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Quarantine Memories, Part II: COP Callaghan
COP Callahan, Baghdad, IraqJuly – August 2008 The Enemy effectively blew us out of Joint Security Station Ur, located near Sadr City in Baghdad on July 8, 2008 with an IRAM rocket barrage. The ten successfully detonated rockets inflicted injuries, damaged armored vehicles, demolished sleeping quarters, our wooden latrines, the computer room, and the gym,…
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Quarantine Memories, Part I: Mokesa
Mokesa Firebase, Diyala Province, Iraq April 2006 We were told to pack for a four- to ten- day mission. Other than the uniform on his back, his body armor, and his personal weapon, Kinney brought nothing more than a stick of deodorant and a spare t-shirt. No sleeping bag, no spare socks, no toothbrush ….
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Things are Different in Uganda
Mwiynaina Prison Farm20 kilometers outside Mubende, UgandaMay 20, 2014 Correspondent: Andrew Goldsmith Julius is well-spoken, honest and welcoming. He is also a convict at Mwiynaina Prison Farm. He is my guide around the prison. My only guide and escort; the two of us, surrounded by murders, rapists, and thieves. Things are different here in Uganda….
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Twenty-One Miles Through the Rwenzoris
Tim O’Hair, Marine Officer Fort Portal, Uganda, May 2014 The closest thing to a plan was a general destination and a timeline—the Rwenzori Mountains, and we told the guys back in Kampala not to worry unless we didn’t show up on Tuesday morning for work. In that case, start the search at the Bwamba Pass. …
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Why Come to Uganda?
Kamwokya Neighborhood, Kampala, Uganda, May 28, 2014, Correspondent: Andrew Goldsmith. A little boy runs up to hug me, his shirt is torn and he is dirty. He is not wearing shoes and steps into a small pile of goat feces as he throws his arms around me. He doesn’t notice. “Mazungu! Mazungu!” (Translation: white person) “How are…
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Veteran Skate Trek: Sergeant’s Log – California, North to South, 2013
Sergeant’s Log, Day 0, May 31, 2013 18:47, Ukiah, CA: On the road since 6:30, 230 miles from tonight’s destination: Crescent City, CA. Tomorrow morning, bright and early, we take the Redwood shuttle to the Oregon border . . . Day 1, the mission begins. It’s a marvel of the modern age that what takes…
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Veteran Van: Thoughts From the Road
Summer 2011 Phoenix: The World is Our Oyster Driving away from Phoenix, on the road to Austin, and it’s my turn to rest in the back seat. Except it’s time for business, never enough time for business. I thought writing the book would be the hard part. Stage One. No way. Then I had to…
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Back in Paradise: Veterans Coming Home
“Back there I could fly a gunship, I could drive a tank, I was in charge of million dollar equipment, back here I can’t even hold a job parking cars.” – John Rambo, First Blood I’m realizing that perhaps the hardest part about being a veteran is remembering all the amazing, monumental, and terrible things that…
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Withdrawal from Iraq: What Does it All Mean in the End?
President Obama announced that all American troops will be withdrawn from Iraq by the end of the year. After close to nine years in the Fertile Crescent, America’s armies are coming home. Contractors and “military advisors” will remain, but our military adventures in Iraq will officially come to a close. What does it all mean?…
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Bush Life
Sevilla, Spain 2010 “Bumba! You souljah?” “Yeah, I was a soldier.” “When I yout’ I went to military school.” “Really John? You were in the…” “I was in the Navy. Ees fun, but ees crazy. Ya know? John was in the Jamaican Navy and speaks in reggae verse. I’m not sure when he is speaking and when…