Memorial Service Helmand Afghanistan

Remembering the Fallen

Note: I first wrote this post in 2008. I’ve made it a tradition to re-post this entry every Memorial Day, which is observed in the United States on the last Monday of May. The feelings, the emotions, are just as real today as they were then. Plus it seems that everyday I am reminded that […]






Everything is a Test

Everything is a Test.

Iraq, Oh-Dark-Thirty: Our group touched down early in the wee hours of the morning at our destination, stretching our legs and backs after 8+ hours sleeping under trucks or in any flat and smooth spaces we could find in a cavernous C-17 transport aircraft. We were met by the Sergeant Major, who got us settled […]






The Bond of Blood: Brotherhood

I’m using this post to kick off a series on Brotherhood. It’s one of those words which is becoming clichéd, so I want to try and describe what I mean when I use it here on this site. I think creating meaningful relationships with men is a lost art but a vital concept for men […]






Crossing Your No Man's Land

Crossing Your No-Mans-Land

I can feel the compression of my vertebre under the weight of body armor, gear, radios, ammo, and water. About 40 pounds, I think–but this is a short patrol and we aren’t taking packs, so at least that’s a bonus…











Free Burma Rangers

Life on the Battlefront

Sometimes I wonder about what it would really be like to be on the forefront of the battle of good-vs-evil in this world. To do hard things. To make a difference against evil. My time in Iraq gave me a taste of it, that I’ve never forgotten. But now as a civilian, how can I […]






Parakletos

My Body Armor

I was suiting up for another day at the office. Unfortunately, this office was going to be flying about 50 feet above the Iraqi desert and dropping me off into some inhospitable terrain. So I paid a lot of attention to what I was putting on. My main piece of kit, besides my weapons, was […]






Global Adventure Round-The-World Mission

We Need An Adventure

Years of working with children, then youth, and now young (and not-so-young) adults has led me to a conclusion. We All Need An Adventure. An adventure of risk, an adventure of faith, an adventure of learning, an adventure of experience, and an adventure that will shape us for a lifetime. So many of us have […]






Day of War Review

Mighty Men: “Day of War” Book Review

From the back cover: “Day of War is the first book in the Lion of War series–the intense, gritty, and stylistic portrayal of the Mighty Men of Israel, a ragtag band of warriors …” And it delivers. Wow. This is the REAL David, and the REAL Mighty Men. This is the warrior, not the watered-down, […]






A Battle to Fight

I wrote a post last week about Chris Jeon, a UCLA student who decided it would be a good idea to go to Libya to fight in the revolution there, without any training or (seeming) forethought. I was surprised by the reaction I received; the majority of feedback I received thought this guy was more […]