The High Side

We're a national security news outlet founded by longtime national security journalists Sean D. Naylor and Jack Murphy. The High Side takes its moniker from the nicknamefor the U.S. government's classified email system, but the intent here is to publish long-form investigative journalism focused on the intelligence community, special operations and other national security issues.

Sean has been reporting on national security for more than three decades, including 23 years at Army Times, stints at Foreign Policy and Yahoo News, and contract and freelance work for The New York Times, NBC News, Newsweek and Intelligence Online. As an embedded reporter he has covered U.S. military operations in Somalia, Haiti, the Balkans, Afghanistan and Iraq, and is the author of two New York Times bestsellers: Not a Good Day to Die: The Untold Story of Operation Anaconda and Relentless Strike: The Secret History of Joint Special Operations Command.

Before leaving the military in 2010 and finding his way into the world of national security journalism, Jack served in the 75th Ranger Regiment and Special Forces and deployed to Afghanistan and Iraq. He has reported from Iraq, Syria, the Philippines, Switzerland, and South Korea. He has broken stories about CIA covert operations, JSOC missions from Libya to Syria, and drone strikes gone horribly wrong. Jack has also reported on issues that have plagued the military community such as soldier suicides, domestic violence, and sub-standard base housing issues. He is the author of a memoir titled Murphy’s Law.

The High Side had its genesis in a conversation Sean and Jack had over dinner about their current projects and those that they both had sitting on the back burner. The High Side is the natural outgrowth of that conversation and aims to bring many of those stories to life.

The High Side is an independent outlet which is completely supported by its readers.

We are supported entirely by our subscribers. If you value this type of long form investigative journalism into the world of covert and clandestine operations, please consider supporting this endeavor. (And it’s important to note that as a member of the Amazon Affiliate program, The High Side earns a small commission when subscribers buy any of the books referenced in our articles - such as those mentioned above - after clicking on the Amazon hyperlink.)

We also want to be candid with you, we’re two journalists looking to write in-depth complex investigative pieces. You may not get such stories from us every week, more likely it will be once a month.

The more support we have, the more time and effort we can pour into researching and writing, and hopefully even bring colleagues of ours in to write pieces for us as well. Thank you for your support.

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People

Sean has been reporting on national security for more than three decades, including 23 years at Army Times, stints at Foreign Policy and Yahoo News, and contract and freelance work for The New York Times, NBC News, Newsweek and Intelligence Online.
Jack served in 3rd Ranger Battalion and 5th Special Forces Group and is an investigative journalist who has reported from Syria, Iraq, and the Philippines. He is the author of Murphy's Law and co-host of The Team House.