August 15, 2021 “My dear sister Jaala, it isn’t that the Taliban are getting close to Kabul. The truth is, we are surrounded. Ghani [the President] has fled the country and abandoned us. We are trapped and cannot flee. There is no hope.” This is the beginning of a voice message I received from my …
The news coming out of Afghanistan has felt like a gut punch to us at GORUCK. We know so many of our GORUCK community can relate – many who have served and others who have had loved ones who gave so much during the last two decades of the Global War On Terror. We were …
I remember how I felt on 9/11/2001, as I watched in horror as the twin towers burned and collapsed. I remember wanting revenge. Plain and simple I wanted to bring justice to those responsible for such evil and cowardly acts of terror. Then, a short time later, on the ground in Afghanistan, we were …
His name was Commandant Big. It’s almost too perfect a name for a rebel leader. I had read about him in cable traffic while serving as a case officer in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire. Commandant Big was one of the powerful Forces Nouvelles “comzones” (zone commanders) of Zone 3, a territory that included the rebel-held …
Last week I was on vacation with my family in Hawaii. For the first time in 14 years my wife and I had five days all to ourselves while our kids attended a Navy SEAL Foundation overnight camp on the island. This was such a rare and welcome opportunity for us to unplug …
A few years ago, I was at a fundraising dinner seated next to a Vietnam veteran who self-admittedly suffered from severe PTSD. While discussing his condition, he said to me, “that stuff never goes away.” My response wasn’t what you might expect. I told him that while the memories bothering him won’t disappear, the …