Former Army environmental officer warns of hazardous exposures at Iraqi military bases “That burn pit kept bothering me, because I could smell it and I could see it. It never stopped burning. — Retired Maj. John "Doc" Nelson Having served at Mosul, and living and working less than a mile from the burn pit, it …
Category: War
Federal Report – Mental Health Disorder Prevalence among Active Duty Service Members in the Military Health System, Fiscal Years 2005–2016
A link to the report can be found here. I remain skeptical of these numbers, having little confidence in the ability of most providers to accurately assess many of these issues, especially the more involved problems like bipolar and schizophrenia because I obviously have a bias and went my entire career without being diagnosed and …
New Army NCO manual fails to include mental health for leaders
Link to TC 7-22.7 on armypubs.army.mil Doing a search through the new Army Noncommissioned Officer guide, the words PTSD, TBI, combat stress, or psychology are absent. How one can be expected to be a leader of soldiers but not be expected to have any clue what happens in a soldier's head is a dismal failure …
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Inside the Vultures nest – Extortion 17 and the paper airplane.
The following was written originally for a military community so I will try to add as much context as possible. I have been listening to the Extortion 17 audiobook and it really hits me hard. I was on my third deployment in Afghanistan when they were shot down. 2011 was a pretty hard damn year …
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Chapter 2 of JOTL on Wattpad
Chapter 2 has been posted to Wattpad, check it out. #scifi #fantasy #miltwitter #war
A wartime comedy – The broken window theory
"Good afternoon sir, we are here to help you. How can we help you?" Well, a bullet came through my window. "Where is the window that is damaged?" Well, it used to be here, that was before a bomb blew up the rest of the house. "So you don't have a broken window?" I had …
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The potato head kids of the MENA
Our military absolutely refused to come to the comprehension that no matter how hard we train for it, we are not fighting the grand Soviet American slugfest that had been publicly masturbated after for years and years. Not since WWII, the GREATEST FUCKING GENERATION! (News flash, no, you're not) have we fought ourselves a proper …

Chapter 1 of JOTL on Wattpad
Check it out the first chapter, covering the logistical run to Badush prison. https://my.w.tt/umGHf2BET2 #scifi #fantasy #miltwitter #war
The Sirens of war
Once the gates have been broken there are always monsters on the edges, the fog, the water, the forest, the other side of the wall. In the Odyssey the Sirens represent the damage of war. They are ruinous, and they call to the soldiers, who are broken and drawn to dangers, blinded by ego or …
‘Arthritis can hit troops and vets hard. Here’s how advocates want to respond.’ Military Times article
From the article by Joshua Axelrod Veterans are more likely to develop arthritis than civilians, according to an October 2018 study. Other studies indicate that osteoarthritis is the second-leading cause of military discharge, behind combat wounds. Arthritis encompasses over 100 diseases, including mechanical (or degenerative) and inflammatory ones, the latter of which involves immune-system disorders …