The message came from an Afghan man who had worked closely with the U.S. State Department: “I have also moved to another place today because of fear. I’m very tired of my life because cannot handle anymore running and keeping safe, my kids and wife.” The Taliban had captured his brother while searching for him, […]
Policy
Posted inNewsroom
Hegseth Made the Fitness Test Harder for Women in Combat Roles. Most Female Marines Are Passing
When Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth summoned hundreds of generals and admirals from around the world to Quantico, Virginia, last September, he delivered a blunt message: Things were changing fast in the newly renamed Department of War. “No more division, distraction, or gender delusions,” he said. “We are done with that shit.” What mattered going forward, […]
Posted inNewsroom
Their Military Careers Were Cut Short in Combat. Now They’re Fighting Congress for Their Full Benefits
The fall lasted only seconds, but the consequences would span a lifetime. Under the cover of darkness in Balad, Iraq, Army Sgt. Will Fisher was moving into position for an overnight mission. He fell roughly 40 feet and landed on his feet while wearing about 100 pounds of gear. The force of the fall crushed […]
Posted inNewsroom
Trump Promised Redemption for Troops Who Refused Covid Shots. A Year Later, Many Are Still Waiting
When the COVID-19 vaccine was released in 2020, Daniel Pendergast was intrigued. “I honestly thought it sounded kind of ingenious at first,” he said. But then he learned there was a very small chance of heart inflammation that could occur after vaccination in healthy men like himself: around eight cases per million, according to the […]
Posted inNewsroom
Hegseth Ordered a New Study of Women in Combat. Critics Say It’s Built to Reach One Conclusion
Two months before Pete Hegseth appeared in front of Congress to testify in his confirmation to be secretary of defense, he sat across from the podcaster Shawn Ryan, talking about the Pentagon’s 2015 decision to open ground combat roles to women. “It hasn’t made us more effective. It hasn’t made us more lethal,” Hegseth said. […]
Posted inReflections
My Father Was a Decorated Black Soldier With a Secret: Me
There was no celebration when my mother learned she was pregnant—only a conversation. Three married adults sat in a room weighing what my existence might cost them: a rising soldier in the United States Army with a reputation to protect, a mother facing the weight of shame, and a husband willing to raise a child […]
Posted inNewsroom
Veterans With Gulf War Illness Were Finally Seeing Progress. Then Congress Cut Funding
It’s easy for Ron Brown to remember when his health problems first began. It was early March 1991, and Brown’s Army unit was in Khamisiyah, where Iraqi forces had been storing chemical weapons in a bunker and an excavated area known as “the pit.” As U.S. forces demolished the bunker and the weapons in the […]
Posted inNewsroom
‘Sounds Like a Mutiny.’ Secret Recording Exposes Claims of Toxic Leadership After a Marine’s Suicide
Active-duty service members and veterans thinking of harming themselves can get free crisis care. Contact the Military Crisis Line at 988, then press 1, or access online chat by texting 838255. People who are not in the military can also call 988. “Who knows what was going on in Cpl. Mobley’s personal life?” The question […]
Posted inNewsroom
How Trump’s First 500 Days Has Reshaped Life for Troops and Veterans
It’s June 4, which marks the 500th day of President Donald Trump’s second term. Here at The War Horse, we’ve tracked every twist and turn related to the military and veterans since the president returned to office through Operation Timeline, an interactive tool covering everything from the president’s first executive orders to the United States’ […]
Posted inReflections
I Love My Air Force Husband. My Feelings About the Government He Serves Are More Complicated
I had just put my car in reverse when a license plate frame caught my attention. It was covered in the American flag and read “God Bless America.” The image forced my car back into park. I sat in the lot trying to understand the power those three words held over me. I’ve always had […]
Posted inNewsroom
‘Got to Get Fixed:’ Billing Delays, Coverage Issues Still Plague Tricare Patients and Providers
Nearly every day for months, Lorelei Evans, a major in the U.S. Army Reserve, received a call or text from a doctor’s office trying to collect on some of her family’s $86,000 in unpaid medical bills. Almost weekly, she said, a bill showed up in the mail at her home in San Antonio, Texas. Some […]
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 […]
