It was a typical day for the guardsmen already used to “weird and crazy” things happening outside the protective bubble they formed around the Capitol.
Policy
Posted inNewsroom
“We Must Do Our Part to Mitigate Climate Change”—The Military’s Pollution Problem
The military may be taking the threat of climate change seriously, but without reporting requirements, there’s a lack of transparency and accountability.
Posted inNewsroom
While Americans See an End to 20 Years of War, VA’s Job Has Just Begun
Veterans have immediate, life-or-death needs and want better care. They want it for yesterday’s veterans, too.
Posted inNewsroom
The Veterans Will Tell Their Stories—Shaping the Narrative of the Forever Wars
They already tell the tales, stories that will need to be sorted into something we can bear, that will help us heal.
Posted inNewsroom
Playing on the Edges of Empire: Special Operations Forces Face Uncertain Future
SOF exists to fight in uncertainty, but with the war in Afghanistan officially over, it’s about to enter a world of competitors and state actors looking for an adjusted world order.
Posted inNewsroom
“People Are Relying on Us”—National Guard Evolves to Fight Wars, Secure Homefront
“Whatever the mission—combat deployments, Covid, wildfires, civil disturbances, or severe storms—the National Guard answered every call.”
Posted inNewsroom
‘The Enemy Is Lurking in Our Bodies’—Women Veterans Say Toxic Exposure Caused Breast Cancer
As the last troops leave the “forever wars,” doctors say they’re seeing more women veterans with breast cancer—younger than the national average.
Posted inNewsroom
“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.
Posted inReflections
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.
Posted inNewsroom
Exposed: Burn Pits May Force the Military to Acknowledge Generations of Poisoned Veterans
Since World War II, the military has poisoned countless service members through toxic exposures and secret testing.
Posted inReflections
Three Disparate Events. Three Subsequent Days. And an Unresolved Dissonance.
As troops withdraw from Afghanistan and the Taliban regains power, a retired Marine reflects on his career in the military and what comes next.
Posted inReflections
SERE School: Where Military-Grade Hide-and-Seek Meets a Life-and-Death Struggle
By the time we were “captured,” we were so exhausted from the cold, little sleep, the lack of food, and the countless miles that we lost all sense of time.
