The War Horse

There is a reason drill instructors start screaming in your face the moment you arrive at boot camp. Before you can be built up into a proper soldier, you must first be torn down. To be an effective cog in the war-fighting machine, the way…

The tragic story of an American spy plane with the radio call sign Baron 52 began like so many other midnight missions over Indochina. Shortly after 11 p.m. on Feb. 4, 1973, the plane left a Thai air force base with a crew of eight whose…

Editor’s Note: This story was published in partnership with San Quentin News and was written during a writing seminar for incarcerated veterans in April hosted by The War Horse at California’s San Quentin Rehabilitation Center. Tens of…

Twelve years ago, Army 1st Lt. Alivia Stehlik walked the parade route for President Obama’s second inauguration, making sure everything would go smoothly. Stehlik spent weeks planning for the Army’s role in the inaugural parade, training…

The town seemed deserted. The only sounds were our footsteps on the ancient cobblestones. We wandered down the unfamiliar roads, wondering about all the closed doors and shuttered windows, when we suddenly heard rustling up ahead. We…

With the new Congress sworn in and President-elect Trump poised for his second inauguration, Republicans have queued up a number of bills that could widely expand veterans’ access to the private health care system, setting up the latest…

Editor’s Note: This story was published in partnership with San Quentin News and was written during a writing seminar for incarcerated veterans in April hosted by The War Horse at California’s San Quentin Rehabilitation Center. Tens of…

The first thing I learned about Japan was that the summers are hot. Extremely hot and extremely humid. I learned this in August 2022 the hard way—pushing an overweight suitcase and backpack up steep hills, navigating from the vague…

For decades, tens of thousands of gay and lesbian veterans have carried the frustration and shame of being kicked out of the military because of their sexual orientation. Recent efforts helped a small number of these veterans receive…

I deployed eight times to combat environments around the world. I missed Christmas with my family on three of them.I’ve celebrated on a Naval ship in the Mediterranean and in both Europe and Afghanistan with sailors and soldiers from a…