Eric Miller is a former Army Combat Medic from Parkersburg, West Virginia. He holds a bachelor’s degree in history and has worked with homeless populations and veteran services throughout the state. He is an avid outdoorsman and has recently become interested in woodworking.
In the early days of the war in Afghanistan, a Green Beret on a night raid suddenly found himself in a fight in which no weapon or technology mattered: a hand-to-hand fight to the death. On Jan. 23, 2002, Master Sgt. Anthony Pryor’s special forces ...
If history is the best teacher, America is its worst student. Several countries throughout history have marched into Afghanistan, and each one of them left with their own hard-learned lessons. Never to be deterred, the United States ignored these ...
Trench raids were tactical assaults in World War I in which small parties of soldiers would slip out from their dug-in trenches under the cover of night and, after sneaking across the deadly "no man's land," attack their enemy's positions. The ...
This article won't be long, and judging by the fact that you’re reading it, that’s probably a recurring theme in your life. Don’t sweat it. It’s not the size of the boat, sailor, it’s the motion of the ocean … or however that lie goes. We were all ...
As Marine Lance Cpl. Dylan Merola pushed further into his mission at Kabul, he wanted his mom to know he would be out of touch, but he would be okay. “Mom, I won't be able to talk to you for a little while," he wrote, days before he was killed. ...
On Dec. 21, 1943, Lt. Leon Crane was conducting a flyover of the Alaska interior when one of the engines of his B-24 Liberator malfunctioned and caused the aircraft to spiral out of control. Crane grabbed a parachute and dove from the open bomb bay ...
As the Pentagon shifts priorities to prepare for future threats, two recent Army Research Lab studies suggest Beast Wars could be the way of America's future. The Army is apparently taking another crack at modernizing its force by (checks notes) ...
The collapse of Afghanistan hit home for many veterans, and if there were ever such a thing as a ceremonious end to a war, this wouldn't be it. Let's not mince words here. The United States' withdrawal from Afghanistan has been nothing short of an ...
Watching the fall of Afghanistan back home in the United States is fraught with emotions. Many of my fellow veterans will say they’re not surprised at current events. It appears eerily similar to our Vietnam Veterans watching as helicopters evacuated ...
Here’s a fun fact: Since July 4, 1776, America has had just 17 years of peace. For perspective, SpongeBob has been on the air for just over 20 years. That means we the people are more committed to a cartoon sponge and his starfish sidekick than we ...
Women have always been an integral part of America's military and have often shouldered more than their fair share. On the night of June 1, 1863, famed abolitionist and Union spymaster Harriet Tubman boarded a federal ship accompanied by two ...
Have you tried to burn a Marine with a crayon joke lately? It just doesn’t land the way it used to. The “Marines eat crayons” meme — once a vibrant wellspring of laughably clichéd caricatures and shallow stereotypes about how dumb Marines are — is ...
What do Ohio and outer space have in common (besides being utterly inhospitable to human life)? Last Friday, the Cleveland Indians announced the club would be changing its name to the Cleveland Guardians. The organization sifted through ...
"When Keeping It Real Goes Wrong" is a classic comedy sketch by Dave Chappelle in which he depicts normal, everyday people making the decision to "keep it real" when faced with situations in which they would typically bite their tongues. While we ...
Are you a service member who is considering marrying someone that you met at the bar last night just so you can move out of the barracks and make enough money to afford smokes and food? While the added bonuses that married service members receive on ...
Much of the public’s perception of the military comes from less-than-accurate sources. Tell someone what you did in the military, and they’ll inevitably tie it to a movie, TV show, or — worst of all — video game. While most cinematic and literary ...
Combat medic. Just the utterance of the title brings to mind intense, profound imagery. A young medic renders aid to his wounded brothers in the chaos of battle. With deft hands and ice in his veins, the steely-eyed medic stabilizes his squad mate ...
In the more than 245 years of its existence, the US military has changed a lot. While uniforms and equipment are constantly being updated or mothballed, one thing has stayed unshakably the same: Privates are still idiots. Even in 1775, sergeants ...
While typically rooted in true events, war films often take “creative liberties” in the portrayal of military members and their exploits. Heartbreak Ridge is no exception, but there’s one famously far-fetched scene in the cult classic that may have ...
It's the Fourth of July weekend, which means it's time to get yourself in the freedom-loving mood with some epic patriotic cinema. We've put together a list of 10 American-as-fuck films and shows to get your Liberty Bell ringing. You bring the beer ...
It’s hard to imagine that a small-town farm boy from South Dakota would have an adept understanding of fifth-century Chinese military philosophy, but regardless of whether Douglas Hegdahl had actually read The Art of War, he embodied one of its most ...
The world is full of many mysteries and great questions. Are we alone in the universe? Is Bigfoot real? Why did the Air Force recently upload a penis video to a government-run website? Did that last one get you? It got us too. Let’s talk about ...
Rambo. Just the name brings to mind a mix of hyper-masculine imagery and badassery. Big guns, big knives, and big, luscious hair. It doesn't get more classic 1980s action hero than Rambo. Despite First Blood's now iconic status, here are some ...
Over the years, I've had my nerves scraped raw by Americans who flippantly ask the question, "Have you ever killed anyone?" The fact that those who ask completely fail to understand or truly care about the veteran experience has calloused my soul ...
As the sun sets on the longest war in American history and the Pentagon shifts focus from counterterrorism operations to potential peer threats such as Russia and China, the US Marine Corps is streamlining its force to prepare for future ...
