Editor’s Note: Sadly, no one had the foresight in 2006 to assign a combat photographer to capture a Rip-It-fueled gastrointestinal war crime inside an Continue Reading
Military
The Army Hasn’t Carried Out a Death Row Execution Since 1961. Maybe It Should.
The U.S. Army has quietly done something that most Americans probably didn't realize was necessary: it has updated its plans for carrying out military Continue Reading
Tactical Is Not a Look
What does it actually mean to be tactical? Most people think they know the answer. Walk into any sporting goods store, gun shop, military surplus Continue Reading
The Afghanistan Withdrawal Is Not Over for Veterans
By Dr. Wylie Brace and Samantha D. Glidewell This article is the final installment in a three-part series adapted from qualitative research on Continue Reading
What the Casualties in Iraq Taught Me about War
I deployed to Tallil Air Base, Iraq in September 2004 as a U.S. Air Force (USAF) Operating Room (OR) nurse with the 407th Expeditionary Medical Group. Continue Reading
The Expectation and the Job
"When I enlisted, I tried to sign up for the infantry," said every POG (person other than a grunt) ever. It’s true, but with little means for college Continue Reading
When Afghanistan Broke Trust
By Dr. Wylie Brace and Samantha D. Glidewell This article is the second installment in a three-part series adapted from qualitative research on Continue Reading
We Haven’t Moved On
By Dr. Wylie Brace and Samantha D. Glidewell This article is the first installment in a three-part series adapted from qualitative research on Continue Reading
Teaching the Nervous System the Fight Is Over
In 2020, while serving as an assistant team leader on a DEA Special Response Team operation in Boston, I found myself standing behind a rifle-rated Continue Reading
Operator Syndrome: Reclaiming the Warrior’s Path to Healing
Editor's Note: This 4-part series was adapted by Chris Frueh, PhD, from his book titled Operator Syndrome (2024; Ballast Books). The pattern of Continue Reading
The Coast Guard Should Stop Selling Jobs
By Bruce D. Kowal, AUXOP, USCG Auxiliary In June 2025, the United States Coast Guard released its Force Design 2028 Execution Plan, an ambitious Continue Reading
Everything SOF Does Is “Fantasy”—Until It Happens
A Rebuttal to the “Fantasy Iran Commando Option” Argument A criticism of a potential US special operations raid against Iranian nuclear Continue Reading