By Raul Medrano During a firefight in Afghanistan, one of our machine gunners was crawling through the dirt, searching for a spring. The spring Continue Reading
Religion
Where Doubt Breaks
I was given a writing prompt of just one word—“Threshold”—recently in a veteran writing class. Instead of writing about the obvious threshold I Continue Reading
What Soldiers Know About Love
I haven’t read the Bible in a while—unless you count the few times a week that I read the daily scripture sent to my phone from the Bible app. Continue Reading
Afghanistan: A Woman, Just Like Me
By Kaitlyn Trevathan On Saturday, September 11, 2021, my dad shared a post reflecting on his memory of 9/11. He wrote, “In the coming hours Continue Reading
The Rule Has to Work Both Ways
By an Anonymous Veteran I am conflicted about something, and I don't have a neat answer. There is a growing debate in some communities over the Continue Reading
Islamophobia: What If the Fear Isn’t Irrational?
By an Anonymous Veteran I have been thinking lately about the word Islamophobia. It is a powerful word, and nobody particularly wants it attached Continue Reading
Why?
“Bomb kills Iraqi childrengathered around U.S. troops,”was the screaming headlinethat greeted me from bright-colorednewsprint.It seems the Marineswere Continue Reading
Not on One Day
By A Veteran The wind had been rising since dawn, funneling between the government towers and driving dust across the square in pale, twisting Continue Reading
You Have Chosen the State Over Christ
Don Timmerman died of cancer on July 19. He spent almost all of his adult life advocating for peace and justice. I am tempted to say that he was Continue Reading
What Tibor Rubin Taught Me About Resentment
By Samuel Yudin Halfway through my military career, I began a profound transformation. Until then, I had excelled individually and as a direct Continue Reading
Extremism Starts Before the Weapon
My understanding of radicalization did not begin in a classroom. It began much earlier, shaped by personal experience, growing up in environments Continue Reading
God Only in Fear
The most devout heathen seems to find their deity in their moments of greatest tribulation. They preach the gospel of atheism with piousness when Continue Reading