“The Detail” — A short film about Marine Raiders welcoming their brother home

“The Detail” — A short film about Marine Raiders welcoming their brother home

On March 10, 2015, seven Marines with U.S. Marine Corps Special Operations Command (MARSOC) died when an Army UH-60 Blackhawk helicopter crashed near Eglin, Florida. One of those men was Master Sergeant Thomas A. Saunders. The Marines and Corpsman involved in that crash became known as the Raider 7. “The Detail” is a short film […]

Comfort versus happiness

Comfort versus happiness

What do most people want to get out of their short years on the planet? Many would say that they want an overall sense of happiness and fulfillment, and to have a good ride on the earth as it spins around the sun — but is that what they really work toward? A lot of […]

‘Wind River’ — A brutal look at grief and nature

‘Wind River’ — A brutal look at grief and nature

“Wind River” is a film written and directed by Taylor Sheridan, who also wrote “Hell or High Water” and the first installment of “Sicario.” It stars Jeremy Renner, Elizabeth Olsen, Graham Greene and Jon Bernthal, all of whom deliver excellent performances. The story opens as a tracker for the Fish and Wildlife Service, Cory Lambert […]

Why are we so fixated on watching robots achieve consciousness?

Why are we so fixated on watching robots achieve consciousness?

There are minor spoilers in this article, that you might find in a trailer for “Westworld.” “Westworld,” a science fiction drama show put on by HBO, is halfway through its second season and has already been renewed for a third. It is set in the future, where “guests” can visit a Wild West theme park […]

Irreverent Comedy versus PC Culture

Irreverent Comedy versus PC Culture

Many people have noticed a shift in our culture toward what some have dubbed “Political Correctness,” or PC. This means that words, while technically legal, must be policed by others in order to preserve the sensibilities of those who might be offended or hurt. While you don’t see this enforcement too much in everyday life […]

Opinion: The great lie of the internet

Opinion: The great lie of the internet

Someone with access to the internet does not have all the world’s information at their fingertips, but it certainly feels that way. The dawn of the internet shot the information age light years ahead. Resources like Wikipedia, dictionary.com, sites that compile news together from multiple sources, and access to unlimited TED talks and history documents […]

Five Mark Twain quotes as they relate to 2018

Five Mark Twain quotes as they relate to 2018

Note: These are the author’s interpretation of quotes said in a context completely separate from today. Even the most timeless phrases must always be viewed, at some point, through the lens of context. “Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable […]

‘The Expanse’: Divisiveness and turmoil in the solar system

‘The Expanse’: Divisiveness and turmoil in the solar system

“The Expanse” is a science fiction television series originally aired by Syfy, and based on the novels of the same name by James S. A. Corey. The story is set 200 years in the future, where our solar system has been completely colonized. The main powers exist on Earth, Mars and the asteroid belt, each […]

Siphoning the military experience into fiction

Siphoning the military experience into fiction

I’ve said it before: without memoirs written by the man on the ground, all we would be left with would be the words of generals and upper echelon politicians seeking to make themselves out to be legends who single-handedly won or lost entire conflicts. There is a place for memoirs beyond simple entertainment and in […]

Make your time valuable again

Make your time valuable again

Some of my deployments to Afghanistan have been balls-to-the-wall busy with little to no time for training, video games, hobbies or even working out. Other instances have been filled with long breaks where we were stood down or unable to go on missions for whatever reason. During these times, training is extremely important. It feels […]

The wisdom brought by death himself

The wisdom brought by death himself

There is a moment in Ernest Hemingway’s “For Whom the Bell Tolls,” just on the precipice of the culminating battle — the protagonist, Robert Jordan, is to use a group of locals during the Spanish Civil War to blow up a bridge. Robert Jordan has fallen in love with one of the local women during […]

Three Gen. Patton quotes as they relate to 2018

Three Gen. Patton quotes as they relate to 2018

Note: These are the author’s interpretation of quotes said in a context completely separate from today. General Patton was not speaking of 2018, and he certainly wasn’t concerned with what the popular culture might look like nowadays. “If everyone is thinking alike, then somebody isn’t thinking.” Thinking in terms of groups is nothing new — […]