Nonprofit journalism about military service, war, and its impact.
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Inside an office building in West Los Angeles, retired Marine Maj. James Capers Jr. stood tall and strong in his signature spit-shined black cowboy boots. Under the shadow of a red Force Recon Association hat and tinted glasses, Capers’ eyes wore a hardened look that made no effort to hide the darkness and despair that […] The post He Earned the Medal of Honor in Vietnam. Why Did It Take Decades…
On the day I left the Army, a sergeant in dress uniform took my hand and held it while he spoke. “On behalf of the president of the United States, the people of the United States, and myself, I want to thank you for your service to our country.” He called me Mr. Thompson. Not […] The post I Typed Forms While Other Men Went to War. That Shame Shaped My Life appeared first on The War Horse .
When Mayra Diaz opened the door of her Army barracks room in 2022, she didn’t realize it was the beginning of the end of her military career. She had never met the soldier standing in front of her, Sgt. Greville Clarke. She didn’t know he had sexually assaulted three other women on base over the […] The post Military Sexual Trauma Survivors Can’t Sue the Government. A New Bill Could Change That…
I secured my M-16 to my rack after a long, scorching day on the rifle range and touched my stomach. Cramps should be arriving any day—but they weren’t. How many weeks had it been? Where was my period? Where was everyone else’s? I had seen “Full Metal Jacket” and expected the experience it depicted: the […] The post The Marines Created a Warrior. But I Forgot How to Be a Woman appeared first on The…
The Global War on Terrorism began in the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the United States. It never officially ended. Instead, the war expanded. U.S. troops invaded Afghanistan in 2001 and Iraq in 2003, while counterterrorism operations spread across the Middle East, Africa, and elsewhere. The United States withdrew its last troops […] The post 25 Years Later, Will the Global War on…
The fall lasted only seconds, but the consequences would span a lifetime. Under the cover of darkness in Balad, Iraq, Army Sgt. Will Fisher was moving into position for an overnight mission. He fell roughly 40 feet and landed on his feet while wearing about 100 pounds of gear. The force of the fall crushed […] The post Their Military Careers Were Cut Short in Combat. Now They’re Fighting Congress…
It was only a month after the roadside bombing. I was still in Landstuhl Regional Medical Center, Germany, in June 2006, undergoing successive rounds of surgery. Rods protruded from my limbs, keeping the broken bones of my right forearm and left thigh immobile until the doctors could complete a series of bone grafts and insert […] The post Everybody Wanted to Visit the Wounded Soldier. I Wanted to…
My little sister has been in the military for 19 years, serving in Germany, U.S. territories, South Carolina, and elsewhere. Since February, she’s called a base in the Middle East home. I’ve known her location and her proximity to danger for months, but it had felt like she wasn’t really there. Iran seemed intent on […] The post My Little Sister Is Deployed in the Middle East. Her Base Was Hit…
The United States recorded at least 17 life-threatening casualties during the first phase of the war with Iran, according to newly obtained Defense Department records that provide the most detailed accounting yet of troops wounded in the conflict. More than 400 casualties were recorded between Feb. 28 and April 8, with Army personnel accounting for […] The post Shrapnel, Broken Bones, and Head…
When the COVID-19 vaccine was released in 2020, Daniel Pendergast was intrigued. “I honestly thought it sounded kind of ingenious at first,” he said. But then he learned there was a very small chance of heart inflammation that could occur after vaccination in healthy men like himself: around eight cases per million, according to the […] The post Trump Promised Redemption for Troops Who Refused…
