Our memories are mostly memories of memories. We can trust the big ideas. The details are more suspect. We pave over the particulars of our past with things from other events […]
The End
These 20 Years
20 years ago today I walked across the stage at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in Annapolis and received my diploma and commissioning certificate from then Defense Secretary William Cohen. Tucked neatly inside […]
On Service
Early one morning in June of 2005 I received a panicked phone call from the wife of a friend of mine. She asked me if I had any information on the rumors […]
The Cost of Veteran Value Signaling
The 22-a-day number is not real. The number publicized to show how many vets commit suicide every day is not real. The actual number is something less than that. And a deeper […]
Can We Question Someone’s Service?
We’ve already had a few dust-ups over the claims of service that some veterans running for congress have made. Over 400 have run or are running in this year’s midterms, a significant […]
Honest Thoughts on Military Service
There are more. Here are 13: 1- I’ve never duplicated the relationships I have that came out of serving together. No matter where or when, seeing someone I gutted out a deployment […]
A Story About a Band
Navigating the half dozen outposts between where I had spent the last six months in Iraq and the last checkpoint out of theater took me a day and a half of helo […]
The Gap
There’s a space between what I once was and what I am now. When I ask others to travel it with me, they can’t. It’s not their fault. It’s just too far. About […]
Why We Served
A few weeks ago, a reader posted a question in the comments section of an essay I wrote on the topic of Confederate monuments. I’ve said just about all that I think […]
The Art of the Aggressive
A few weeks ago, I sat down to do a podcast with retired SEAL, fellow writer and friend Andy Stumpf. He asked me a good question. And I gave him an ok […]
