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America's corporate overlords want you to know the true meaning of Veterans Day: Buying their stuff
Ah, Veterans Day. It's that federal holiday where most people just want to take the day off to celebrate America's military veterans in the best way they know how: shelling out a bunch of money to their corporate overlords.
At least that's the way corporate America sees it.
Medal of Honor recipient: Violators of troops' privacy rights deserve harsh penalties
Editor's Note: The following is an op-ed. The opinions expressed are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Task & Purpose.
On October 3, the Vietnam Veterans of America and the Department of Defense reached a settlement in federal court challenging the DoD's leaking of military and personal information belonging to service members and veterans. The settlement established protocols to identify and prohibit third-party data brokers who sell data for unauthorized commercial marketing purposes.
While this settlement acknowledges long-standing grievances, it does not adequately address the very real damages experienced by the men and women who wear or have worn the uniform of this great country.
The lost lesson of Millennium Challenge 2002, the Pentagon's embarrassing post-9/11 war game
Editor's Note: The following is an op-ed. The opinions expressed are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Task & Purpose.
Back in 2002, nestled in that year and a half when Afghanistan was in full swing yet Iraq was still a twinkle in Donald Rumsfeld's eye, the U.S. military held its most ambitious war game in recent memory.
Called Millennium Challenge 2002, the idea was simple: to develop and implement training and doctrine that could be changed quickly to utilize developing technology and adapt to varying enemy tactics. The Cold War tactics the U.S. military trained on for decades were out the window and a new war was on the horizon.
It was a total disaster.
'Don't wait' — A Gold Star sister explains what she learned from her brother's death
Editor's Note: The following is an op-ed. The opinions expressed are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Task & Purpose.
Two weeks before my brother Travis was killed in Iraq, he called home to tell my father that he wanted the two of them to run the Marine Corps Marathon together. In mid-May, when the funeral services were over and my parents, extended family, and friends were gathered in the living room, my father announced "I'm still going to run that marathon."
One by one, the other people in the room picked up their heads, hardened their gazes, and joined him. Pretty soon, every single person in the room had committed to 26.2 miles in honor of Travis. I was conveniently engrossed in a thread in the carpet when I felt a dozen pairs of eyes landing intently on my face. I looked up.
I had been an athlete in college, but that was nearly five years earlier. I had given birth to Maggie only ten months before, and I hadn't run so much as a 5k in ages. But those stares were burning a hole right through my skin, and thankfully my bullheadedness kicked in.
"All right, I'll do it," I said.
No, hazing doesn't teach discipline. It actually does the opposite
Editor's Note: The following is an op-ed. The opinions expressed are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Task & Purpose.
Marine Corps boot camp is renowned for turning young men and women from civilians into Marines. It is rightfully known as the most rigorous recruit training in the US military, but for some drill instructors, it just wasn't tough enough.
The Washington Post recently obtained documents detailing incidents wherein over 20 Marines have been disciplined for misconduct just at MCRD San Diego, one of two recruit depots, since 2017. That year is relevant, because Marine recruit training was supposed to be reset after the 2016 suicide death of Pvt. Raheel Siddiqui, who killed himself after being viciously hazed, which included racial and ethnic slurs and being put in an industrial clothes dryer.
The White House says John Kelly was 'totally unequipped to handle the genius' of Trump in a totally real statement
Editor's Note: The following is an op-ed. The opinions expressed are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Task & Purpose.
Is it just me or does this statement from the White House rebuking retired Marine Gen. John Kelly sound like a piece of North Korean propaganda?