I deployed to Helmand Province in 2008 as an enlisted Marine infantryman. I returned there a decade later as a journalist.
Tag: United States Marine Corps
How the Taliban Infiltrated a Vital Afghan Army Base — Again
New details from an attack on Camp Bastion, once the British and American headquarters in troubled Helmand Province, shows more weaknesses of the Afghan military.
At War: On Sale in Kabul: Mementos of America’s War in Afghanistan, for $2 or Less
Challenge coins are handed out to commemorate American military campaigns. But the trinkets carry different weight when displayed beside tokens from earlier wars that failed.
At War: ‘People Constantly Mistake My Mother for a Spouse, Not a Veteran’
These servicewomen are leaders, pioneers, change-makers and survivors. Here’s what their family members have to say about them.
At War: 40 Stories From Women About Life in the Military
Servicewomen and veterans share the stories that have stayed with them from their time in the military.
At War: When All of My Friends Were Still Alive
In this week’s newsletter, Thomas Gibbons-Neff, a Times reporter and former Marine, shares his journal entries from February 2010 and the days leading up to Operation Moshtarak in Afghanistan.
At War: What Happened in Iraq: ‘Seven Months of Blood and Fire and Broken Glass’
In this week’s At War newsletter: Many veterans know something that the politicians who speak for military action often do not: for those who do the fighting, war is often reduced to who is near and whatever happens.
At War: I’m Prepared to Talk About the Things I Did in Iraq. Are People Ready to Listen?
I’m ready for the questions about the things I did when I went to war. But the truth might prove to be more than people want to hear.
At War: ‘On Parris Island, We Felt Isolated From the Rest of the World’
In this week’s At War newsletter: a Times reporter and former Marine writes about his life in boot camp, in response to the service’s gender-integration news.
Spy or Not? American Who Loves Russia Ensnared in New Cold War
Paul N. Whelan, now in a Moscow prison, cut a curious figure. He traveled on Russian trains, collected tea glass holders and cultivated military contacts.