If the Academy Awards can be said to register the cultural pulse of the nation, America clearly retains its uneasy …
Troops
Afghan Dawn
U.S., allied and Afghan troops greet the new day as they prepare to conduct “village stability operations” in Farah province’s Khak-E-Safed village on Oct. 20.
“Three Minutes Out”
Army Major Nathan Strohm, a logistician, has deployed four times in support of the global war on terror: to Uzbekistan for most of 2003, to Iraq for most of 2005, and twice to Afghanistan – first from February 2007 to April …
Marksmanship, NoKo Style
A South Korean newspaper reports Thursday that the Pyongyang government executed several North Korean senior officers by firing squad earlier this year for “drinking liquor during the mourning period [following the death of leader Kim Jong-il] or being involved in sex scandals.”
Note that “or.” Apparently, alcohol and adultery …
Night Time on the Flight Line
Sky King
Retired Air Force lieutenant colonel Dan Hampton flew nearly 4,000 hours – including 726 in combat – in an F-16 during his 20 years in the Air Force. (Battleland has flown about, um, one, including none in combat. Final brave …
War Birds
A Marine UH-1 Venom utility helicopter and an AH-1 Cobra attack helicopter fly over Helmand province on Oct. 17.
Treating PTSD and TBI…Ethically
This is the first in a series of posts on the ethical issues associated with treating post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injury.
These are the two so-called “signature wounds” of our post 9/11 wars. Unlike …
The Challenges of Raising Military Kids
This one-time military mom enjoyed last week’s Battleland Q&A with the authors of a new series of books on educating troops’ children.
Military children have always had to deal with the stressors of being the new kid on the …
Making All Our Troops Bulletproof
Shoot, move, communicate. This was the clear, succinct analysis given by an Army major when asked to describe the key components of a military mission.
In three words, the major illustrated the reality of modern war theatres …
Converting the Taliban
Air Force Major Matthew Brown served in Helmand Province, Afghanistan, as part of the Afghanistan-Pakistan (AFPAK) Hands counter-insurgency program during the final eight months of 2011. A one-time B-1 pilot, his main mission was …
Building Better Schools for Troops’ Kids
The divide between U.S. society and the American military reveals itself in strange places – children’s classrooms, for example. More than 1 million military kids face unusual challenges: they haven’t been in a specific school …
First, Stop Digging
U.S. Army Cpl. B.J. Buie, foreground, an infantryman with the 5th Battalion, 20th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, digs a machine-gun position during Operation Southern Fist in the Spin …