Featured in opinion
What a stolen motorcycle reveals about America’s failed strategy in Afghanistan
An excerpt from 'Reign of Terror' by Spencer Ackerman.
Inside SERE School, where military-grade hide-and-seek meets life-and-death struggle
The first rule they teach is “don’t get caught.”
I’ll never forget the Marine memorial ceremonies I attended in Fallujah
"Like many military veterans, Memorial Day is not abstract to me. It is personal; a moment when we remember our friends."
‘I drew the line at lying to reporters’— A military spokesman calls for increased accountability and transparency
'Unshackled from the intolerant, old boys’ club culture found in the Marine Corps, I have started to feel like I can be myself and contribute in even more meaningful ways'
Veterans need to be honest about their loneliness and boredom after serving
The best and worst thing about being in the military is that it is all-consuming.
The opportunities and challenges facing Lloyd Austin as defense secretary
Austin’s forty years in the military represent both the risk of inertia and a real opportunity to address serious issues.
I dreamed of becoming a Marine my entire life. Then I learned I was undocumented
"I couldn’t work legally. I couldn’t get a driver’s license. Worst of all, I was prohibited from defending my country."
How to build more resilient and innovative US special operations teams
U.S. special operations forces are at a breaking point. Here's how to fix them.
It’s time for a post-9/11 veteran to lead the VA
The post-9/11 generation is ready to make history.
‘You either went to war or you didn’t’ — How deployments divide the veteran community
There will always be that awkward silence that follows, “Yeah, I got out before the wars started."
The Commandant of the Marine Corps is charging into the future, but some aren’t ready for change
The Corps has acted as a second land army so many times it’s flipped the dessert with the main course.
The unanswered questions from Australia’s harrowing war crimes report
Allegations of war crimes by Australian special forces in Afghanistan have been substantiated by the Australian Defence Force (ADF). Here's what it means for the future of the country's Special Operations Command
Clint Lorance ordered me to kill Afghan civilians. I still live with that guilt today
'I am angry and let down that Clint Lorance is feted around like some hero, while the real heroes—Nick Carson, Matt Hanes, James Twist—are ignored'
Families like mine risked our lives for US troops abroad. Now America is abandoning us
After Iraq’s liberation when I was just a child, my family had begun aiding the U.S. military. Here's the story of the broken promises that came after
‘I’m here for the money’ — My life as a Blackwater mercenary
Wait. I need to feel bad about this. At least a little bad. Nope. These people don’t care about their country. I don’t either.
Special Forces needs to go back to basics to win against China and Russia
Special Forces needs a refresh.
Why I blew the whistle on the forceful clearing of Lafayette Square
National Guard Maj. Adam DeMarco explains why he chose to testify before Congress on the precarious position the U.S. military was put in during the June clearing of Lafayette Square — and what it means for civil-military relations
What leaders can do now to strengthen US special operations forces
To build stronger special operations teams, leaders at all levels must identify and enforce priorities, focus on health and resilience, and ruthlessly manage operations tempo to provide time for recovery and professional development
My brother Austin asked me to go to Syria with him. Four months later, he was taken
Every second he stays in captivity cuts a deeper wound in the hearts of my family, and we can wait no longer.
Our country needs to rekindle the unity we felt after September 11th
Editor's note: This article first appeared in 2016 and is being republished for the anniversary of the September 11th terrorist...
I learned to understand shame after losing my brother on September 11th
"I would go on to serve two deployments to Iraq as a soldier and one deployment to Afghanistan as a civilian advisor, and each time, I would feel the physical manifestation of the grief I felt after losing my brother"
I was in the wrong fight in Iraq. As an immigration lawyer, I found the right one
Editor's note: this post first appeared in November, 2016 I can’t remember the exact moment (if there even was one)...
3 years after the Fitzgerald and McCain collisions, the Navy’s surface warfare community shows few signs of change
Three years after two of the most shocking peacetime accidents in the history of the U.S. military, the surface community has seen little substantive change, and surface warfare officers still lack the formal training required of professional mariners
What the Russian bounties story reveals about the limits of human intelligence collection
The information in the initial report of Russian bounties on U.S. troops in Afghanistan appears to have been based on human intelligence collected in the field from both cooperative sources and through custodial debriefings of captured Afghan militants
The Pentagon has a plan to include more women in national security. Here’s what that means — and why it matters
A broader perspective is needed to more fully understand the drivers of conflict and promote lasting security.