The Fire Pit

by Greg Chabot For Halloween, Greg Chabot leads us down the rabbit hole in search of the legendary Giants of Afghanistan. So gather ’round in the dark and hold your flashlights under your chins, while Greg tells the tales. ~SKK Throughout history there have been phenomena and sightings of things …

by Heath Hansen I slowly poured a bit of water into my MRE heater bag and waited as the chemicals reacted and began to warm. I slid the main course into the packet and folded the top sleeve over, laying the bag against a rock or something. As I waited …

by Greg Chabot Note from the author: The following is all from my perspective and how I remember it. Any inaccuracies are on me. Overview I often get asked, “What was the most dangerous mission you went on?” My reply: “Logpack to FOB Warhorse.”  Baqubah in 2004-05 was not a …

by Mitchell “Taco” Bell Back in 2005, I spent a tour living in an old Iraq bathroom in the control tower on Al Taqqadum airbase.  Great place, you get a bit smell tone deaf to the room, but it was better than tent living. We received a ton of care …

by Cliff Wade Iraq, 2006 We found ourselves in the home of an Iraqi family during a massive clearing operation in an area characterized by terrain varying between urban landscape, farmland, palm groves, and small villages. We had been clearing routes of improvised explosive devices all morning. We had been …

by Mikial The author tells Soldier of Fortune: “All of my work was with Department of Defense contractors. We never considered ourselves mercenaries although we were called mercenaries, gunslingers, and worse at times. It was difficult and dangerous work and also sometimes boring. We often lived rough in camps and …

by SGT May, Israel Defense Forces The terrorists just keep coming, and you are alone… in the most dangerous place in Israel. – An IDF soldier remembers being present for the attacks on Israel on October 7, 2023. 6:30 in the morning – a massive boom. I thought it was …

BOOK REVIEW by Susan Katz Keating It all comes down to the fact that you have to trust the men to your left and right, knowing they are standing fast and will not break on you, just as you are doing for them. – Jim Lechner in ‘With My Shield‘ …

by Ed Meagher, The War Horse I’d been communicating with B-52 pilots on the verge of nuclear war, and I hadn’t even known it. January 23, 1968, was an exciting day for me. I had no idea just how exciting it would turn out to be. I’d recently returned from …

by Susan Katz Keating Jack Carr and James M. Scott have produced a master class in how to write contemporary history. Morning reveille had not yet sounded on Oct 23, 1983, when a terrorist drove a bomb-laden truck into the headquarters and barracks building of the U.S. Marine Corps peacekeeping …