*Note: This essay was published in the Colorado Springs Gazette print edition on March 1, 2020. An image of the column is included below, as well as the text of the essay. “Sesame Street” recently introduced its viewers to the face of modern war, and she goes by “Charlie.” For the first time in more than two decades, the…
*Note: This essay was published in the Los Angeles Times print edition on December 24, 2018, under the title “If only in their dreams.” It can also be found online here. Bing Crosby will forever remind me of a giant Latino sergeant I served with in the Army on my first deployment to Iraq in 2003. A…
*Note: This essay was published at War on the Rocks on July 30, 2015. It can also be found online here. My birthday is today, and it hurts. I’m a deployed Army officer, living a half marathon distance from the Demilitarized Zone in Korea and 6,000 miles from home (which may as well read “1,000,000”). Service is…
*Note: This essay was published at War on the Rocks on June 25, 2015. It can also be found online here. Ellen DeGeneres is wrong. Misleading, maybe. Her show features military family reunions, following a year of separation, complete with hugs, kisses — all for the cameras. Sometimes even a free trip. The audience loves it; millions…