Witnessing 11 Days: The Story of Operation Pineapple Express I recently had the honor of attending a play titled 11 Days: The Story of Operation Continue Reading
Military
What an Iranian Collapse Might Mean for U.S. Military Posture
For decades, US military posture in the Middle East has been shaped around a single assumption: Iran is a hostile but stable state. That assumption Continue Reading
When the War Comes Home on an ICE Jobsite
I got a call a couple hours ago. It was from a young man who is very dear to me. He lives in Texas with his wife and young children. I have known him Continue Reading
Pleasant Wood
They call this fine lawn"Pleasant Wood Cemetery."A mere breeze of dawnacross the beautiful prairiesilent and dew wet,stirs the green carpet. 90 Continue Reading
Standing Ready in a Quiet Kitchen
I recently rewatched the movie Fight Club, based on the novel of the same name by Chuck Palahniuk. The book is a different animal, with a decidedly Continue Reading
The Women Who Searched the Storm
In 2004, the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) (Special Operations Capable), or SOC, deployed to Afghanistan as part of Operation Enduring Freedom Continue Reading
From Failure to Steady Ground
In 2015, I was a failure. I’d spent the previous five years chasing a calling, a dream, or maybe selfishness. I found myself at my wits’ end, with Continue Reading
Just Shave or Just Breathe
“Just Shave!” (A compilation from first-person accounts) “I’ve never had the luxury of thinking shaving was no big deal. For me, it starts Continue Reading
Wooden Sarcophagus
They lay in their wooden sarcophagus, the polished and the tattered, the clean and the dirty, the garrison and the combat. They represent a life Continue Reading
A ‘Hallmark Christmas’ movie in Iraq
By Patrick Seaman It’s Christmas time, and like many people, I’m looking forward to time with family and friends, and celebrating various Continue Reading
Training Written in Blood
Watching the fallout from the ICE agent shooting and killing the protestor in Minnesota has been painful. ICE agents are federal law enforcement. Continue Reading
Carrying the Weight Forward and Speaking Anyway
For most of my life, words were either unnecessary or dangerous. In war zones, clarity mattered more than poetry. In law enforcement, intelligence, Continue Reading