"Glad we cleared this up.  Don’t worry, I won’t ever be back, so I won’t waste anymore of your time, and you won’t waste any of mine.”  To which I got up, walked out of...

...two therapists later, with no good answers, and a severe lack of trust in the mental health profession as a whole.  So how did I get here? I’m here, now what?...

So much that could be said this November 10. So much that should be and so much that should not be said. Emotions have been raw this year as the sun sets on twenty years...

Windows down, the V8 pulling me along, a cool breeze brushes my face, blowing past my ear like the top of a bottle. It’s a song that I’ve waited months to hear, the end of...

Progress is not linear despite our best efforts....

What we did MATTERED, it was for something. Those that say we never should have been there speak from ignorance. They haven't seen the evil that some of us have, thank God we could spare...

Much of what the government does is reactionary (understatement). Freedom Fitness America is proactive....

Is life only suffering, spent climbing the hill of adversity, never to overcome? ...

I was recently invited to speak to a high school psychology class (over Zoom) about Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. I take pleasure speaking to youth that are willing to listen. Dispelling myths and expressing truth...

Two years post retirement, I was sitting in the back of my drafting class listening to the young people. I couldn’t relate. What was important, perspective on current events, and the exploits of free time...

Marines are obsessed with the Corps. We’re taught its birthday, history, its traditions (good, bad, spoken, and implied), and the basic skills to be a rudimentary rifleman before we ever learn our occupational specialty. “On...

Dirt comes off skin easy enough but memories are harder to scrub out than a blood stain. I don't believe I'm home....

One the reasons I started Mental Grenade was to discuss the divide between the military and civilian communities. A communication gap exists that causes silence and/or misunderstandings. When someone finds out you’re a veteran, often...

Before there was a veteran, a civilian existed. In a small city in southern Virginia, I was born into a strict household. My father was a veteran of the Air Force and my mother’s father...

Misty and I were at the grocery store a few days ago. I was wearing some camo pants and Ritter was with us so we were an easy veteran target. Browsing the aisle, our light...