Topic: Human Rights

Infil: Where Two-Dimensional PowerPoints and Rock Talk Meet “Visceral Lethality”

“Reality sank in as we donned our combat gear in the ready room,” writes a former Army infantry officer. “In combat, do you ever really have control?”

My Afghan Interpreter Earned His U.S. Citizenship. Then He Left.

He served with Marines and earned U.S. citizenship. His wife’s was denied. Now, they wait in Kabul, for the Taliban or her visa—whichever arrives first.
U.S. Army Pfc. Alexis York, left, and Spc. Zekia Heath, both cannon crew members with Bravo Battery, 1st Battalion 107th Field Artillery Regiment, Pennsylvania National Guard, stand watch near the U.S. Capitol in Washington, March 3, after the events of the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection. Photo by Sgt. 1st Class R.J. Lannom Jr., courtesy of U.S. Army.

“Our Backgrounds Are Not Monolithic”—a Look Inside the Military’s Conversation About Extremism in Uniform

“There are a lot of Three Percenters on base, one soldier said.” Another asked “why we weren't talking about Black Lives Matter or Antifa” in uniform?

“Lost Trust and Confidence” — How the Military Covers Up Officer Misconduct and Why That’s Harmful to Democracy

A revered infantry officer was fired after a “credible” investigation of domestic violence. Marine generals forced a military spokesman to cover it up.

Taking Unresponsive Leadership To Task as a Black Woman Army Officer

During her military career, she felt alone. As a Black woman. An officer. As a survivor of sexual assaults. Alone to battle mental illness.

Point of Impact: An Untold Story of Escape From the Pentagon on 9/11 and the Forever Wars That Followed

When Flight 77 hit the Pentagon, the Marine Corps and Defense Department prepared for war. Two decades later, this is that story of service and sacrifice.
Jen Burch with a boy who had lost his leg after being hit with an improvised explosive device and the boy’s father at a military hospital in Kandahar, Afghanistan. Photo courtesy of the author.

The Sorrow and Defeat of Watching the Taliban Reclaim Afghanistan

While deployed, she thought she’d seen the worst of war. Now, as the Taliban reclaims Afghanistan, she worries about the children living under their rule.
Soldiers, sailors, airmen, a Coast Guardsman, and an Army veteran raise their right hands as they recite the oath of allegiance during a naturalization ceremony aboard USS Constitution in June. “The United States is and will forever be a nation of immigrants,” Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Mike Gilday said during the ceremony. “Your stories—and the cultures, customs, and traditions you bring to America—exemplify that we have more to unite us than to divide us.” Photo by Mass Communication Spec. 1st Class Raymond D. Diaz III, courtesy of U.S. Navy.

“I Never Left Anybody”—Fighting for Veterans Left Behind by the Country They Served

Veterans mustered resources to swiftly bring home stranded Afghan allies and are working together to do the same for deported U.S. veterans.

From Death Threats to a French Dandy, Afghan Contractors Abandoned by the U.S. Struggle to Find Asylum Abroad

The Taliban wants him dead. Because he worked for the Americans. But he didn’t ask for help from the people he saved by throwing away everything he had.