><p>"It did an impression on me," Mike told Business Insider. "What was worse, though, was the lack of action from the world community, including my own government. I decided that I couldn't sit idly by and watch these horrors unfold."</p><p>Now, returning to the same country his parents escaped from decades ago, he fights the ISIS militia under the Peshmerga flag and motto: "T<span>hose who face death."</span></p><p>But getting started wasn't as easy as picking up a rifle and starting to shoot. Many of the Peshmerga fighters weren't properly trained for combat - after coming straight from civilian life, the locals are typically issued a set of uniforms and a rifle before being told to man the front.</p><p>Teaching these fighters basic infantry skills, Mike and several other volunteers from Canada, the UK, Norway, and Australia have tried to instill whatever talents they've learned in their respective fields, such as medical training.</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/57bc89dfdb5ce92a088b85ed-2400/rtr41zbu.jpg" alt="Sinjar children flee isis" data-mce-source="Rodi Said/Reuters" data-mce-caption="Children from the minority Yazidi sect flee from the ISIS militants that killed at least 500 members of their ethnic group." /><p class="source"><span>Rodi Said/Reuters</span></p><p class="caption">Yazidi children in Sinjar, Iraq, flee from ISIS militants that killed hundreds of members of their ethnic group.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p>However, it's not merely enough to believe in the Kurdish cause, or to have a particular set of skills, to join the Peshmerga. Due to several reasons, including pressure from several countries, Mike has been unwilling to assist those who want to join his cause.</p><p>"It would look bad if America's veterans are the ones doing all the fighting on the ground, while US forces themselves are reluctant to send their own troops," he stated. "Those who do successfully end up in Iraq are typically placed in inactive fronts, out of harm's way, until they're bored out of their minds and leave the country broke and disappointed."</p><p>In the rare case that a soldier exhibits exceptional knowledge or skill, he offered an exception. "There are some good volunteers down here that are allowed to stay at active fronts, and in some rare cases, allowed to take part in offensive operations as well."</p><p>The challenges don't end there. As a volunteer in an all-volunteer unit, he receives no salary from the Kurdish or Iraqi government - instead, he relies solely on the donations from his followers on social media to finance his weapons and ammunition.</p><p>"I have great supporters and I'm able to buy gear, food, and fuel to my unit in addition to financing my stay here," he described. "We have little support from the government and barely and logistics, but [we somehow make it through]."</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/57bc9243db5ce9b2008b860f-840/screen shot 2016-08-23 at 2.12.11 pm.png" alt="peshmerganor" data-mce-source="peshmerganor/Instagram" /><p class="source"><span>peshmerganor/Instagram</span></p><p class="caption">Two of Mike's associates donating portable heaters to the Peshmerga unit.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p>His favorite weapon happens to be an old MG-42 machine gun that dates back to World War II; however, when it breaks down, which happens often, he resorts to his tried-and-true M-16. Interestingly, his first Advanced Combat Optical Gunsights (ACOG) scope on his rifle turned out of be a useless fake - with the help of his supporters, he has since replaced it with a functioning unit.</p><p>Considering the cost of his fight - $100 buys him 120 rounds for his rifle, while $65 buys him 50 bullets for his pistol - when his financial situation becomes dire, he relies on ammunition and heavy weapons taken from dead ISIS fighters.</p><p>Unbeknownst to many outside of Iraq, his supporter-financed work seems to be making a direct difference on the front lines.</p><p>One example of this included successfully driving back a major ISIS offensive near a dam in Mosul, Iraq's second-largest city. After receiving intelligence that the jihadists were launching an attack at a friendly unit's location, Mike and his unit decided to make the drive during the night to reinforce the local Peshmerga forces. Sure enough, in the early hours of the morning, ISIS militants came storming in at a full force.</p><p>"We fought for 8 hours straight and lost one man … but we fought them off and killed dozens or so," explained Mike. "We were later told that ISIS would have probably broken through the lines if [we hadn't been there]."</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/57bc8f5fce38f221008b86e6-840/screen shot 2016-08-23 at 1.45.54 pm.png" alt="peshmerganor" data-mce-source="peshmerganor/Instagram" /><p class="source"><span>peshmerganor/Instagram</span></p><p class="caption">After fighting for two days, Mike manages to find some warm orange juice and salted peanuts from an expired ISIS combatant.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p>Like many wars, Mike has had his share of harrowing moments as well. Mike described the terrifying battle he experienced when ISIS launched one of their deadliest offensives in a year - the same battle that took the life of US Navy SEAL Charles Keating IV.</p><p>The fight was later <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2016/05/03/politics/us-service-member-killed-iraq-mosul/">described</a> by the US-led Combined Joint Task Force (CJTF) as "a big fight, one of the largest we've seen recently."</p><p>"[ISIS was] able to break through the lines and seize a nearby town when panic broke out amongst some of the local forces. The units guarding our right flank abandoned their posts and tried to [convince] my unit into fleeing [with them] …"</p><p>"In a desperate [move] to make them return to their posts, I decided to run over to man one of their fortified positions by myself. To my disappointment, I ended up running several hundred meters to the position all alone … I stayed at that position for nearly 20 minutes and watched ISIS breaking through the lines with 50 vehicles and several hundred men."</p><p>"I was expecting them to work their way down the line toward me and that I would have to face them alone - that was definitely not a good feeling. Luckily, reinforcements arrived [shortly afterward] and we were able to stop their advance at that fortified position."</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/57bc8df0ce38f245188b85a1-840/screen shot 2016-08-23 at 1.54.04 pm.png" alt="Peshmerganor" data-mce-source="peshmerganor/Instagram" /><p class="source"><span>peshmerganor/Instagram</span></p><p class="caption">Mike scopes out a neighboring village under Islamic State control.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p>Other than the sporadic mortar fire and ISIS' skirmishes, the biggest challenge for Mike and his unit seems to stem not from his unit's equipment deficiencies or ISIS' fighting capabilities, but from the bureaucratic red tape that surrounds his area of operations.</p><p>He explained to Business Insider that there existed a stalemate at the front, as his unit could only advance through a few villages and towns at a time before having to wait for the Iraqi Army to reinforce his position. During such down times, he says he resorts to killing time on his phone.</p><p>Mike's deployments are typically three months long, down from his first six-month deployment. "[That first deployment] took a toll on me, both mentally and physically. I learned my lesson after that."</p><p>After a rotation, he spends about a month of time back in Europe, primarily with his girlfriend, who is also frequently mentioned on <a href="https://www.instagram.com/peshmerganor/" target="_blank">his Instagram account</a>.</p><p>"I can deal with the poor living condition, the lack of food and sleep, the constant threat from the enemy, but being away from my girlfriend for months at a time is definitely the biggest challenge," Mike said.</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/57bc9119db5ce91d008b853e-840/screen shot 2016-08-23 at 2.06.11 pm.png" alt="peshmerganor" data-mce-source="peshmerganor/Instagram" /><p class="source"><span>peshmerganor/Instagram</span></p><p class="caption">Mike and his girlfriend making gingerbread cookies back home in Norway.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p>But it's not only his girlfriend that shares his concern.</p><p>"My whole family [is] aware that I'm volunteering ... they're not too fond of it. They've tried to talk me out of it several times, but my mind is set - I'm not coming home until Mosul is liberated."</p><p>As far as goals go, the city of Mosul is where Mike and CJTF have their sights set. As one of the few ISIS strongholds that remain in Iraq, many months have been spent on formulating a plan to not only liberate the city from ISIS' hands, but to prevent the jihadists from returning again.</p><p>"Taking part in the Mosul operation [has] been my goal since 2014 - but to be honest, I thought we would have taken it back by the end of last year," he explained. "The fall of Ramadi postponed the operation, but I haven't lost sight of my goal. Mosul has turned out to be my white whale."</p><p>Although military officials have <a href="http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2016/08/iraq-offensive-2016-mosul-islamic-state-isis-isil-obama-foreign-policy-kurdish-214121" target="_blank">estimated</a> that Mosul will be liberated by the end of the year, the future of the city remains uncertain. <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/isis-human-shield-retreat-2016-8" target="_blank">Sleeper cells</a> in previously liberated cities still exist as a confirmed threat, and the likelihood of continuing sectarianism in Iraq poses a risk of alienating one of many groups in the region.</p><p>What's also uncertain is Mike's future once ISIS is ousted from the city.</p><p>"I would ideally [like to go] back to my old Army unit, but I've lost my security clearance due to my service with the Peshmerga," he explained. "I'll never be allowed to join the Norwegian Armed Forces again, but I'm sure I'll do alright somehow."</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/57bdc3f4db5ce94b088b8978-840/screen shot 2016-08-23 at 1.48.04 pm.png" alt="Peshmerganor" data-mce-source="peshmerganor/Instagram" /><p class="source"><span>peshmerganor/Instagram</span></p><p class="caption">Mike stands with a captured ISIS fighter: "We arrested three guys in total and took them to an abandoned house for questioning. They got treated pretty decent, except for the guy in the photo ... he had an attitude that some of the guys had to beat out of him."</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p>Until then, Mike continues to remain with his Peshmerga unit on the front lines, committed to ISIS' ouster. He concluded the interview by offering a strong message against ISIS' forces:</p><p>"Your mortar and rocket [attacks aren't] impressing anyone," Mike made clear. "Step up your game and come attack us head-on - you know where to find us."</p><p>You can keep up with Mike's travels on his Instagram <a href="https://www.instagram.com/peshmerganor/">account</a>.</p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/army-isis-apache-helicopters-2016-8">The US Army is sending Apache attack helicopters to fight ISIS in Iraq</a></h3>        <div>            <div>    <script src="http://player.ooyala.com/v3/6e12e8b3387a44daacfb73afba25a76e"></script>    <div class="ooyala-video-player" data-video-autoplay="false" data-video-id="A1MnR5MjE6q4EZBzsr2JJPgCofHL8vYQ" data-player-variable="ooyalapopvideo" id="ooyalaplayer_popvideo" style="width:1280px;height:720px"></div>    <script>    if (typeof RunFunctions === 'undefined') { var RunFunctions = []; }     RunFunctions.push(function()    {         var ooyalapopvideo = OO.Player.create('ooyalaplayer_popvideo', 'A1MnR5MjE6q4EZBzsr2JJPgCofHL8vYQ',{ autoplay: 'false' });     });    </script>    <noscript><div>Please enable Javascript to watch this video</div></noscript></div>        </div>        <script>(function() { function createPlayer() { OO.ready(function() { RunFunctions.forEach(function(ooyalaFunction) { ooyalaFunction(); }); RunFunctions = [];}); } createPlayer(); }()); </script>    </div>

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