by Mike Holmes In late October 2005, my team and I had been dropped off in a terrible little place on the Baghdad-to- Amman highway called Ar Rutbah, to coordinate supply convoys coming out of Jordan with the Marines who controlled this sector. The convoys mostly carried fuel and supplies …
Read More »When ‘Concrete Bob’ Kicked the Ghouls Off the Front Gate at Walter Reed Hospital
by Susan Katz Keating 2006 The traffic along Georgia Avenue going south was sparse throughout the stretch of Maryland road. The bus proceeded unhindered, ferrying wounded warriors strapped into gurneys or propped up with i.v. lines attached, and belted into seats. Many were profoundly changed men and women with missing …
Read More »‘The Taliban Are at My Door’: The Whispered Message From a Friend in Afghanistan
by Susan Katz Keating “The Taliban are behind my door.” The whispered words came through the phone in the pitch of night, hours after Kabul fell on August 15, 2021. My friend “Hakim,” a man I had been trying from afar to help leave Afghanistan, called me from inside his …
Read More »A Serial Killer Roams the ‘Fractured Streets’ of This Intense Novel by Author West Havoc
Book Review by Heath Hansen Ever wonder what it’s like to be a street cop? The politics? The bureaucracy? The intensity? Or what it feels like to face a crazed maniac? The adrenaline high? The danger? The uncertainty? Fractured Streets has it all. I was recently perusing noir crime books on Amazon …
Read More »Our Helicopter Was Broken Down in a Field – and the Viet Cong Opened Fire On Us
by Hooligan I hoped to shoot the first VC I saw who poked his head over the wall, and at least get his AK to defend myself. All this while the enemy machine guns were firing and mortars going off. It started out as just another boring Ash & Trash …
Read More »Wounded at War, This Soldier Created a Program to Help Veterans – Through Puppies
by Sgt. 1st Class Ashleigh Martinez Editor’s note: I first met Chuck Ziegenfuss when I wrote an article about him for PEOPLE magazine, when he was donating voice-activated laptops to wounded warriors at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center. Before long, I was part of another group that cooked for …
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 »‘Damn the Valley’: A Gritty, Riveting Story of Paratroopers at War in Afghanistan
by Heath Hansen When William Yeske asked if I’d be interested in reviewing his book, Damn The Valley, I was eager to see what he had put on paper. As I found out later, he’d served as an 82nd Airborne Paratrooper, in the 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment (PIR). Considering I …
Read More »Life in the Shadows: Ric Prado Appears on ‘Tall Tales With Taco Bell’ Podcast
Two of our great friends sat down for a chat in their respective studios – and here’s the result. Our esteemed board member Ric Prado appeared on Tall Tales With Taco Bell, hosted by the one and only – you guessed it! – Taco Bell. They chat about Ric’s adventures …
Read More »To Those Who Jump Out of Perfectly Good Airplanes: Raise a Glass on National Airborne Day
by Heath Hansen Happy National Airborne Day to all you servicemen and servicewomen who volunteered to serve your country at a “higher” level! Created in 2002, by then President George W. Bush, National Airborne Day honors all the Nation’s airborne armed forces. READ MORE from Heath Hansen in Soldier of …
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