Stringer Dan

Stringer Dan

About the author

Weapons of Ass Destruction

After the first two missions to conduct an airborne assault on Saddam International Airport were cancelled, I began to think that maybe we weren’t going to die after all in a hail of hot Iraqi bullets. Landing in a hot LZ at 3AM surrounded by enemy armor and mech infantry would most assuredly resemble Dante’s […]

Open Source Jihad On America

The most recent edition of al-Qaeda’s magazine Inspire for Spring 2014 contains one of the most troublesome articles I’ve ever read. Issue 12, entitled “Shattered: Story About Change,” initially seemed like most other editions of Inspire that I’ve read in the past, until I came to the last story in the magazine. As I began […]

Would Anyone Care for a Delectable Smallpox Vaccination?

I abruptly awoke at 2:30 in the morning to the angry buzz of Blackhawk and Little Bird helicopters returning from another mission. Roy was on tonight’s foray and I was anxious to hear what he had to say about it. The days grew longer and longer and the nights shorter and shorter still. Shaping operations […]

True Stories of PTSD: It’s Been Over a Decade

It’s been over a decade and it seems like an eternity. I feel like a king who wishes to abdicate his throne, trying to gain something that is elusive. No matter how much time has passed, I still think of the war and it all comes rushing back like it’s happening in the now. I […]

Masked Hajji at the Window!!

As the we pulled into the outskirts of Mosul I began seeing indicators that something was very fucking wrong. Pick-up trucks with masked men carrying weapons seemed to show up on every corner. The stress was rising… Even though we were traveling in a local vehicle, had beards and were wearing local clothes, the never […]

True Stories of PTSD: War Ensemble

I listen to the heavy metal band Slayer on my iPod as I write. Their music is the only thing that prepares me to write about war. The cacophony of words, the anger spewing from the guitars, the pure hate they create in my mind. War Ensemble, is one of my favorite songs. I remember […]

True Stories of PTSD: Where’s His Leg?

The stress of combat is real, I’ve lost friends in the Teams due to it. I remember being in Iraq and looking at the tackle box (yes a tackle box) full of prescription medication a retired Army E-9 was in possession of. He laughed, and said the VA was trying to kill him. It was […]