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Many people probably know the U.S. Department of State (DoS) as the agency that issues passports and visas. However, for most Americans, the department is a virtually invisible part of the U.S government that registers only when bad news strikes. The 1979 hostage crisis at the U.S. embassy in Iran, the two 1998 U.S. embassy bombings in Africa and the Sept. 11, 2012 attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya, all thrust the State Department into the media spotlight and the public consciousness. Somewhere between the mundane duties of passport approvals and the terror of embassy attacks, the State Department and thousands of American Foreign Service employees carry out a wide-ranging mission of outreach at more than 300 U.S. diplomatic facilities — embassies, consulates and diplomatic missions — in countries around the globe. Here are some surprising facts about the Department of State’s mission and capabilities.

National security issues can be complex, but the U.S. government’s recent Worldwide Threat Assessment makes one thing clear: we are living in increasingly dangerous times. The Director of National Intelligence, James R. Clapper, testified before a U.S. House committee on April 11, 2013 — just four days before the Boston Marathon attack — and gave a sobering summary of the full spectrum of threats facing the United States when he said, “In my almost 50 years in intelligence, I do not recall a period in which we’ve confronted a more diverse array of threats, crises, and challenges around the world.” These threats range from seemingly mundane issues like budget fights to militant Islamist groups, cyber attacks and rogue nations building weapons of mass destruction. Here’s a summary of Clapper’s assessment of the leading threats to U.S. national security, in no particular order.

April 12 marks four years since U.S. Navy SEAL snipers killed three pirates in a daring operation off the coast of Somalia. The SEALs’ actions led to the rescue of Capt. Richard Phillips of the cargo ship Maersk Alabama, which the pirates had hijacked several days earlier. That incident marked the first time pirates had seized an American-flagged vessel since the early 19th century. Many people probably recall the spectacular conclusion to that incident, but most probably haven’t thought at all about pirates in the years since. Yet piracy remains a major concern. Piracy is on the rise in some regions, pirates are growing bolder in asking for much larger ransoms, and some analysts are concerned about a possible link between these modern-day outlaws and al-Qaeda. Here’s a look at modern piracy and what the U.S. and other nations are doing to combat the problem.

For some 40 years, Americans faced the prospect of nuclear Armageddon, as the U.S. and Soviet Union waged the infamous Cold War. Schoolchildren practiced “duck-and-cover” drills to prepare for nuclear strikes, and pundits and politicians used alarming phrases such as “balance of terror” and “mutual assured destruction” to explain that both countries could be expected to exercise some restraint. So when the Soviet Union collapsed in the early 1990s, the prospect of nuclear destruction seemed more remote. Unfortunately, changes in the political landscape, and more countries with nuclear capabilities, mean there is a risk of nuclear conflict somewhere in the world. How real is that risk? And how can the U.S. defend against the threat? Those are questions that are being debated almost daily now in defense and government circles in the U.S. and elsewhere. Here are five of the most realistic threats and what the U.S. is doing to prevent such scenarios.

As the U.S. government stumbles from one budget crisis to the next, defense officials have been searching for ways to make due with less money while minimizing any impact this will have on combat readiness. Cutting expensive weapons programs is one of the ways the armed services have tightened their belt in the past, but that doesn’t mean they have given up on all the big-ticket items. For example, the Air Force still expects to spend many billions of dollars on a replacement for the B-2 Stealth Bomber and is quietly testing a prototype spaceplane. Still, meeting budget sometimes means the military has to cancel weapon systems it would love to add to its arsenal, as these five examples illustrate.

As politicians in Washington, D.C. struggle to avoid the looming specter of sequestration, a series of automatic federal spending cuts, the Pentagon is seeking ways to handle cuts in military spending. The U.S. has a number of longstanding and expensive security commitments all around the world. Most Americans are familiar with the large U.S. military presence in countries such as Germany, South Korea and Japan. However, the response to the 9/11 attacks shifted America’s strategic priorities away from Europe and toward some relatively obscure places in the Middle East, Africa and elsewhere. As a result, U.S. troops are currently deployed to more than 150 countries, some of which might come as a surprise to some people.

Israel doesn’t have the resources to field a large military, given its population of only 8 million and a land area roughly the size of New Jersey. Yet Israel’s military is widely regarded as one of the finest in the world. According to GlobalFirepower.com, Israel has the 10th most powerful military in the world. The country created its Israel Defense Forces in May 1948 specifically with national defense in mind. Israel has a relatively small number of infantry, a small coastal naval force instead of a blue-water navy and no heavy bombers to project power over long distances. These limitations make it unsuited to take on much of a sustained offensive or expeditionary posture in the Middle East, let alone the globe. But factors such as training, technology, a tight partnership with the United States and high morale act as force multipliers that increase the IDF’s power far beyond its small numbers. Here’s a look at how this small country became an elite military power.

America honors its veterans every Nov. 11, a date that commemorates the armistice that ended World War I on the same date in 1919. Most people will show their appreciation for servicemen and women on Veterans Day, but it’s important to remember that they deserve our thanks and support the other 364 days of the year. Here are just a few ways you can help a veteran, and if you don’t have any time or money to donate, don’t worry — some of these actions cost you nothing more than a well-deserved handshake or a pat on the back.

The popular imagination often sees the history of warfare as a series of epic confrontations decided by physical courage, inspired leadership and exotic weapons. These factors all play a role in great victories and terrible losses. However, like all human endeavors, war is subject to more mundane factors like bad luck, mistaken assumptions, overconfidence and even bad weather. The chaos and uncertainty that is an inevitable part of battle is often referred to as the fog of war and has been the bane of military commanders who found themselves on the wrong end of a crushing defeat. Here’s a look back at five battles in which a calamity of errors ended in massive death, destruction and failure for one side.

If you have spent any time in gyms, then you’ve probably encountered someone who ruined your experience. Maybe someone started talking to you, and wouldn’t stop, despite your hints. Or maybe you spent 20 minutes on a treadmill beside someone with the volume on their iPod cranked so loud you couldn’t hear yourself think. Those of us who visit the gym on a regular basis have seen most of these annoying characters before.