In each episode of The Proof Is Out There: Military Mysteries (History), two former soldiers take a look at stories from the annals of war or the redacted files of spycraft to try and find out where theories end and facts begin. How did the wreckage of a World War II bomber remain undiscovered for decades? Was the very first combat casualty of the first Gulf War actually captured by the forces of Iraq? The X-Files reset embedded in the title of The Proof Is Out There makes more sense when applied to History’s other show with that name, which features explorations with a supernatural bent. But Military Mysteries hosts Rudy Reyes and Ronnie Adkins, together with their panel of historians, podcasters, and former military experts, definitely harbor a Fox Mulder-like enthusiasm for their subject.
Opening Shot: “We’re wheels up and ready to go, and hope you are, too.” The set where Rudy Reyes and Ronnie Adkins host Military Mysteries comes complete with a map-strewn worktable, flat screen monitor, rusty ammo boxes stacked in corners, and Old Glory flying alongside the POW/MIA flag.
The Gist: “No mystery is more gut-wrenching than a soldier or pilot going MIA behind enemy lines.” That’s Adkins’ setup for the first part of Military Mysteries, which concerns the case of naval aviator Scott Speicher, whose F/A-18 Hornet was shot down in the initial hours of the 1991 Gulf War. While the wreckage of his aircraft was eventually discovered in a remote desert region of Iraq, questions soon surfaced about what actually happened to the pilot, prompted in part by Iraqi authorities being less than forthcoming with evidence, or even outright tampering with the investigation. “Why would the Iraqis send human remains back to us that were not Speicher’s, and claim that they were?” wonders Military Mysteries contributor and special forces veteran Mark Sauter. Why did the US shift the pilot’s status from KIA “body not recovered” to MIA and finally to Missing/Captured? In segments titled “Analysis” and “Debrief,” Adkins and Reyes present the facts, apply their theories, and bounce it back to their contributors for more commentary.
But Scott Speicher’s story is only one part of the show. Adkins and Reyes actually present numerous segments in each episode of The Proof Is Out There: Military Mysteries. So we move from the 1991 Gulf War to 2010 and the suspicious death of a man in a Dubai hotel room. Was he just a businessman, or a high-ranking member of Hamas who was targeted by a secret Mossad kill team? With so much grainy security cam footage to pore over, the truth could go either way. The hosts also tackle the story of a B-24 Liberator discovered cracked in two, nearly 20 years and 200 miles off the course it first plotted way back in 1944, the suspicion and danger surrounding bioweapon research in the USSR, research that included the construction of “secret cities” from the ground up, and the story of the US Army’s 23rd Headquarters Special Troops. Post D-Day, if you wanted to throw Adolph Hitler and his minions off General Patton’s scent, one way to do that was with the “Ghost Army” and their tactical deception techniques. You know, like inflatable tanks and fake howitzers, some of which were developed by future fashion designer Bill Blass.
What Shows Will It Remind You Of? Will Military Mysteries be the first in an entire universe of spinoffs for History? Because the network already features multiple seasons of The Proof is Out There, where host Tony Harris probes videos and other documentation that could suggest paranormal activity. And Military Mysteries co-host Rudy Reyes might be familiar to you. He has served as chief instructor on the UK reality competition series SAS: Who Dares Wins since 2021, and Reyes, a former Marine, was also part of the cast of the Max miniseries Generation Kill.
Our Take: “Now it’s time for our regular secret weapons feature.” Arriving as the last segment in a typical episode of The Proof Is Out There: Military Mysteries, it’s an opportunity for Rudy Reyes and Ronnie Adkins to highlight weaponry that’s maybe more formidable than it is secret, but still packs the kind of punch these guys clearly enjoy talking about. An AC-130 gunship isn’t necessarily top secret. But when they really get going, the hosts of Military Mysteries make the data download on the aircraft’s capabilities very enjoyable. Look, here is its complement of enormous guns. Or here’s how it stays on target by employing complicated stabilizing gyroscopes. Military Mysteries can get a little lost in the space between those two words – after they present the results of an official naval inquiry, for example, Reyes might offer his broad opinion on how something entirely different might have gone down. But this isn’t really a drawback, since the series already has the casually compelling feel of something you might land on during a basic cable grazing session. Why look up and read the Wikipedia entries on the stories in an episode of Military Mysteries when you can instead let Reyes and Adkins present the facts with their own enthusiastic, gung-ho spin?
Sex and Skin: None.
Parting Shot: “Wow! The shear, freaking power. A different kind of beast. Swoops in low. Hovers. Circles, like a dragon. Locks in on targets, and bang bang!” In the wake of their segment on the AC-130, Rudy Reyes is very excited. But his final note also feels true to a veteran’s perspective. “As Afghanistan shows, sometimes you can show up with the right weaponry, the right training, and win battle after battle, but still not win the war.”
Sleeper Star: It’s the diaries. “Just the fact that they found the discipline to write in them at all is incredible,” Ronnie Adkins says of an account, discovered in the desert, that documents attempts made by downed American airmen to make it back to their Second World War-era airbase.
Most Pilot-y Line: “The footage you’re about to see will make you ask: What is this monster raining hellfire down on the enemy?!” While definitely military, the Lockheed AC-130 gunship is by no means a mystery. Still, its inclusion in The Proof Is Out There highlights the enjoyable “fast fact” quality of the series.
Our Call: STREAM IT. The Proof Is Out There: Military Mysteries banks on the enthusiasm of hosts Rudy Reyes and Ronnie Adkins to present quick but informative mini-segments on stuff out of the wartime weird files, spy vs. spy machinations, and the up-close brawn of things that go boom.
Johnny Loftus (@glennganges) is an independent writer and editor living at large in Chicagoland. His work has appeared in The Village Voice, All Music Guide, Pitchfork Media, and Nicki Swift.
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