by Fred A. Ganous, SGM, USA (Ret) The departure point was LZ Washington in downtown Baghdad, which stayed busier than the Atlanta airport. The pilot in command was a Chief Warrant 4 who was well-trained in his aviation duties. He saw a convoy of five U.S. army vehicles come under …
Read More »Humbling Reflections on Memorial Day
Precious time is the most valuable thing any of us will ever possess. by Heath Hansen As I reflect on what today’s holiday means, and remember the sacrifices so many American servicemen and servicewomen made for my freedom, I’m humbled. I think about the buddies I lost – the guys I knew …
Read More »‘I Wanna Jump From a Big Iron Bird’: Following in Dad’s Boot-Steps to Become a Paratrooper
by Heath Hansen I looked up into the big, blue sky. Far in the distance, I spotted a C-130 Hercules headed towards the open grass field I waited in. For a few moments, I watched as the plane continued in my direction. Suddenly, from the tail-end of the aircraft, paratroopers …
Read More »‘The Deer Hunter’ Came to Town on a Cold Night in Denver
Depressed over the April 30, 1975 fall of Saigon, this Army veteran went to see a new movie. by Jack Hawkins Released in Los Angeles in 1978, The Deer Hunter was already becoming a legendary film by the time it hit “flyover country” a few months later. I was between …
Read More »A Hair-Raising Ride in Pleiku
by James Donzella Somewhere between my 14th and 15th birthdays, my dad taught me to drive a stick shift. He thought it was important that I knew how. My first car was a stick-shift Ford—fast. It earned me several tickets. A few years later, drafted into the Army, I found …
Read More »An Infantryman Comes Home From War
by Heath Hansen March 2006. My tour was over. I had survived. No more fire-fights. No more IED’s. No more raids. No more rocket-attacks. I was going home. Many servicemen spend time in-country without ever leaving “the wire.” As an infantryman, I basically lived outside the wire. Being shot at, …
Read More »An Angry Rhino, Three Rookie Trackers, and Trouble in Africa: ‘She Wants to Gore Us’
The world of anti-poaching is difficult and dangerous. Especially when you come face to face with an enraged rhinoceros. by S. Anderson I’ve always been fascinated by the African Bush. Lions, Leopards, Cape Buffalo, Elephant, and Rhino. The Big 5. Endless rolling hills, dense bush, and undisturbed ecology. Growing up, …
Read More »The Sands of Agadez: Where a Woman Knows More Than She Should About Gun Lords and Mercenaries
by Carl Hancocks For the past four years, the city of Agadez has been what could barely pass as home for a woman without a name. Nigerian, she fends for herself as a sex-worker, but that was not how she arrived in this place. Her story is that of a …
Read More »Lost Night in Kuwait: When My Driver Took a Detour Into the Desert
We keep on driving, and I ask, “Where the fuck are we going?” With a smile and laugh Ali replies, “It’s just up here, buddy.” Being paranoid, I lock and load my M16. I figure worse comes to worse, I’ll smoke him and find my way back. by Greg Chabot …
Read More »‘Warfare’ Shows the Visceral Brutality of Combat
MOVIE REVIEW by Navy SEAL Commander Dan O’Shea (ret) Editor’s note: The newly released WARFARE follows a platoon of U.S. Navy SEALs on a surveillance mission gone wrong in November 2006, during a battle against insurgents in Ramadi Province, Iraq. The film from A24 is based on true events. It …
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