Archive for the ‘Afghanistan’ Category
Stealing Valor for a free meal
I experienced something recently that I have to talk about. This post isn’t on my regular schedule, but I’m pissed off about this and need to get it out now, while it’s still fresh. Monday November 12th my wife and I went to a couple of restaurants that were offering free meals to veterans. Despite the […]
Filed under: Afghanistan, Iraq | 19 Comments
Tags: golden corral, stolen valor, veterans day
Veterans Day and the word “hero”
In 1991 my Marine Reserve unit was mobilized for Desert Storm. Sort of. The paperwork said it was for Desert Storm, but we got our orders the day the war ended. A week later my unit convoyed from Camp Pendleton to the Marine base at 29 Palms, California. The day we arrived, the community was […]
Filed under: Afghanistan, Iraq | 9 Comments
Tags: Afghanistan, heroism, iraq, veterans day
Election Day 2012 (My anti-rant)
Light is finally visible at the end of the tunnel. This year’s election madness is about to end. The polarization wrought by every major election can now give way to the normal polarization of everyday American life. As of tomorrow, I can quit being pissed off at people about their politics and just be pissed […]
Filed under: Afghanistan, Iraq, Writing | 10 Comments
Tags: Afghanistan, Election, iraq, Obama, Romney
How we’re built
I’m going to depart from my usual war and cop stories to talk a bit about current events. To me, the most important issue in the public eye is the Benghazi consulate attack and our country’s response. If there is one single issue that’s going to drive my vote, this might be it. I’m not […]
Filed under: Afghanistan, Cops, Iraq | 4 Comments
Tags: Afghanistan, army, benghazi, combat, kosovo, libya, police, war
I’ve been asked why I was so frustrated when I came home from Afghanistan. After my deployment, I was mad. Not at my family, not exactly at myself, not at what I personally had done, but at some of what I had experienced. I also felt guilt, for a few things. To explain how frustrating […]
Filed under: Afghanistan | 10 Comments
Tags: Afghanistan, combat, deployment, french army, taliban, war
“Even God hates us”
Two missions I was on in Afghanistan were flat-out horrible. The story that follows is about one of them. We called this one “The Worst Mission Ever.” No joke, there I was, on a mountain ridge in the middle of a dark night in Afghanistan. Another American soldier and I were attached to a French […]
Filed under: Afghanistan | 14 Comments
Tags: Afghanistan, army, combat, french army, sniper, war
As I said in my introductory post, I try to stay away from politics. That’s just about impossible at the moment, as our impending election leads family members, friends and neighbors to accuse each other of being either “commies” or “nazipublicans”. I’m always amazed at the level of invective the opposing sides hurl at each […]
Filed under: Afghanistan | Leave a Comment
Tags: Afghanistan, army, french army, kosovo, media, natgeo, national geographic, taliban, war
A note on my novel’s release
So it’s official: I’m a published author. This means, of course, my life will be drastically different from now on. Hippies who have tried and failed to write books on world peace during their brief periods of sobriety will gaze upon me with envy. Passing women in the street will have an overwhelming urge to […]
Filed under: Afghanistan, Cops, Iraq, Writing | 9 Comments
Death Blossom: A last-ditch defense technique, used by the final remaining friendly fighter spacecraft, to destroy a swarm of attacking enemy fighters. When the Death Blossom was initiated the friendly fighter spun in random patterns while firing every weapon in all directions. From a scene in the 1984 sci-fi movie “The Last Starfighter.” So no […]
Filed under: Afghanistan | Leave a Comment
Tags: Afghanistan, army, taliban, war
Regrets
I have a few regrets that are eating at me lately. For example, I regret waiting until I was in my late 30′s to have my last child. I regret not shooting one particular Taliban on one particular mission. I regret missing so much of my children’s lives while I served overseas. I’ll never admit this […]
Filed under: Afghanistan, Writing | 6 Comments
