by Chris Fitzmaurice The following is part of a collection of short stories titled Insha’Allah: Short Stories of the Long War in Afghanistan." Continue Reading
Middle East
A Girl Named Jasmine, the Afghan Face of Sharia Law
by Clay D I’d heard a lot about stoning prior to going into the fray. I thought this would be like any other day. We sat and watched, watched and 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
Peace Enforcement is Not the Same as Peacekeeping
by an anonymous former Special Forces officer Peace enforcement is a much more difficult kind of operation than peacekeeping.-Harri Continue Reading
A UK Soldier Welcomes You to Tank Park, Iraq
by Justin “Jud” Haywood This originally appeared in Vocal.Media as "Tank Park" in June 2021. It is republished here with the author's permission. Continue Reading
Our Sacred Oath–To Be Or To Do?
Dedicated to the memory of P.O. Stephen P Driscoll, ESU Squad 4, Badge #17482, NYPD “Fidelis ad Mortem” ______________________ A jumble of Continue Reading
The Weekly Havok, Episode 27: Why Should We Still Care about Afghanistan?
We don’t want to bang the drum about Afghanistan to the point it is just white noise. And we have a lot of great guests and a lot of great subjects Continue Reading
A UK Soldier Goes to War
by Justin “Jud” Haywood This originally appeared in Vocal.Media as "Desert Meanderings" in May 2021. It is republished here with the author's Continue Reading
Afghanistan Memories: I’m a Warrior Through and Through
Heart turned hard, emotionally scarred. I tried to get past this but it’s so fucking hard.My pain is evident yet so blissfully hidden. From events Continue Reading
Fear, Honor, and Interest: Calculus in an Israeli Strike against Iran
by an anonymous former Special Forces Officer “To aim and to hit, you need one eye only, and one good finger.” -Moche Continue Reading
Playing Hopscotch in a Minefield Along the Iran-Iraq Border
by Justin “Jud” Haywood This originally appeared in vocal media as "Mines Abound" and is republished here with the author's permission. Justin Continue Reading
Finding a Home: The Beta Israel in Diaspora
Introduction Beta Israel (House of Israel), also known as the Ethiopian Jewry or Falasha ("stranger" or "immigrant") Jews, present a unique case Continue Reading
