*Note: This essay was published in the Colorado Springs Gazette print edition on November 3, 2017. It can also be found online here. We’re now repeatedly reminded that Americans are intensely divided: a recent poll found “seven in 10 Americans say the nation’s political divisions are at least as big as during the Vietnam War” and a…
*Note: This essay was originally published on the Modern War Institute’s Commentary & Analysis site. It can also be found online here. The furor over the recent loss of four Army Special Forces soldiers’ raises the grandest question of them all: Why? To answer, we have to peek through the fog that often clouds military…
*Note: This essay was published in the Colorado Springs Gazette print edition on October 20, 2017. It can also be found online here. America’s got a bigness problem. Last week, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released its annual study on obesity. The numbers were chilling: nearly 40 percent of adults are obese, and when that…
*Note: This essay was published in the Colorado Springs Gazette print edition on October 16, 2017. It can also be found online here. While wearing my military uniform, I often hear a distant, direct, “thank you for your service.” It’s always appreciated, but, during a painfully long week, containing the aftermath of the tragedy in Las Vegas,…
*Note: This essay was published in the Colorado Springs Gazette print edition on October 8, 2017. It can also be found online here. My grandmother-in-law turns 90 this weekend, so I called and announced myself with a self-deprecating ice breaker: “It’s your good-for-nothing grandson-in-law.” Before I got the last syllable out, she pushed back with infectious positivity,…
*Note: This essay was published in the Colorado Springs Gazette print edition on October 4, 2017. It can also be found online here. A recent Gazette story on the risk of North Korean nuclear weapons included the opinions of a retired Air Force general who minimized the threat, calling it “nowhere near as scary as it was…
*Note: This essay was published in the Colorado Springs Gazette print edition on September 26, 2017. It can also be found online here. The X is here. iPhone X (pronounced “ten”) arrived last week to the fanfare we now expect from Apple. It represents the next smartphone generation; pocket-sized do-everything machines that have become part of daily…
*Note: This essay was published in the Colorado Springs Gazette print edition on September 22, 2017. It can also be found online here. Chances are you’re going to a wedding soon. 40 percent of weddings now take place as the fall sets in and leaves change color, up from 30 percent in 2009, according to the largest…
*Note: This essay was published in the Colorado Springs Gazette print edition on September14, 2017. It can also be found online here. Amazon just announced it wants to add a second headquarters to its current Seattle home. The company is looking for a city with a population over one million, with a high quality of life, strong…
*Note: This essay was originally published on the Modern War Institute’s Commentary & Analysis site. A couple months ago, The Atlantic magazine signed up jazz musician Jon Batiste to draw ears to their new podcast. Their bonus was a masterclass on military strategy. It was an inspired choice to draft New Orleans-native Batiste, who currently…