The Global War on Terrorism began in the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the United States. It never officially ended. Instead, the war expanded. U.S. troops invaded Afghanistan in 2001 and Iraq in 2003, while counterterrorism operations spread across the Middle East, Africa, and elsewhere. The United States withdrew its last troops […]
Iraq
Posted inReflections
Everybody Wanted to Visit the Wounded Soldier. I Wanted to Be Left Alone
It was only a month after the roadside bombing. I was still in Landstuhl Regional Medical Center, Germany, in June 2006, undergoing successive rounds of surgery. Rods protruded from my limbs, keeping the broken bones of my right forearm and left thigh immobile until the doctors could complete a series of bone grafts and insert […]
Posted inReflections
I Once Made My VA Therapist Cry. Then an AI Chatbot Got Me Talking About War and Guilt
I tried to schoolyard-taunt an AI language model once. My wife wasn’t home. I was bored and had to find another outlet for my childish male energy. So, I took jabs at Grok’s sexual orientation and its mother. I got no traction. “Bold of you to assume I’m gay, and have a mom who was […]
Posted inReflections
A Marine Walked Into Rehab Like He Owned the Place, But Learned You Can’t BS a Horse
No one ends up in rehab on a winning streak, but my collapse had been pretty spectacular. I had gone from one of the most powerful political figures in San Diego to a complete outcast. I was unfaithful in my marriage, which morphed into accusations that flattened everything in their path. While the accusations were […]
Posted inReflections
Yes, I Served in Iraq. But What if People Mistake Me for a Hero?
The Department of Motor Vehicles was a good place to lose your identity, not find it, especially 30 minutes before closing. I sat surrounded by strangers balanced on wobbly folding chairs, the endless announcements blared extra loud, and you could feel an edge to the air every time a new ticket was called. Without looking […]
Posted inReflections
A Combat Infantryman Stood In the Gap. Made the Calculation. Pulled the Trigger. But At What Cost?
A decade has passed since I last felt the thud of a mortar hitting the perimeter or the specific metallic scent of an IED-charred road, yet I’m still waiting for the “homecoming” to actually begin. To the person standing behind me in the checkout line, I am just another civilian. Perhaps a bit too observant, […]
Posted inReflections
Another Conflict Roils the Middle East. A Marine Warns the War Will Come Home
As an infantryman who carried a rifle through Fallujah, watching the news feels dizzying, almost unreal. I kicked in doors in the Middle East; I watched friends bleed. I know what war really looks like when the cameras leave and the speeches end. My daughter is almost 16 now, almost as old as I was […]
Posted inReflections
I Decided Not To Go On a Patrol in Iraq. An IED Killed My Friends
On the morning of May 25, 2006, I didn’t go out. Capt. Doug Dicenzo invited me to come along to meet some local Iraqi leaders, and I had previously shown him the safer routes to take. But on the day of the meeting, I had other duties to attend to. Truthfully, I had survived enough […]
Posted inReflections
Curing Insomnia with Magic: How One Veteran Finally Got a Good Night’s Sleep
The ridiculous thing about war is that I remember being excited. For the first 90 days or so, I was constantly excited, and I don’t mean in a “joyous,” emotionally positive way. I mean excitement in the strictly physiological sense: raised heart rate, increased breathing, mind racing a mile a second. That state could describe […]
Posted inReflections
We Pined for the Comforts of Home. We Got Tube Socks and Old Candy for Christmas Instead
Green Berets lament Americans don’t understand the needs of modern soldiers after receiving tube socks and canned soup in Christmas care packages.
Posted inReflections
I Was Exposed to 150 Blasts While Deployed to Iraq. My Brain Was Changed
After being exposed to IED blasts during an Iraq deployment, an Army chaplain’s assistant grapples with the effects of traumatic brain injuries and PTSD.
Posted inReflections
He Was Clutching a Satchel and I Aimed to Kill. Then, the Iraqi Civilian Fell to His Knees
On the hunt for IEDs in Iraq, the Army soldier nearly shoots a civilian hiding in the shadows
