Sebastian Junger: Over-valorizing vets does more harm than good
Acclaimed journalist Sebastian Junger discusses the allure of combat, the civilian-military divide, and why over-valorizing vets can be a problem.
Tag: interviews
What it was like fighting on Iwo Jima, according to a Marine Medal of Honor recipient
To Hershel “Woody” Williams, the Medal of Honor he wears does not belong to him: It belongs to the men who never made it home.
A beloved blade and other everyday carry items of America’s former top first responder
Welcome to The Things I Carry, a semi-regular series from Task & Purpose that examines the everyday carry of notable veterans.
Medal of Honor recipient Ron Rosser interview
Ronald Rosser received the Medal of Honor for actions during the Korean War. He is the last of the Medal of Honor recipients who served as a body bearer during the burial of the WWII and Korean War unknowns at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. He presented the flag that draped the Korean War […]
A WWII veteran remembers the day the war ended: ‘We all ran outside and cheered’
FORTY FORT, PA — Bob Megatulski was 20 years old, hard at work with his fellow U.S. Navy Seabees on military construction projects thousands of miles from home in the Philippines. Two years into his overseas service, the news thousands had prayed and fought and died for finally arrived — Japan would stop fighting, effectively […]
10 questions only a veteran would ask Terminal Lance
Visit a Marine Corps barracks anywhere on the globe and you’d be hard pressed to find a single enlisted Marine or sailor who hasn’t heard of Terminal Lance. For years the satirical web comic has offered solace to junior enlisted who longed for belligerence in a world teeming with motivated lifers; and offered answers to […]
‘I made promises to the people that I lost’— How the Iraq war forged a Navy SEAL’s path to Harvard Medical School and NASA
Newly-minted astronaut and decorated Navy SEAL Lt. Jonny Kim shared with Task & Purpose that his motivation for living life the way he has stems not so much from starry-eyed ambition, but from the pain and loss he suffered both on the battlefields of Iraq and from childhood instability.
Democratic candidate Elizabeth Warren lays out her vision for the military if she is elected president
Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) answers questions from Pentagon correspondent Jeff Schogol about Iran, the F-35, and whether defense spending would conflict with her plans to expand entitlement programs, such as Medicare
Pete Buttigieg on whether he’s a ‘combat vet,’ ending the war in Afghanistan, ‘Top Gun’ and tattoos
We've been pestering campaign officials since February for an interview with Navy veteran Pete Buttigieg, the mayor of South Bend, Indiana, and one of the many Democrats running for president in 2020. Finally, after months of silence, the news gods finally delivered.
Meet Paul Szoldra, The New Editor In Chief Of Task & Purpose
Paul Szoldra first started as a columnist at Task & Purpose. Now, as of October 2018, he’s the site’s editor-in-chief. So who is he? He’s a Marine infantry veteran who served for eight years after 9/11 — everywhere from Okinawa to Afghanistan. From there, he went to college on the GI Bill and began his […]
5 Questions Only A Veteran Would Ask Rob Riggle
Comedian and actor Rob Riggle is perhaps best known for his work as a fake news correspondent on the The Daily Show — where he once went undercover to get the ground truth on Code Pink in Berkeley, California — and for his roles in comedies like The Hangover, Step Brothers, and The Other Guys. But […]
An Interview With The Comic Mastermind Behind ‘Terminal Lance’
Editor’s note: The Long March will be closed for inventory the month of August. We regret any inconvenience this causes our loyal customers. In an effort to keep you reasonably content and focussed, we are offering re-runs of some of the best columns of the year. We value your custom and hope you will stick […]
A Belligerent Interview With The Ex-Marine Penman Of Grunt Life
In his Iraq War memoir Eat the Apple, Marine infantry veteran Matt Young offers readers a meditation on grunt life and war that’s crass, reflective, candid, and self-deprecating. Inspired by Young’s three pumps to Iraq between 2005 and 2009, the memoir provides an alternative to the mainstream narrative surrounding America’s men and women at war. […]
The Best Way for Transitioning Vets to Answer ‘Tell Me About Yourself’
When I first started telling people I was leaving the Army, I didn’t have an elevator pitch ready to trot out. I stumbled over what to say and how to say it when people asked the inevitable “So what’s next?” I knew I needed to have a succinct, snappy answer once I started interviewing for […]
The Air Force Needs A Few Months Of No Press To Get Its Shit Together
The U.S. Air Force needs a little bit of time to get its shit together, so journalists, if you could just do us a favor and stop asking us questions for like, a week or maybe a month or two, that would be great. Thanks. That’s the non-fluffy version of a quiet change in the […]
A Rising Twitter Star Who ‘Speaks For All Veterans’ Shares His Origin Story With T&P
If you intelligently follow national security issues on Twitter, you likely have come across @iAmTheWarax , a crusty fellow resembling John Bolton but fueled by brake fluid, humor, and rage. Conjured from the depths of Twitter Hell to “speak for all veterans” (especially those tired of watching Special Forces meatheads toss their veteran “authority” around […]
This Retro Interview Reveals A Young Jim Mattis Before He Was ‘Mad Dog’
Long before James Mattis was Secretary of Defense, he was a Marine general known throughout the Corps as a tough-talking, no-bullshit commander. But everyone has to start somewhere. So, if you’ve ever wondered what “Mad Dog” Mattis was like before he earned his nom de guerre from the media — his preferred nickname is reportedly […]
Jesse Ventura Sounds Off On Weed, Suing Chris Kyle, And Why He Wouldn’t Enlist Today
If there’s one thing that’s been consistent about Jesse Ventura over the years, through his many professional highs and lows, it’s that he always finds a way to piss people off. The former Navy SEAL (he was a member of Underwater Demolition Team 12), wrestler, Minnesota governor, and author of The Marijuana Manifesto is like […]
A Silver Star-Recipient Talks About Returning To The Middle East To Write About War
In the fall of 2016, while writer Elliot Ackerman was on assignment in Iraq for Esquire magazine, he found himself on a rooftop in recently liberated Fallujah, peering down at a knee-high cinderblock wall. Before he was a writer, Ackerman was a Marine infantry officer, and for a few tense minutes during the Second Battle […]
Call Of Duty’s Newest Heroine On Why Video Games Need To Get The Military Right
After spending the weekend, and part of this week, binge-playing “Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare,” I think one of the highlights of this month was talking to Jamie Gray Hyder, who plays Lt. Nora Salter in the newest installment of the game. The other highlight was finally killing the game’s nemesis: Adm. Salen Kotch, played […]
We Asked Gen Mattis About Why Civilians Don’t Understand War
The civil-military divide is a term that refers to a growing cultural gap between the broader civilian society and the small percentage of people who currently serve, or have served in the military. But the term and its implications have yet to be clearly defined and understood. This is the driving force behind “Warriors & […]
Even Celebrity Chef Robert Irvine Can’t Make A Gourmet Meal From An MRE
When he was just 15 years old, Robert Irvine joined the British Royal Navy. His 10 years spent among the sailors was the time when he began practicing the culinary arts — a passion that led him to become a world-renowned chef. After his time serving, he worked everywhere from cruise ships, to casinos, and […]
10 Questions Only A Veteran Would Ask Rudy Reyes
Many of us join the military in search of a calling or a purpose, but some aren’t searching. They know exactly what they’re after. As a lifelong athlete, martial artist, and the son of a Marine, Rudy Reyes enlisted in 1998 and spent seven years as a reconnaissance Marine and scout sniper. Reyes’ 2003 deployment […]
It’s Time We Address The Consequences Of America’s Recent Wars
In 2010, John Kael Weston came home after seven years as a State Department official and advisor in Iraq and Afghanistan. Over the next two summers, he visited 31 gravesites across the United States. The graves belonged to Marines killed in a January 2005 helicopter crash in Iraq. A State Department official in Fallujah at […]
10 Questions Only A Veteran Would Ask Derek Weida
Everyone joins the military to get something out of it, but not everyone knows what that something is. We all know that guy who enlisted because he was bored and, like, played Call of Duty once. Derek Weida wasn’t that guy. When, at the age of 17, Weida joined the Army, he knew exactly what […]