There is a famous phrase in American literature that goes like this: “Every love story is a ghost story.” The late, great author and tortured genius David Foster Wallace penned the poetic sentence in a letter to a friend in 1986, and Wallace ...
As Marines Work to End Gender Segregation in Boot Camp, Officer Who Fought For Change is Cautiously Optimistic
After retired Marine Lt. Col. Kate Germano took command of the Fourth Recruit Training Battalion at Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island in 2014, she sought to reform the Corps’ recruit training practices. “This job seemed perfect for me,” ...
WATCH: Former Officer Analyzes Body-Cam Footage of Deon Kay Shooting Released by DC Police
After Washington, DC police officer Alexander Alvarez shot and killed 18-year-old Deon Kay in southeast Washington Thursday, it took less than 24 hours for the department to release Alvarez’s body-camera footage. The footage appears to show Kay ...
Delta Force Operator Who Helped Rescue 70 Prisoners from ISIS to Receive Medal of Honor September 11
An Army Ranger assigned to the U.S. Army’s Special Operations Command will be awarded the Medal of Honor Sept. 11 for his actions in a 2015 raid that rescued approximately 70 prisoners from Islamic State militants in Iraq, according to the Associated ...
Antifa Supporter Claiming to Be Army Vet Suspected of Killing Conservative Demonstrator in Portland
A Facebook livestream captured grainy video Saturday night that appears to show the moment a man — dressed in a white shirt, shorts, tube socks, and a black hat — shoots and kills Aaron J. Danielson, a supporter of the conservative group Patriot ...
Kenosha Police Attorney Releases Officers’ Detailed Account in Jacob Blake Shooting
Wisconsin Sen. Steve Nass released a statement Friday issued by the Kenosha Professional Police Association (KPPA) and the officers involved in the Jacob Blake shooting, providing the officers’ version of events. Kenosha Police Officer Rusten ...
The Untouchables: After a Roadside Bomb Tore Them Apart, Brotherhood Brought Them Back Together
The last time Tim Jeffers was on Okinawa, he had legs. That was in February 2006 when Jeffers, then a corporal assigned to 3rd Transportation Support Battalion, 3rd Marine Logistics Group, as a motor transport operator, left the island for Iraq’s ...
Scars Are Not Forever: How Operation Mend Helped Make a Marine Whole Again
“Scars are not forever” was conceived for one Marine in the months of rehabilitation that followed an IED blast in Iraq, which left him badly burned and disfigured. Since then, the spirit of that ideal has evolved into an innovative partnership ...
Medal of Honor for Legendary Soldier Who Pulled Six from Burning Bradley Awaits Approval from Congress, Trump
Kasinal White felt like screaming with joy when she received the news Thursday — on her 62nd birthday — that 15 years of tireless work may soon culminate with the awarding of the nation’s highest award for military valor to her brother, Sgt. 1st ...
Officials Investigating Sailor Suspected of Setting Fire That ‘Gutted’ USS Bonhomme Richard
Investigators executed multiple search warrants at a sailor’s home and property and have questioned the individual suspected of intentionally setting a fire July 12 on the USS Bonhomme Richard as the ship was docked at Naval Base San Diego, according ...
Wisconsin DOJ Releases New Details in Jacob Blake Shooting
Jacob Blake, the Black man shot seven times in the back by a Kenosha, Wisconsin, police officer Sunday, had a knife in his possession, the Wisconsin Department of Justice (DOJ) Division of Criminal Investigation (DCI) said in a press release ...
EXCLUSIVE: Cop-Turned-Researcher Provides Detailed Analysis of Jacob Blake Shooting
Former Army Ranger Thomas Owen Baker knows something about using deadly force in the line of duty. Baker, who served for nearly nine years as a police officer in Phoenix, was responding to a domestic violence call June 8, 2009, when he ordered a man ...
WATCH: Marines Rain Fire on ISIS in Dazzling Drone Footage
“One of the coolest, most creative videos I've ever seen produced by a military journalist.” That comment from a Vimeo user is a pretty spot-on assessment of Steel Rain — a brief but beautiful video of a Marine artillery unit mercilessly raining ...
Citing Inadequate Resources, Portland Police Watched as Right- and Left-Wing Demonstrators Clashed, Rioted
BEAVERTON, Oregon — In a scene familiar to many Portland residents, political ideologies clashed in often violent confrontations between right-wing demonstrators and counterprotesters in the area around the Multnomah County Justice Center in downtown ...
Here’s the True Story of the Portland Man Attacked and Beaten Unconscious Last Week
After Adam Haner crashed his truck in downtown Portland on the night of Sunday, Aug. 16, and was beaten unconscious in the street, myriad videos of the brutal beating circulated in local and national media. Conflicting or inaccurate information ...
FBI Investigating Threat of Vehicle-Born Explosives Against Federal Building in Portland
The FBI is investigating the credibility of a threat that a vehicle filled with explosives would hit a federal building in Portland, The Oregonian reported Friday morning. In response to the threat, all federal buildings in Portland have been ...
Air Force Veteran Brian Kolfage, Steve Bannon Arrested For Defrauding Donors in ‘We Build the Wall’ Campaign
Federal prosecutors on Thursday arrested former White House Chief of Staff Steve Bannon and US Air Force veteran Brian Kolfage, alleging they and two other men enriched themselves by defrauding donors to the controversial "We Build the Wall" ...
The Origin and Evolution of ‘Johnny Got His Gun’ and Metallica’s ‘One’
When Metallica released ...And Justice For All in 1988, the album was a game-changer for the band. Helped greatly by the wildly popular single One and its iconic music video, the album, which went multi-platinum, is the band’s artistic high-water ...
In Solemn Ceremony, Remains of 8 Troops Killed in AAV Mishap Transferred to Dover AFB
The remains of seven Marines and one sailor who were killed in a training mishap near Camp Pendleton July 30 and recovered Aug. 7 were boarded onto a C-17 Globemaster at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar and transferred to Dover Air Force Base, ...
The Last Shots of the American Civil War Were Fired in Russia
This article was originally published Aug. 12, 2020, on We Are The Mighty. Historians don't talk much about naval action during the Civil War, certainly not as much as they do about the ground combat. If it's not about a riverboat, the Monitor ...
Marines Celebrate Vet-Owned Business’ Launch of New, More Delicious Crayons
When news broke that “Someone finally made edible crayons for Marines,” Leathernecks likely read the announcement with confusion: When have crayons ever been anything other than edible and delicious? The colorful sticks of wax have been a dietary ...
The Deadliest Marine Recruit on Parris Island
Marine recruit Austin Ferrell has been shooting, building and machining rifles all of his life, so when he arrived to Chosin Rifle Range aboard Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island, he felt right at home. Ferrell anticipated performing well on ...
Meet the Combat Cameraman Who Used MRE Coffee Grounds to Produce Beautiful Paintings While Deployed
While deployed to East Africa as a member of the 4th Combat Camera Squadron, US Air Force Staff Sgt. Corban Lundborg sought to create a unique illustration series inspired by his time in the region. Looking around the combat camera office, he found ...
Off-Duty Fire Department Airmen Help Rescue Victim After Accident
The 52nd Civil Engineer Squadron Fire and Emergency Services flight go through extensive training day in and day out to ensure Spangdahlem Air Base and host nation emergencies are taken care of and everyone is safe. When real-life emergencies ...
A Fake Raid, A Fake Village, and a Sinking Track
This article was originally published July 29, 2020, in The War Horse. We’re piled on top of each other 15, sometimes 20, at a time, in a vehicle that feels like it’s built for 12. Our weapons and gear double our volume. Once in, we can’t ...
Can the Pentagon Lead the Tech Sector Again?
This article was originally published April 30, 2020, on The War Horse. Included in the $2.2 trillion rescue package in response to the COVID-19 shutdown was $17 billion set aside for firms deemed “critical for maintaining national security.” ...
Remains of 7 Marines, Sailor Killed in Training Mishap Successfully Recovered
The remains of seven Marines and a sailor who were killed when their amphibious assault vehicle (AAV) sank during a training exercise July 30 off the California coast near Camp Pendleton were successfully recovered Friday. After officials ...
Air Force Gen. Brown Makes History as First Black Officer to Lead a Military Service Branch
Gen. Charles “CQ” Brown Jr. made history yesterday when he took the oath of office and accepted responsibility as the new chief of staff of the US Air Force, making him the first Black chief of any of the military services. Brown became the Air ...
Revisiting ‘The Things They Carried’ — Why Tim O’Brien’s Classic is a Vital Meditation on ‘Truth’ in War
Tim O’Brien’s The Things They Carried is one of America’s most celebrated pieces of war literature. The book, which was published in 1990, is a collection of linked, semi-autobiographical short stories inspired by O'Brien's experiences as a soldier ...
Massive Blast That Devastated Beirut May Have Origins in a Moldovan Cargo Ship
Early Tuesday evening, people in Lebanon’s capital city of Beirut watched as a massive plume of gray smoke from an explosion in the port billowed over the capital skyline. Then a second devastating explosion erupted from the site, blooming up with a ...