Gentleman Goon: A Case for the Warrior Artist

Warriors and art have gone hand in hand for millennia. The Epic of Gilgamesh, The Art of War, and of course, The Iliad and The Odyssey, for example. But warfare isn't the only subject of art. Warr...

To Them I Appeared a Stranger

You felt it the first time you came home on mid tour leave. You were still young enough and still close enough to your friends from school and life, before your “integration.” Everyone was happy y...

THE DOLLARS AND SENSE OF WRITING

Perhaps it is fitting that I begin this essay on the 12th anniversary of my “Alive Day”.  A dozen years ago today, far away from my current decadent environs of Sin City, I found myself on a...

First Sergeant Hill

Memorial Day is a complicated holiday for some of us. Nothing can cast into sharp relief the chasm, real or imagined, between GWOT vets and civilians like Memorial Day can. There are plenty of “an...

The Psychedelic Warrior

As modern warriors, it’s important we open our minds to new ideas and perspectives in order to stay one step ahead of an increasingly diverse and nebulous group of enemies and stakeholders inherent...

Masks

One of the many reasons that I loved reading David Rose’s book, “No Joy,” was its intentional destruction of the civilian’s image of the American warfighter. Combat is harsh and cruel, and it tak...

Reengage

The sand grinds its way into my elbows and I settle my body behind the rifle. My ribcage aches from the weight that has consistently been placed on it, and my ankles speak to me from my torqued ...

A Way To Happiness

"When you are not pursuing your goal, you are literally committing spiritual suicide."—Les BrownActively pursue your dreams.There, I said it. Easy enough, right? No. Let me elaborate by taking it b...

For the Love of Grunts

It’s like having children.Big, savage, drunk children.With guns.As a medic/corpsman in a combat arms unit, your job is to do everything in your power to make sure those evil bastards can enter the ...

Redeployment: Truth Found in Fiction

Unlike the beloved Commandant’s Reading List, we here at OAF Nation feel one’s reading level is determined more by grey matter and curiosity—not things like the officer/enlisted distinction… or for...

Join a Fight Club

Transitioning from the spartan, communal existence of deployment to the overabundance and relative social isolation of modern society may be the most challenging experience we will ever face. We k...

Purification

You’re standing in formation, at close interval (dress right...DRESS!) with your entire battalion, your body locked and your eyes forward (don’t lock your knees!). You hear the buzz of the microph...

Counterculture at its Finest: No Joy

Fam, we are excited to announce that Dave Rose’s second edition of Spent Shell Casings is out and alive.A GWOT rollercoaster ride; from lunatic, barracks-room humor to the depths where monster...

Perspectives on Violence: Blood Meridian

“I didn’t think I could tough it out for those days.” -glassjawIn a day and age where speech and symbolism are considered forms of violence, usually by those fortunate enough to have never encount...

September 11: Reflections and Moving Forward

As Florida deals with all-that-is Hurricane Irma, I see what always surrounds a big, dangerous event. Amidst lines for gas and scrambles for AA batteries, micro-communities united and unite still, ...