Of history, warfare, leadership, and alcohol
I don't remember much about the day we went to war with Iraq for the second time. A senior in high school, I recall feeling excited about the idea of war although I only knew of war from books. I was too young to remember much of the Persian Gulf War beyond some blurry images …
Continue reading "The Iraq War, 15 Years On"
By Dan Kim Author's note: This fantastical post is the brainchild of a friend who joked about me reading a story to my daughter, but instead wanted me to read him a bedtime story about the Iran-Iraq War. After a few lines, the friend and ASO planted the seed, like, why not turn one of …
Continue reading "The Schoolyard Bully: A Bedtime Story of the Iran-Iraq Conflict"
Today’s guest post comes from Barefoot Boomer, who is a glutton for punishment, this being his second post. Read his first post here. Boomer is a career Army officer and strategist. He is also a historian with an emphasis in American and German military history. The content and opinions of this article are the author’s only …
Continue reading "Not Understanding the Fight Against ISIS: An Open Letter to Donald Trump"
Today's guest post comes from Barefoot Boomer. Boomer is a career Army officer and strategist. He is also a historian with an emphasis in American and German military history. The content and opinions of this article are the author’s only and do not reflect the opinions of the United States Army or the Department of …
Since 2014 and their declaration of the Caliphate, this thing called ISIS has been dominating the news cycle. From destruction of antiquities to the massacre of civilians, ISIS has been losing friends and influencing people in negative ways for quite some time. But even as politicians call for carpet bombing of this non-state pretender-state actor, …
Continue reading "And Then? What Happens After Victory Over Daesh"
There’s a moment on the television show “Scrubs” (the greatest thing to ever air on American television) when the young resident John Dorian (JD) becomes paralyzed by the fear of accidentally killing a patient by making a mistake. In this mindset, he veers away from making any risky decisions or undertaking any procedures that might …
Continue reading "World War III: Stop Trying to Prevent It"
There’s a common phrase among military members who have deployed to Afghanistan or Iraq as part of the Global War on Terror: Fobbit. It is a play on the words “hobbit,” from J.R.R. Tolkein’s fantasy works, The Lord of the Rings, and the acronym for Forward Operating Base: FOB. Fobbit tends to also be synonymous …
Continue reading "How Forward Operating Bases Created the Illusion of War in Iraq and Afghanistan"
Let's be honest, we all watch far too much television. In the old days, when our ancestors had no electricity and far too many brain cells, they occupied their time by reading silly things like the Iliad and other such classics. Because of this, they were able to associate current events with Classical literature, forming …
Continue reading "If U.S. Wars were Arrested Development Characters"
This post first appeared on the blog Point of Decision. As I write this, the U.S. military is involved in armed and lethal operations in Iraq and Syria. While not officially a war, it is the most significant and — I hate to use the word — kinetic operation the military is involved in. Why then, as a member …
Continue reading "What if We Had a War and No One Knew?"
When I was a shiny new soldier, fresh out of Army basic and advanced training, I was placed in the rear detachment of a unit that was forward deployed. There were a few other brand new soldiers in the detachment, but quite of few of the soldiers were coming off of Active Duty into the …
The Angry Staff Officer 
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