Battlefields Staff

The Battlefields Staff is a diverse collective of military veterans, first responders, and their supporters, who share their thoughts and experiences on the front lines and the home front through The Epoch Times.

‘Write My Way to Freedom’: An Army Ranger Reflects

Commentary I’ve discovered writing to be a tremendous tool to analyze my mental health status because I’m forced ...

Veterans May 30, 2023
Memorial Day: We’re Human Like Everyone Else

Commentary I haven’t put much thought into Veterans' or Memorial Day, even as a military member, until this ...

Veterans May 29, 2023
The Day I Got Kicked Out of the Army

Commentary There is a part of me that will always, no matter what, think about the worst day ...

Veterans May 17, 2023
Lost Without a Tribe: A Military Veteran Reflects

Commentary By the end of 2003, I knew I was getting out of the Air Force (AF). I ...

Veterans May 12, 2023
War Poetry: Friendly Fire

Friendly Fire Do you really think Anyone cares That the fire that burns ... is friendly? Hearts and ...

Veterans May 9, 2023
Yale University and the Loneliness of the Military Professional

Commentary Many years ago, I began working on a project that eventually became this article. It started when ...

Veterans May 8, 2023
Military Leader or Business Manager?, Part 1: Good Leaders or Place Holders

Commentary I'm a little bit of a history nut. Well okay, a lot of a history nut, especially ...

Veterans May 3, 2023
I’m a Veteran, Ask Me Anything (Again)

Commentary A few years back there was an article called “‘Did You Ever Kill Anyone?’ 5 Things Not ...

Veterans May 2, 2023
Carry On, Wayward Veteran

Commentary During my time in the Army, I had the great fortune to “unplug” from the operational Army ...

Veterans May 1, 2023
The Doric Idiom: Hesma Phobou; ‘Purging’ or ‘Fear Shedding’

Commentary I am not a combat veteran. The closest I’ve come to facing the enemy is holding a ...

Veterans April 28, 2023
Law Enforcement or Military: My Face Hurts … A LOT

Commentary The week had been ramping up to this. All the prior training, all the talk, the boasting, ...

Veterans April 26, 2023
Tobacco Musings in Puerto Vallarta

Commentary I stand on the fantail and stare out at the buildings across the bay from the cutter. ...

Veterans April 25, 2023
We Were Soldiers’ Wives Once … and Young

Commentary My Life as an Army Wife When growing up in the 1950s in rural North Carolina, I ...

Veterans April 24, 2023
Where Were You When Saddam Hussein’s Statue Came Down?

Commentary Saddam Hussein's statue was pulled down on April 9, 2003. I doubt many civilians old enough to ...

Veterans April 22, 2023
The Air Force Needs Fewer Leaders and More Wrench-Turners–Here’s How to Get Them

Commentary There is a mega-corporation here in the United States where the CEO tells every employee that they ...

Veterans April 18, 2023
The Ghazni Eight

Commentary We ran ammo bunker "missions" all the time. It was really more of a work detail. In ...

Veterans April 17, 2023
Afghanistan: We Gave You Our Dead, You Give Them Their Meaning

Commentary I write this today, not as an individual, but as a veteran of the wars of Afghanistan ...

Veterans April 13, 2023
Dog and Pony Shows, Elephant Walks, and Other Air Force Circuses

Commentary What I’m about to say applies to any VIP, including civilians, and some of it will be ...

Veterans April 11, 2023
How I Stayed Grounded With 40 Years’ Experience in Civilian and Military Aviation

Commentary Just as a preface, this story has a point. Mainly that there are lessons I learned early ...

Veterans April 7, 2023
Trust, COVID, and the General Who Cried ‘Wolf’

Commentary Once upon a time, there was an Air Force general in the Pentagon who was in charge ...

Veterans March 31, 2023
Air Force and Air National Guard: Stop Treating Part-Timers Like They’re Subjects in a Social Experiment

Commentary This post popped up on my feed today on a business networking site where a mom was ...

Veterans March 30, 2023
Afghanistan: When ‘Humanitarian’ Projects, Aren’t

Commentary Engineers, especially civil engineers, build things. It’s what we do, and we consider each project, large or ...

Veterans March 29, 2023
The ‘Sheepdog’ Analogy Is Deeply Flawed

Commentary Just about everyone in the military is familiar with the sheep, wolves, and sheepdog analogy, as popularized ...

Veterans March 28, 2023
Spot the (Military) Poser

Commentary I've mentioned before that I really enjoy observing human behavior and one of my favorite scenarios is ...

Veterans March 25, 2023
Why Gallows Humor Is Essential in the Military

Commentary For the most part, the huddled masses know nothing of the concept of gallows humor, and yet ...

Veterans March 24, 2023
Not a Defense of the US (Ch)air Force

Commentary So I’m not going to try to defend the accusation that the U.S. Air Force (AF) is ...

Veterans March 23, 2023
Sometimes You Gotta Break the Rules to Take Care of Your People

Commentary Sometimes heroes show up when you least expect them, and this is about one of those times. ...

Veterans March 22, 2023