"Tomorrow needs you," claims one suicide awareness organization, but what happens when I am struggling to get through the next hour and cannot see Continue Reading
Lori Butierries
I Placed
Laughingly, I thought it was funny- the list of chicks the guys would bang downrange at the FOB until I saw my name on the bathroom Continue Reading
OPERATION MOUNTAIN STORM
Long hot days and short, lonely nights,each day is just the same.Time is slowly passing by. No news from home, no books to read,nothing but the Continue Reading
For Veterans, Parents, and More: The Personal Benefits of Group Therapy
As a female veteran as well as being the mother to two children with special needs, I find it hard to connect with the world around me. I can't relate Continue Reading
Unexpected Lessons in a Combat Zone
Editor's note: Photo information at end of the article. Don't worry. You'll be safe. Women don't go into combat." My husband assured me as I lay Continue Reading
Just a Dream
If I die in this godforsaken country, I swear that I will come back and haunt somebody! I think to myself as the sound of my heart beating frantically Continue Reading
Shadows
I look around and see strange places once familiar to me. Driving down streets long forgotten, I feel memories resurfacing, clouding my Continue Reading
Operation Mountain Storm 2004: The Forgotten Female Searchers
A surprise mandatory meeting was held for all the female service members, officers, and enlisted alike, already deployed with the 22nd Marine Continue Reading
My First Engagement with the Enemy
I don't always know what will trigger a flashback of my deployment to Afghanistan, but today, it happened to be the song at the end of the 2020 Mulan Continue Reading
The Drums of War
The 'drums of war' resound inside of me. The drum is my heart, and it signals the direction I take- Like assemble, advance or Continue Reading
If War Doesn’t Steal Our Lives or Humanity, It Certainly Taints It
Sometimes yesterday feels like today. Some memories haunt me. When I close my eyes, I can travel back in time and relive them all over again; like Continue Reading
Military Memorabilia & War Paraphernalia
Last night, while reviewing the contents of a box of military memorabilia, I discovered a news article that my Mother mailed to me while deployed to Continue Reading