The Death of the Veteran Monoculture

  We, the GWOT veterans, went to war with the ubiquitous thank-you-for-your-service refrain, the hero-worship and do-no-wrong treatment that emerged after September 11th, 2001. Our country started ...

The Battle of Davenport

  Note: this article was originally released August 24, 2020. This piece is raw from the fireline, unfiltered insights from the souls standing between a 74,000-acre lightning complex fire and ...

The Three Rs

Scientific studies of memory are a little scary, because the evidence is in, and your memory sucks. Memories are not objective recordings of our experiences. They are colored by any number of disto...

A Cloud Too Far

 We set out mid-morning underneath an azure sky, accompanied by a solitary puff of a cloud perhaps providing relief to some distant beast in the valley down below. That day I was leading a group of...

Events, Beliefs, and Consequences

  One of the universally desirable traits across selection courses is what psychologists call low neuroticism. This doesn’t mean being dead inside or emotionless. The best translation would be “hig...

Soldierstone

Deep in the Rio Grande forest of Colorado lies a hidden monument to the Vietnam War dead. The exact location is not a secret, but it’s not advertised either. It is not my place to share. Like all t...

Lessons from Achilles the Monster

Achilles, the most renowned warrior in Western culture. The hero of the Trojan War. The monster. On the off chance you have no idea who Achilles is, let me sum up. Achilles was born to Thetis, a go...

The Gold Coast of Africa Pt. III: Slave Castle and Homecoming

  Before going home, Phyllis took our team to see a place I’d never forget. From Cape Coast, we ventured West past thatched-roof huts and giant anthills to the seaside city of Elmina. Elmina was in...

Quit Tomorrow

  Most people have heard sayings like “You are the sum of the five people you spend the most time with.” This is one of the advantages of belonging to a SOF community. When everyone around you...

Authenticity

Books and movies—the military kind. Do you watch them? Read them? Today we’re going to talk about them, and how the facts aren’t always… accurate. And a little bit about why that is. Two eleme...

Ghosts

Buried in my Facebook notifications is a ten-year-old friend request from a ghost. A high school friend who battled internal demons for a long time and passed away around 2010. At the time I didn't...

Self Talk

 We’ve all got a running commentary in our heads throughout much of the day--scientists call it an internal monologue. During intensely challenging workouts or events in selection you’ll find...

It Got Old: From a GWOT Amputee

I was once a patient at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. I was then, as I am now, what is known as a right-below-knee amputee. What you’re about to read, if you’ll indulge me, is not a war story—pe...

Compartmentalization

Compartmentalization is the practice of mentally setting things aside that are unnecessary or counterproductive to your immediate purpose. Think of a soldier who has to drag a buddy out of a firefi...

Survivor's Guilt 2.0

 I found out a few days ago that one of the Marines I served with died. A year ago. His old squad leader, Jay, told me after he DMed me. Actually, he didn’t tell me right off. He said, “Hey do you,...