Lethal Minds Volume 23
Lethal Minds Volume 23
Volume 23, 1 June, 2024
Letter from the Editor
I am in week seven of getting in shape to get in shape. By that, I mean three years of retirement, three decades of accumulated injuries and the surgeries to correct them, and a weakness for all things fried have taken a toll. Now I need to train my mind and body before I will truly be ready to train my mind and body again. It’s an embarrassing place for a career Marine to be, much less a guy who spent 24 of 27 years in force reconnaissance or as a Marine Raider. But rather than following my old routine of telling my body, “Every day of your life will be the worst day of your life until you conform to my will,” I am enjoying running and lifting every weekday and surfing with my kid or kayaking and walking with my wife on the weekends. I don’t know if I will return to ultra-marathon running. I don’t know if I will chase my old deadlift goal of 405 again (the last time I got semi-serious about it, I got to 365 and heard an unpleasant noise from my left hip). But I am starting to feel a bit like my old self. Focusing on training makes you appreciate others’ efforts. So, when a Marine First Lieutenant broke a deadlift world record in April by pulling 660 pounds, I noticed. In an interview, the Marine talked about lifting for twenty years and actively pursuing the record for nine of them. “Aha!,” I thought. “Relying on the old ‘set a long term goal, develop amazing focus, train effectively, learn and refine proper techniques, and seek expert coaching’ thing I see!” But that wasn’t good enough for the legion of internet experts furious that the record-setting Marine had the temerity to be a woman. Of course, the comments rolled in, questioning her gender, her drug use, and the integrity of the competition. In the end, a Marine who spent TWO DECADES pursuing and accomplishing an amazing goal had to delete her social media accounts and avoid credit for a WORLD RECORD because anonymous cowards harassed her to the point that the story had to be deleted from the Defense Visual Information Distribution Service, the exact place where we should be celebrating her. I love to see Marines (and all servicemembers), particularly junior ones, succeed. I really love seeing them excel. This young Marine did just that. Her only failure was in thinking all her fellow service members and veterans were sufficiently secure in their own lives and achievements to either celebrate hers or just… shut the fuck up. Seems like some folks have some work to do. We’re doing it here. A big part of doing this rests on the shoulders of the Managing Editor, so it’s with appreciation and relief I welcome Jillian Bosserdet to the role. If you don’t like something here, it’s my fault. If you do, she made it happen. Lethal Minds Journal exists to celebrate active, reserve, National Guard, and veteran servicemembers. You’re why we exist. Reach us with your thoughts, opinions, and stories at lethalmindsjournal.submissions@gmail.com. Fire for Effect, Russell Worth Parker Editor in Chief - Lethal Minds Journal Submissions are open at lethalmindsjournal.submissions@gmail.com. Dedicated to those who serve, those who have served, and those who paid the final price for their country.
Two Grunts Inc. is proud to sponsor Lethal Minds Journal and all of their publications and endeavors. Like our name says we share a similar background to the people behind the Lethal Minds Journal, and to the many, many contributors. Just as possessing the requisite knowledge is crucial for success, equipping oneself with the appropriate tools is equally imperative. At Two Grunts Inc., we are committed to providing the necessary tools to excel in any situation that may arise. Our motto, “Purpose-Built Work Guns. Rifles made to last,” reflects our dedication to quality and longevity. With meticulous attention to manufacturing and stringent quality control measures, we ensure that each part upholds our standards from inception to the final rifle assembly. Whether you seek something for occasional training or professional deployment, our rifles cater to individuals serious about their equipment. We’re committed to supporting The Lethal Minds Journal and its readers, so if you’re interested in purchasing one of our products let us know you’re a LMJ reader and we’ll get you squared away. Stay informed. Stay deadly. -Matt Patruno USMC, 0311 (OIF) twogruntsinc.com support@twogruntsinc.com
In This Issue
Opinion
That Ship Sailed – Making Sense of the Helmand Campaign
The Written Word
Book Review - Gun Curious: A Liberal Professor’s Surprising Journey Inside America’s Gun Culture
Book Review - In My Time of Dying: How I Came Face to Face with the Idea of an Afterlife
Do You Miss It?
Poetry and Art
Beholder
Transition and Veteran Resources
Blue Star Families
Opinion
Op-Eds and general thought pieces meant to spark conversation and introspection.
That Ship Sailed – Making Sense of the Helmand Campaign
Benjamin Van Horrick
If you want something done right, do it yourself.
This past week, the Navy announced it was naming a new ship the USS Helmand Province. Naming a ship after a portion of Afghanistan where so many Marines lost their lives, limbs, and youth but is now under Taliban control is another example of the well-meaning, yet vacant, gestures taken to commemorate America’s war in Afghanistan. The vessel's name reminds Helmand veterans of their daunting mission and subsequent attempts to render meaning to our service in Afghanistan.
Hope marked the Marine Corps’ entry into Helmand in 2009. With its battlespace, a new counterinsurgency strategy, and boosted by a surge force, the Corps sought to replicate its successes in Anbar. Hope turned to skepticism as the promise of the Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF) and the Afghan government proved aspirational. By the time Marines left Helmand for good, the Afghan government and its forces retained a tenuous control of Helmand. In August 2021, Afghan veterans witnessed the tragic end of their war. A day we imagined would eventually arrive, but we were unprepared for the reality of a haunting ending.
Following Kabul’s fall, Helmand veterans still in uniform grappled with the war and the pall it casts over our present service. Every assumption and fact presented during planning received a higher level of scrutiny. Doctrine still guides our planning, but Helmand vets look at rosy assumptions and accepted facts with suspicion. The due diligence is not just a professional obligation, but a personal vendetta.
Helmand scarred us. If we can prevent the foolhardy employment of our Marines, we will. If there is an additional opportunity to train our Marines, we will take it. If our Marines and sailors are committed to a fight, we will resource them with all available means to prevail.
Today, wearing the Afghanistan campaign ribbon serves as a mark. The red, black, and green ribbon and the attached stars note service in Afghanistan. The ribbon marks contributions to the war effort and complicity in Afghanistan’s fall. One cannot be cleaved from another. Professionalism requires the acknowledgment of missteps and misdeeds. One can blame senior leaders and policymakers, but professionalism demands a ruthless examination of our actions in Helmand. Anything less compromises the relationship with the country we serve and the Corps we love.
Headlines about Helmand remind us that the Helmand deployment ended for most of us, but for some poor souls, they never fully returned home. Some got on the plane, got the welcome home party, the post-deployment leave, and the new car. But pieces of them remain in Helmand. The long days and too-brief nights bring some Helmand veterans back to places like Marjah, Garmsir, Musa Qala, Now Zad, Sangin, Lashkar Gah, and Khanashin. For some, these remain lines on a map. For some unfortunate souls, these places remain as real as the nose on your face. We may never know the extent of how much Helmand still affects a person’s life, but we can acknowledge the sorrow that still punctuates the lives of Helmand veterans.
Helmand vets can now control the narrative and assist others.
Make the call. Send the text. Crack the Beer. Pour one out.
Hearing from another Helmand vet can make someone’s day and move them closer to making sense of their youth.
But naming a vessel will not change Helmand's outcome.
That ship sailed long ago.
Written Word
Fiction and Nonfiction written by servicemen and veterans.
Book Review - Jake Lundsford
Gun Curious: A Liberal Professor’s Surprising Journey Inside America’s Gun Culture - David Yamane
When COVID hit, we pulled our sons out of public education and began the process of homeschooling. To those who asked, I said it was because of stresses in the education environment and the whiplash of public health policy, but that’s not true. What is true is that I was afraid your son would murder mine in the hallway. I just needed something more logical to enable my fear-based action. The pandemic gave it to me.
I am a gun owner, lest the above confession bias you preemptively. According to David Yamane’s new book, Gun Curious: A Liberal Professor’s Surprising Journey Inside America’s Gun Culture, I am actually a gun super-owner (which The Guardian defined in 2016 as owning eight or more firearms). As such, my cognitive dissonance with the dangers of firearms makes even less sense, and Yamane ticks off the reasons why in his 208 pages of anecdotes and peer-reviewed research on the intricacies of gun culture in America. Yamane, a gun super-owner himself, dedicates most of his eight chapters to addressing this dissonance.
Why the fascination with guns? Because we are humans, and humans do projectiles, Yamane posits. Isn’t the statistical probability of negative outcomes worth removing them from the home? Yamane explains why it’s more complicated than that. These, and many other questions, are addressed in a manuscript that sometimes reads like a down-home coming-of-age story and sometimes, like the research paper one would expect from a professor who spent his life in academia and hails from San Francisco (though he now lives in North Carolina). Phrases like, “Of particular interest for our purposes here is that [the author] roots the adaptive advantage of coercively enforced kinship-dependent social cooperation in a prior evolutionary development,” are juxtaposed against the quaint bluntness of, “guns are normal and normal people use guns.” It makes for a diverse and fascinating read.
The central question Yamane seems to be addressing isn’t whether guns are good or evil, but rather why this is the question we ask when there are so many contemporary dangers present in American life outside of guns. Among his many criticisms of contemporary research on guns in America is that they all presuppose a baked-in bias against the wrongness of gun ownership. In the author’s words, “Criminologists study crime and public health scholars study pathology. Sociologists study what’s wrong with society, not what’s right.” When you go looking for problems, you find them.
In addition to the academic value of Yamane’s writing, his connections and relationships read like a Who’s Who list of icons in American gun culture, Massad Ayoob and Claude Werner (The Tactical Professor) foremost among them. But Yamane also explores the nuanced positions of organizations like Liberal Gun Owners, who operate at the nexus of firearms ownership and public safety, as well as giving voice to those to whom gun ownership represents anathema to public health. Though his position is quite clear on being a gun owner, Yamane walks the tightrope of nuance with astute balance.
As a reader, I appreciated the author’s rational and fair analysis of gun culture in America, though though that analysis does have its weaknesses. In an American culture where emotional response and fear-based decision-making trump logic and rationality, I question the efficacy of arguments grounded in actual truth, as sad as it makes me to admit that about us. After all, guns may be normal, and normal people may use guns, but crazy people do too, and my sons won’t be in class with yours anytime soon.
Book Review - Russell Worth Parker
In My Time of Dying: How I Came Face to Face with the Idea of an Afterlife -Sebastian Junger
On June 16, 2020, Sebastian Junger almost died again, in earnest. This time it was not a near-miss explosion in Afghanistan or an interaction with a rifle-toting tribesman of unknown loyalties in some distant land, it was an aneurysm of the pancreatic artery.
Junger’s is a life of documenting near misses, adventures in strange quarters, and the pursuit of truth found at the ragged edges. So, it is perhaps ironic that what almost laid him low came from within his own body, though characteristically in a rare and unpredictable form. As he writes in his new book, In My Time of Dying: How I Came Face to Face with the Idea of an Afterlife, “My body had been heading towards this day my whole life.”
Of course, in many ways dying of natural causes is aspirational for those who spend their lives courting danger as Junger has, in combat zones, in storm-tossed seas, and in the wild, places where death is an ever-present silent partner. He has looked at death in many forms in his books and the Academy Award-nominated film Restrepo. But now Junger is looking at what happens after, an exploration made all the more fascinating for his committed atheism, and for those of us who court danger, or once did, he asks some universal questions.
How do we live in the face of certain death?
How do we explain things that seem unexplainable?
How do we wrestle rationally with things that defy rationality?
When a mind as inquisitive and incisive as Junger’s is asking the questions, the answers are worth exploring.
The book is divided into two main parts, “What” and “If”. The former is an analytical, medical, and scientific exploration of what happened within Junger’s body as he lay dying; the how and the why. It is necessary to get us to the latter.
“If” is where the answers, and more questions, lie. I will admit to being swayed by Junger’s recounting of a friend’s Afghanistan heroics. Tyler Carroll is a friend of mine and of Lethal Minds Journal. I was wholly surprised to find his name in the second half of the book, as well as his own near-death experience, of which I was wholly unaware.
“As I Lay Dying” addressed some questions for me, personal ones that are also universal, that I developed in watching loved ones die. It also gave substance to an experience I had while clearing a building in Iraq. I was alone, about to enter and clear a room, when I felt a hand on my shoulder and a voice in my ear telling me to step back from the door and wait for support. Maybe that was from my brain, maybe it was divine, maybe I was on the verge of my own near-death experience courtesy of the man with the AK47 waiting just inside the door. But I felt and heard the voice clearly and I believe I am alive today because of it.
Death represents an extinguishing of possibility, regardless of your beliefs about an afterlife. It is an end to corporeal existence and thus, a loss. I knew I needed to consider moving on from the military when I no longer heard theme music during parachute operations and instead heard my own voice asking, “Is this worth the rest of your time with your daughter?” Junger’s consideration of similar questions around his kids, from an emergency room table, resonated deeply with me.
At 138 pages of text, this is a small book about an enormous topic. The personal exploration, and the honesty with which Junger undertakes it, make it wholly accessible. It is a treatment of an issue that every servicemember, particularly those in the combat arms, must confront to do their job well. For that reason, and a host of others, I highly recommend this book.
Do You Miss It?
Alvin Fernandez
“Do you miss it?”
That is the question I hear from friends and family after they find out I got out of the Army after 12 years of service. Normally I respond with my generic, rehearsed answer; something along the lines of: “No, I had a good run, and it was time to move on. It’s good to be home all the time with the wife, kids, dog, etc.” But occasionally, if the wife is out of earshot and I am feeling honest, I will be truthful and say, “Yeah, I do. Every single day.” On those rare occasions where I share the truth, there is always the follow-up question, “Really?! Why?”
It is a valid question, one which I never answer truthfully. My normal response is to quote one of my favorite WW2 movies, “Best job I ever had.” After hearing that response most people will nod and smile politely and quickly change the conversation. However, leave it to my sister to press the matter in her never-ending search for the truth. “No seriously, why do you miss it?” That is the question that stuck in my head for days after.
Why do I miss it? What about being in the Army was so great? I distinctly remember being quite thrilled about my transition back to being a civilian. I was done with the mandatory PowerPoint classes and meetings that should have been an email. I was thrilled about the fact that the next time I went out into the woods it would be for fun and not for training. I was done missing birthdays, anniversaries, graduations, and key moments in my kids' lives. So why did I miss it? I did get enjoyment and fulfillment from being a medic. But that fact alone was not enough to justify the longing I was feeling. Then the answer started coming to me, in the form of a phone call from a friend.
My friend was coming to town, and he wanted to catch up. I had known him for years. We both served together in the same unit, and we even deployed together. We had not seen each other since he left the detachment to go to a dust-off unit. It was great to catch up and reminisce. He talked to me about all the politics and frustrations of his new unit, and I talked to him about the joys of civilian life. We continued into the night eating, drinking, and talking. When it was time to go, I was sad to see him leave. I went home, sat next to my wife, and confessed to her, “Honey, I miss it. I miss being in the Army.” She looked at me and smiled. Being the very smart woman she is, she simply replied:
“Do you miss the Army, or do you miss your friends?”
And there it was. The answer that had been eluding me was staring me right in the face. She was right, I do not miss all the headaches and frustrations that come with serving in the military. Do not misunderstand me, I would gladly do it all over again. I take immense pride and joy in my 12 years of service (“Best job I ever had”). However, the truth was and still is, that what I miss the most is the comradery. I miss my brothers- and sisters-in-arms. They are family. In some instances, more than family. They are people that I know intimately. We have unique shared experiences with each other. We have had conversations with each other that we would not dare have with anyone else. Honestly, it is a bond and closeness which I have difficulty putting into words. It is something most civilians do not understand and even my wife, after twelve years of being an Army wife, still does not fully comprehend. And that right there, that incomprehensible to most, difficult-to-explain sense of brotherhood and comradery is what I have been missing and missing the most.
With Memorial Day weekend just past, I know many of us (myself included) went to events or participated in activities in honor of those who did not make it back home. However, I invite you to not only honor those who gave the ultimate sacrifice but to also honor those who meant and mean so much to us now. Reach out to a friend, call your old battle buddy, and let them know they are still in your heart and mind. It’s easy to get sidetracked in our modern world with so many demands and distractions. I urge you to take the time and remember why those people meant so much to you and to take the time to let them know.
You never know if you’ll get the chance to do so again.
Poetry and Art
Poetry and art from the warfighting community.
Beholder - Evan Young Weaver
Where do we find and how can it be, and in what manner do we thank view and carry, when we bear witness to the bitter end or is it the beginning of whatever is next so do we thank him for them or hate him for them or love him and them or does he have no place he might forgive but he did not that day that combat did not love for the wrenching honor the horrific gratitude the loss that is only a loss because they were the gift to know someone in death courage failure how to say and how to ask how was this so beautiful to me
Transition and Veteran Resources
Career and civilian transition guidance, geared towards helping servicemembers plan their careers and help transitioning servicemembers succeed in civilian life.
Blue Star Families
Did you know the average military family moves three times as often as their civilian peers? And guess what? More than 70% of these families live off of military installations, and they do not feel a strong sense of belonging.
Furthermore, the Blue Star Families 2023 Military Family Lifestyle Survey found that the likelihood of active-duty family members recommending military service is declining, with only 32% saying they would recommend entering the military.
The families of our all-volunteer military make unprecedented sacrifices these days to serve our country. Blue Star Families was founded by military spouses in 2009 to empower these families to thrive as they serve. We're committed to strengthening military families by connecting them with their neighbors individuals and organizations to create vibrant communities of mutual support. We believe we're all stronger when we take care of one another.
Our groundbreaking research is raising the nation's awareness of the unique challenges of military family life. With the help of neighbors across the country, we are overcoming the isolation and alienation of frequent moves, deployments, and reduced support from the government. Our innovative programs are solving specific challenges for military families, including fighting economic insecurity with resources that foster spouse career development, creating family strength with rich family programming, and providing critical peer support for caregivers, whose numbers are only increasing.
With approximately 275,000 members in our network, including in chapters and communities all over the world, we touch more than 1.5 million military family members each year. Through our research and program partnerships, we ensure that wherever American military families go, they can always feel connected, supported, and empowered to thrive - in every community, across the nation, and around the globe.
Maybe you belong to one of those families. Maybe you just ended active service and find yourself feeling a bit isolated. Maybe you are a civilian who wants to better know how to engage with your military neighbors.
Blue Star Families exists for you, regardless.
If you are interested in the future viability of the All-Volunteer Force, now is the time to Do Your Part in extending a friendly hand and embracing your military neighbors. Creating a sense of belonging helps to strengthen community bonds and bridge the gap between military families and their civilian neighbors. If you don't know how to do this, join the Blue Star Neighborhood today. There, you will find ways to volunteer, have opportunities to understand military life better, receive access to exclusive member benefits, and have the chance to connect with military and Veteran members.
Your understanding and support are paramount in strengthening our military members and their families.
Do your part and join the Blue Star Neighborhood here:
http://neighborhood.bluestarfam.org/
__
——————————
This ends Volume 23, Edition 1, of the Lethal Minds Journal (01 JUNE 2024)
The window is now open for Lethal Minds’ twenty-fourth volume, releasing July 1st, 2024.
All art and picture submissions are due as PDFs or JPEG files to our email by midnight on 20 June 2024.
All written submissions are due in 12-point font, double-spaced, Word documents to our email by midnight on 20 June 2024.
lethalmindsjournal.submissions@gmail.com
Special thanks to the volunteers and team that made this journal possible:
So re the guns vs people challenge, it occurs to me that our problems may be framed as having an unidentified portion of the population for whom guns are enablers and have almost the effect of a narcotic drug in promoting their worst selves. Theoretically when we have people who abuse automobiles and our traffic laws we eventually make them ride the bus, if they live long enough to attract enough attention from our legal system. The basic step then with people who are a danger when combined with firearms is to either remove the individual to a place where they will have no access to firearms for a specified term or presumably for such people who don’t warrant incarceration is to ensure that they have the chance for a normal life among us as long as they accept that guns are not an acceptable part of that life for them - and the rest of us. But we don’t have the laws in place to really do any of these things.