Freedom allows the ignorant and inexperienced to profess utopian ideologies—ideologies that captivate the imagination. Their only physical Continue Reading
Veterans
Waiting Room Storytellers
I went to my local VA clinic this week to get my eyes checked. While waiting with pupils as big as marbles in the “dilated eye waiting area,” I 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
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
Why I Spent a Year Plus of My Life Working on a Movie Called “SHEEPDOG”
By Amy K. MitchellWhen I served as the communications director for the U.S. House Veterans’ Affairs Committee back in 2012, we held a hearing that has 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
The Loneliness Epidemic and US Military Veterans
As America confronts what the U.S. Surgeon General has described as a national epidemic of loneliness and social isolation, a truth emerges that Continue Reading
Meet The Standard, Not Your Opinion
by Lt Col (ret), US Army, Darin Gaub Just like facts do not care about your opinion, a standard of performance does not care who you are but Continue Reading
Dreams That Never Take Off
I sometimes dream about flying. I guess a lot of people do. I have heard that it is a common type of dream. It might be a different situation in my Continue Reading