Luke Ryan

They say that out of all the senses, smell is the most linked to memory. The smell of Grandma’s cooking when you step barefoot on her hard wooden floor, the smell of freshly washed sheets as you lay your head on your pillow, or even the smell of the lubricant that makes a rifle operate […]

After the mass shooting in Las Vegas, where 58 people were killed and 546 were injured, national debates were sparked off, mostly regarding gun control. The same thing happened after subsequent shootings, like the ones in Sutherland Springs or Rancho Tehama Reserve. There always seems to be a knee-jerk reaction, but nothing much really happens […]

The Burmese (Myanmar) government has been fighting ethnic minorities for decades. They have committed grave human rights abuses on every level, and they’ve done it to Christians, animists, Buddhists and most recently, the Rohingya Muslims. The violence toward the Rohingya civilians has been particularly harsh — Doctors Without Borders reported 8,170 deaths in the first […]

Pine, Arizona — A construction crew was working in the small northern Arizona town, when they discovered large plastic pipes buried underground. After further digging, they realized the pipes were packed full of military-type explosives. They called authorities, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) ended up confiscating 80 blocks of M112 C4 […]

October 5th, 2013 holds a special place in my heart. We lost four of our own, and the ensuing months held some of the most difficult and trying days I think I will ever experience. I escorted the body of Sgt. Patrick Hawkins, my dear friend and brother-in-arms, from the battlefield, to the plane across […]

Basic Training, Infantry AIT, Airborne School, Ranger School — these are some of the many schools listed when people try to express to others their proficiency in tactical skills. If a potential employer reads “Ranger School,” then it is inferred that the job candidate has a high level of tactical knowledge. It’s true, to a […]

The latest case of stolen valor to hit the news was self-acclaimed Green Beret war hero, Papotia Reginald Wright, who had created a group called the “8th Special Forces Regiment New York Honor Guard.” He claimed to have earned a Purple Heart and Bronze Star, among other awards he was never actually awarded. Though he […]

He wears a large hefty beard, camouflage pants, M Frame sunglasses and a popular but controversial (read: edgy) veteran t-shirt.  His Instagram is no doubt littered with pictures of him traipsing through the woods in pristine combat wear, toting a rifle, decked out with an optic that costs more than the computer I am typing […]

Genocides, ethnic cleansing, democide — whatever name affixes itself to the act, there is one thing for certain: it takes a whole lot of work. The sheer amount of resources it takes to violently murder on a mass-scale, and displace, say, 650,000 people, involves a significant amount of resources and time. However, most regimes that […]

The recent demonstrations in Iran are centered around many Iranian’s dislike toward the Islamic Republic that was established in 1979. They have expressed profound disagreements regarding the treatment of women, the faltering economy and employment rates, the government’s involvement in Syria — the list continues. However, the government has since shut down most of the […]

Since Thursday, protests throughout Iran have caught the world’s attention. The rallies started in protest of the current Islamic Republic, shouting things like “death to the dictator” and other anti-Iranian government slogans. Kurdish media groups have reported that many are critical of Iran’s involvement in Syria, chanting “leave Syria, think about us,” as well as […]

When a lot of people hear about a genocide in Sudan or ethnic cleansing in Burma, they think of the violence. Human beings are capable of terrible things, and the types of things they do to each other in these situations rightfully make the headlines. Recently, Burma’s offensive toward their own Rohingya people has meant […]