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The Fire Pit

Lore, Adventure, Stories of Fortune, Books, Entertainment, Veterans’ Issues

Eerie Silences and Strange Time Warps: The Weirdness of Life Aboard a Submarine

by David Chetlain, The War HorseI spent 18 months in training before reporting to my first submarine. I learned a lot about damage control, sonar, electronics, and how to distinguish a sperm whale from a humpback whale. But nothing prepared me for the disconnection from Earth that distorted my perception …

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The Cordon: One Very Bad Day in Baqubah

by Greg Chabot Editor’s note: This story contains some very raw, violent material that could bring readers back to their own stark experiences at war. ~SKK It had been quiet in Baqubah with some IEDs going off and some occasional small arms fire in the city. This was about to …

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Green on Blue in Afghanistan: He Attacked Us for 40 Bucks and a Trip to Paradise

By Heath Hansen We entered the base between the HESCO barriers covered in concertina razor-wire, unprepared for a betrayal from one of our supposed allies. On November 9, 2005, as the convoy snaked its way into the safety of the base walls, I could see Afghan National Army (ANA) soldiers …

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We Attacked the Jungle With Flamethrowers and Explosives

by Marvin J. Wolf, The War Horse Tall, muscular, broad-shouldered, with a full head of white hair, Brig. Gen. John M. Wright Jr. scrambled up a termite mound, some 30 feet wide at the base and seven or eight feet high, and gestured for us to draw into a semicircle. …

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Election Day in Iraq: We Were the QRF for Trouble Spots

by Greg Chabot I was taking MRE coffee and putting it between my cheek and gums to stay alert: an exhausting mission when elections were held in Iraq for the first time in two years. Election day started off very early for us. A nation-wide curfew was declared, and buses …

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The Giants of Afghanistan: Mystery Tales From the GWOT

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 …

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When the Lance Corporal Met His Match Against Gummy Bears

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 …

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They Called Us Mercenaries, Gunslingers, and Worse: A Contractor’s Story

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 …

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