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Stephen Carlson

Stephen Carlson

Stephen Carlson is a Task & Purpose contributor. He served two tours in Afghanistan as an infantryman with the 10th Mountain Division. He lives in Austin, Texas.

Recent articles from Stephen Carlson

A machine gun crew with the 82nd Airborne Division’s 2nd Battalion, 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment, sets up an overwatch position during a foot patrol May 8, 2012, Ghazni Province, Afghanistan.
Opinion
Sending More US Troops To Afghanistan Shows How Little We Learned From Vietnam
General William Tecumseh Sherman, 1865.
History
151 Years Ago, General Sherman Gave America Its Best Definition Of War
Read Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman's response to the mayor of Atlanta and several city councilmen begging mercy for the city during the Civil War.
Rioters attacking a building during the New York anti-draft riots of 1863
History
How Mandatory Military Service Started In The Civil War
On July 7, 1863, the first draft took effect in the North during the Civil War. It was a disaster.
A team mans a Bazooka at the Battle of Osan.
History
How The Korean War Started 65 Years Ago
It has often been labeled the “Forgotten War,” but over 36,000 Americans and millions of Koreans and Chinese died in a conflict noted for its utter brutality.
Light armored vehicle crewmen with Task Force 3rd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, Regimental Combat Team 8 fill their LAV with bottled water supplied by motor transportation Marines during a logpack on July 11, 2009, in Iraq's Ninewa province.
News
What Changed And What Stayed The Same: How 2014 Impacted The Veterans Community
2014 was a year that brought many veterans issues into the spotlight after more than a decade of war.
U.S. Sen. Tom Coburn speaks during a town hall meeting at Oklahoma City Community College's Visual and Performing Arts Center in Oklahoma City, Monday, Aug. 4, 2014.
News
The Man Who Killed The Bill To Combat Veterans Suicide
The long-delayed Clay Hunt Suicide Prevention Act failed to pass in the Senate, and departing Oklahoma Republican Sen. Tom Coburn is the man to blame. Veterans are not likely to forget it.
Stephen Carlson enjoys a cigarette while deployed to Combat Outpost Blackhawk in Afghanistan.
Community
‘Let The Damn Army Clean Up The Mess’: An (Almost) Story Of Suicide
The USS Arizona (BB-39) burning after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, 7 December 1941.
History
The Japanese Attack On Pearl Harbor Was About Oil
The attack on Pearl Harbor, which took place on Dec. 7, 1941, was a terrible shock to the United States. But it was United States’ economic sanctions that led the Japanese to start a war they could not win.
Ash Carter talks with officers describing the area while receiving an aerial tour aboard a UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter during a visit to Camp Lemonnier, Dijbouti, May 11, 2013.
News
Who Is Ash Carter And Why Does He Make Sense As Defense Secretary?
In these days of international turmoil and budget woes, Ash Carter may be exactly what the Department of Defense needs.
The Confederate submarine H.L. Hunley is credited with the first-recorded, successful underwater attack against the USS Housatonic.
History
The Story Behind The First Submarine To Sink A Warship
The Civil War resulted in many naval innovations, from sea mines to ironclads, but the first successful use of a submarine to sink a warship may have been the most revolutionary of them all.