Note: this piece is written from the perspective of the author’s wife. The clock ticked to 22:00, the colon antagonistically flashing to remind me of each passing second. I sat on the edge of my twin bed, pushed together with his to resemble a king-sized bed, while the musty, sunburned Iraqi dust again settled. Sitting … Read more
2015 was the year I came off active duty. On the day I came home, my flight was scheduled to land at John Wayne Airport in Orange County. This homecoming wasn’t filled with the presence of loved ones or sunshine; instead, I stepped off a three-hour flight from Washington into the late hours of an … Read more
I stand in my living room, dressed in my naval flight suit and boots. My first-born daughter stays in the opposite corner, crying inconsolably. Her sobs and wails shake her tiny two-year-old body, her hair a mess, as she stands away from me, body facing the corner, defiant. She is angry. She is sad. She … Read more
Note: In this narrative, the author appears as the character named “Hilal.” It was a long ride back to Camp Anaconda, a.k.a. Mortaritaville, Iraq. My ears were still ringing from the blast. I was tired, hungry, and needed a shower. But I could only muster up enough energy to break out the laptop and email … Read more
Have you ever felt like life put you in the right place and at the right time? Growing up, I had fun playing hose fights and chucking water-filled grenade balloons at family members. I remember being a little kid sticking my thumb over the copper-brown business end of the hose and spraying everyone in close … Read more
Two weeks into my first deployment, and I still hadn’t pulled the trigger. The outgoing unit was filled with stories of exciting engagements, near misses, and swashbuckling heroism, so I struck out on my first few missions thinking that I was in the Wild West, and that I would be coming back, Winchester out of … Read more
After coming off a flight from Germany to Baltimore, I walked toward my next connection to Los Angeles, feeling that my Air Force career was over. All I wanted was to get home and be reunited with my family. As I waited, I needed to charge my iPod at the charging station nearby. As I … Read more
During my time in Helmand Province, one of the deadliest areas in Afghanistan, my battalion of over 800 highly-trained Marines was tasked with a full-scale counter-insurgency operation. Our work was to be the largest Marine Corps-led helicopter raid since the Vietnam War. There were many ideas on the table about how to do this, including … Read more
I was done! Four years, zero months of active-duty Army service. I arrived at LAX craving donuts and fried chicken during the wee hours of the morning —I was ecstatic about the endless possibilities that await. As I exited the airport and gazed on the busy streets of Los Angeles, I remembered ten years ago … Read more
You know when someone does something crucial for you, something you’re not even sure you’d be capable of doing yourself, something so grand that you feel you’re indebted to this person? This kind of powerful feeling of indebtedness consumed my life and led me to march blindly in a direction that had nothing to do … Read more