Letter from the Editor
I don’t mean to turn this space into a veteran’s community gripe session, but there are things afoot in America I think merit mention in an outlet calling itself “The Voice of the Barracks.” I’m going to use the language of The Barracks to discuss them, so skip this one, Mom. There’s gonna be some potty-mouth. The Barracks have seen some of the most vociferous arguments ever held, their soundness sometimes tested less by reason than trial by combat. But the unwritten law has always been that while we may be mortal enemies within The Barracks, we pause our own squabbles to stand shoulder to shoulder against those attacking from outside. I consider that a lifetime obligation. As I like to say to my fellow Marines, Semper Fidelis only means what we make it mean. I extend that principle to my fellow servicemembers, regardless of uniform, though not regardless of behavior. Bluntly, it’s a fundamental rule of an informal organization that exists across all the services, even if it may carry different names. In the Marine Corps, it’s called The Good Motherfucker Club, and it has only one rule: You’re either someone of whom your peers say, “That’s a good motherfucker,” hereafter a GMF, or you’re not. You must decide every day whether to continue to deserve membership. Part of being a GMF is being there when it counts, especially when it might cost you. As one of my best friends says, “I don’t need you in my corner when things are going well. I need you when I’ve been knocked down.” Ironically, being a GMF may require you to look out for someone who isn’t one. Jason Redmond is a combat-wounded Navy SEAL who supports Tim Kennedy. He didn’t defend Kennedy’s strained relationship with the truth; he simply asked what kind of man he himself would be if he deserted a long-time friend at a low point. It’s a question worth asking. For a GMF, it may be a matter of who you are rather than who they are. I’ve stood by friends who did things I found abhorrent, and, though I disagree with Redmond on the ease with which Kennedy should be able to rehabilitate himself after pretty egregious behavior, I admire his willingness to publicly suffer the slings and arrows sometimes required to be a friend. I don’t know him, but my guess is that Redmond is a GMF. Following Redmond’s example, I have to call bullshit on a website built by a guy calling for one of his West Point classmates, a career Special Forces Colonel (and friend of mine), to be fired from his job because of his Constitutionally-protected opinions. I won’t link it as I don’t wish to give him air, but he names a host of other servicemembers and DOD civilians whose lives, he believes, should be dramatically altered for the crime of having opinions. It’s a trend I’ve watched develop in America for the last decade or so: making lists of people who don’t agree with you and claiming that disagreement makes them a threat to the nation. GMFs don’t do that. Cowards do. GMFs counter ideas with ideas. Maybe they throw hands. Then they shake them. My best friend, a charter member of the GMF club, often says, “People with a mission in life are generally a pain in the ass.” People who make lists usually have a mission in life. Joseph Stalin. Fidel Castro. Pol Pot. Joe McCarthy. I’ll sidestep Godwin’s Law and simply note a certain mustachioed Austrian was really good at making lists. Speaking of list makers, “internet personality” Laura Loomer recently attacked Florent Groberg, a medically retired soldier and Medal of Honor recipient, on the thirteenth anniversary of the attack in which he tackled a suicide bomber who detonated himself, killing four service members. Loomer questioned the appropriateness of the Army honoring Groberg because he spoke about service at a Democratic convention years ago, writing, “Are we supposed to believe the Army couldn’t find a Republican and US born soldier?” Groberg is a Republican. He represented himself as such while addressing a convention full of Democrats. So, ignoring the anti-Americanism of requiring political purity tests to honor a MEDAL OF HONOR RECIPIENT, Loomer’s first complaint is obfuscation. I am wholly unclear what relevance the birth location of a citizen who gave more to this nation in a split second than Laura Loomer has offered in her life is. I don’t feel much impetus to address it. There’s a concept in the law called res ipsa loquitor, Latin for “the thing speaks for itself.” That should suffice where Loomer is concerned. One assumes the responses of other service members to Loomer’s attack on Groberg were driven by the rules of GMF Club membership. Quoted in the Washington Post, Chris Miller, a retired Army Special Forces Colonel and Acting Secretary of Defense in the first Trump administration said, “To have an agent provocateur, seemingly lacking any understanding of the appropriate role of the military in America’s constitutional republic, cast aspersions on Secretary of the Army Dan Driscoll’s righteous effort to honor the courage and sacrifice of all Army Medal of Honor recipients is an abomination and disreputable.” Marine Medal of Honor recipient (and recent Marine re-enlistee) Dakota Meyer said, “If anyone has earned the right to free speech or to have an opinion, it’s a man who threw himself in front of a suicide bomber to save lives. What have you done?” That’s the real question when it comes to membership in the GMF Club: “What have you done?” Did you stand up to be counted at potential cost to yourself? Did you place yourself in the line of fire? Were you there when a friend, or even a stranger who didn’t deserve to be smeared, needed you to get their back? Were YOU a good motherfucker? Are you? Lethal Minds Journal needs more GMFs. Join us by emailing us at lethalmindsjournal.submissions@gmail.com. Fire for Effect, Russell Worth Parker Editor in Chief - Lethal Minds Journal
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In This Issue
Across the Force
White Paper: Uncrewed Aerial Systems in Special Operations: Navigating GPS-Denied Environments and Enhancing Modern Asymmetric Warfare
The World Today
To Dominate at Sea, Continue the Tradition of US-UK Patrol Boat Cooperation
The Written Word
Smoke and Silhouettes
Luck and Time, and Titles
Honor, Courage, Committed
Poetry and Art
Second Chances
Still Convoying
Off the Clock
Secret Soldier Sonneteer
Transition and Veteran Resources
Combat Warriors, Inc
Health and Fitness
Creative Arts for Veterans
Headspace and Timing
Across the Force
Written work on the profession of arms. Lessons learned, conversations on doctrine, and mission analysis from all ranks.
White Paper: Uncrewed Aerial Systems in Special Operations: Navigating GPS-Denied Environments and Enhancing Modern Asymmetric Warfare
John R. Dolan
I. Purpose:
To analyze the operational relevance, technological readiness, and doctrinal implications of employing uncrewed aerial systems (UAS)—particularly GPS-/SAV-denied-capable drones—within U.S. Special Operations Forces (SOF). This paper aims to support informed acquisition, doctrinal development, and interagency coordination for UAS operations in contested environments.
II. Problem Statement
The evolution of drone warfare has emerged as a focal point for military researchers and policymakers, particularly in light of the rapid doctrinal and technological advancements observed during the ongoing Russo-Ukrainian conflict and the modernization efforts of near-peer competitors such as the People’s Republic of China. Both sides in the Ukraine conflict have employed unmanned systems at unprecedented scale and pace, adapting continuously to overcome novel threats and countermeasures.
Tactical units face significant limitations in these environments, particularly in balancing the need for jamming resistance with requirements for secure control and actionable intelligence collection. These operational constraints present a critical challenge to U.S. and NATO efforts to ensure unmanned system dominance in future contested battlespaces.
A central barrier to advancement lies in reconciling two often conflicting objectives: persistent intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) capability and resilient command and control (C2) in denied or degraded environments. While several established programs have yet to fully bridge this gap, a number of emerging technology firms have introduced innovative solutions that show potential to meet these demands without compromising on either intelligence fidelity or operational survivability.
III. Background
A. Operational Gaps and Adversary Trends
Analysis of the Ukraine Conflict provides critical insight into the evolving nature of drone employment on the modern battlefield. During the initial phase of the conflict, conventional drone systems dominated, relying primarily on RF communication channels including 2.4 GHz, 5.8 GHz, and 433/915 MHz (LoRa), as well as Wi-Fi (802.11) and cellular networks (3G/4G LTE) for C2 and data transmission. These methods rapidly became vulnerable and increasingly obsolete in contested environments due to their dependence on line-of-sight RF propagation, which proved susceptible to electronic warfare (EW) countermeasures employed by Russian forces. Notable Russian EW platforms such as the R-300Zh (Zhitel), Tirada-2S, AeroScope, Shipovnik-Aero, and Repellent-1 & 2 systems effectively degraded Ukrainian drone operations by denying C2 links and simultaneously broadcasting precise positional and telemetry data of drone activity. Ukrainian forces similarly countered Russian drone operations through systems including Bukovel-AD, Kvertys AD, and by exploiting geofencing vulnerabilities.
These EW countermeasures compelled both sides to rapidly adapt their UAS capabilities. Over recent months, fiber optic data link drones have been fielded to mitigate the impact of RF jamming and detection. While these systems have demonstrated significant success within this operational environment, they introduce several inherent limitations that restrict their applicability for U.S. and NATO forces. Specifically, fiber optic drones provide operators with reduced vulnerability to EW interference but are constrained by three key factors: (1) limited operational range and flexibility, (2) restricted flight path maneuverability, and (3) susceptibility to challenging terrain conditions.
The limited range of fiber optic drones—typically restricted to 2 to 5 kilometers—requires operators to remain in close proximity to the target area, restricting their ability to conduct long-duration or deep surveillance missions in contested areas. This proximity requirement limits their utility in support of brigade- and division-level ISR operations, which demand a broader operational picture to support maneuver and planning. While effective for company-level units conducting immediate area reconnaissance, fiber optic systems do not adequately support the intelligence needs of higher echelons responsible for indirect fire support, logistics, and operational maneuver.
Secondly, fiber optic drones impose significant flight path restrictions due to the physical tether connecting the platform to the operator. The cable limits maneuverability, requiring relatively straight and low-altitude flight profiles to prevent entanglement or damage to the fiber line. This constraint reduces the drone’s ability to conduct complex reconnaissance missions in dense or urban terrain and limits evasion capabilities against enemy air defenses. The requirement for line-of-sight cable management also increases operator vulnerability and reduces operational tempo, as maneuvering the drone around obstacles becomes increasingly challenging. This limitation fundamentally restricts the tactical flexibility of fiber optic drones compared to untethered platforms, which can exploit a broader range of flight envelopes and altitudes to achieve mission objectives.
Thirdly, the operational environment itself poses a critical challenge to fiber optic drone employment. Austere and complex terrain—characterized by dense vegetation, rugged topography, or urban structures—can easily damage or sever the fiber optic cable, resulting in immediate mission failure. Environmental factors such as wind, precipitation, and physical obstructions introduce additional risks to cable integrity, thereby reducing system reliability and increasing the logistical burden for operators tasked with maintaining and deploying these assets. Furthermore, the physical signature of the tether renders the drone and operator more susceptible to detection and interdiction, negating some of the inherent stealth advantages provided by the fiber optic data link. Collectively, these terrain-related vulnerabilities limit the practical utility of fiber optic drones in diverse operational theaters where U.S. and allied forces are expected to operate.
B. U.S. SOF and Joint Force Current Posture
The current posture of U.S. Special Operations Forces (SOF) and the Joint Force, with respect to UAS, reflects both promising advancements and critical gaps, particularly in GPS-denied or austere operational environments. USSOCOM continues to prioritize anti-jam technologies, edge computing, and unmanned ISR capabilities. However, despite these investments, it still lacks fielded autonomous solutions that can operate effectively when GPS is denied—a notable vulnerability given the increasing prevalence of electronic warfare in future contested zones (Defense Scoop, 2025). USASOC, for its part, is developing counter-UAS drills, a necessary step in safeguarding force protection, but remains constrained by limited integration of UAS platforms capable of navigating denied environments independently. This hinders broader mission adaptability in degraded conditions, especially during long-duration, low-signature operations.
MARSOC has taken a more experimental route, embracing first-person view (FPV) drones and edge-AI integration as part of its exploration of GPS-free tactical applications. These efforts signify a shift toward platform-level autonomy that could provide operational continuity in jamming-intensive or clandestine settings. Nevertheless, such experimentation remains early-phase, with institutional doctrine and sustainment infrastructure still catching up to tactical innovation. The 2024 “Austere Medicine” white paper highlights how future battlefields will be dispersed and increasingly defined by gray-zone conflict, reinforcing the importance of resilient UAS systems not just for ISR or strike, but also for supporting medical logistics and casualty evacuation under persistent threat and communications disruption. These trends underscore an urgent need for doctrine alignment and capability fielding to match the accelerating operational requirements in denied environments (Breaking Defense, 2025).
IV. Novel Breakthroughs and Applied Assets
Modern conflicts increasingly unfold in areas where GPS access is unreliable or actively contested. Adversaries with advanced electronic warfare capabilities can jam or spoof satellite signals, rendering traditional drone navigation systems ineffective. This presents a major challenge for U.S. forces, particularly special operations units that rely on small unmanned systems for surveillance, reconnaissance, and logistical support in remote or hostile environments. To keep those tools effective, a number of innovative efforts are underway to ensure drones can continue to operate even when satellite guidance is lost.
One notable advancement comes from Theseus, a startup working on compact alternatives to GPS. Their Micro Visual Positioning System uses onboard cameras, motion sensors, and preloaded satellite imagery to estimate location and movement without any external signal. Small enough to attach to most handheld drones, this system allows autonomous flights through visually mapped terrain. It’s already been tested in exercises with SOF elements and is designed specifically for the kind of low-signature missions where revealing a position could compromise the team. These drones can fly pre-programmed routes, provide live intelligence, or drop small payloads—without emitting the signals that typically draw attention in contested airspace.
Meanwhile, broader defense initiatives are also tackling the problem from a different angle. The National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency has expanded its support of artificial intelligence applications through programs like Project Maven. Originally created to sift through drone footage, Maven has evolved to include tools for object recognition, environmental mapping, and terrain matching—functions that can now be deployed directly on drones. When combined with visual positioning systems, these capabilities allow unmanned aircraft to navigate using the landscape itself, identifying landmarks and terrain features to keep track of location and mission progress.
Taken together, systems like Theseus’ Micro VPS and NGA’s Maven-based AI models offer a multi-layered approach to solving the denied-environment dilemma. One provides positional awareness without a satellite link, while the other helps interpret surroundings and make decisions on the fly. For troops on the ground, especially those operating in isolation or under strict communications silence, these technologies can extend reach, improve safety, and restore confidence in unmanned systems when conventional navigation fails. Project Maven, in particular, enhances not just situational awareness but the speed and quality of decision-making—automating everything from object detection to route optimization. For SOF units conducting reconnaissance or direct-action missions, Maven enables drones to flag enemy patterns, identify possible ambush sites, and suggest alternate movement routes in real time. For conventional forces, Maven’s automated target recognition and terrain analysis can support battalion-level maneuvers by highlighting shifts in the battlespace or locating enemy armor concealed in complex terrain. As great-power competition reshapes the battlefield, these quiet but powerful advances may prove decisive in maintaining operational edge where it matters most.
1 Defense Scoop. “SOCOM adds new advanced AI capabilities to tech wish list.” 2025. https://defensescoop.com/2025/07/29/socom-sof-ai-artificial-intelligence-advanced-technologies-baa/?utm_source=chatgpt.com
2 Breaking Defense. “Marines special ops focus on data at the edge, FPV drones in the air and AI on the way.” 2025. https://breakingdefense.com/2025/04/marines-special-ops-focus-on-data-at-the-edge-fpv-drones-in-the-air-and-ai-on-the-way/?utm_source=chatgpt.com
The World Today
In depth analysis and journalism to educate the warfighter on the most important issues around the world today.
To Dominate at Sea, Continue the Tradition of US-UK Patrol Boat Cooperation
Michael Schellhammer
Under a crescent moon on the night of March 27, 1944, a convoy of German cargo barges cruised south along Italy’s west coast, escorted by two destroyers. Unseen and unheard, two US Navy Patrol Torpedo (PT) boats crept toward the convoy. The PT’s radar plotted the Germans, and the Americans radioed the positions to the rest of Operation Gun, composed of Royal Navy Motor Torpedo Boats (MTBs) and gunboats. Torpedoes from both PTs swooshed toward the enemy. Guided by the Americans and under Royal Navy command, the MTBs and gunboats sped towards the convoy. The Germans opened fire, and the night exploded with heavy machine guns, rapid-fire cannons, and star shells from the PTs, MTBs, and gunboats. German barges exploded and caught fire. The destroyers sped away. In the end, all six German barges were sunk by gunfire from the combined US-UK force.
Operation Gun is one example of how the US and UK combined forces, technology, and tactics for successful patrol boat operations in World War II. Today, the US and UK face common adversaries in the PRC and Russia. To prevail over both, we should replicate our World War II success with increased collaboration on Uncrewed Surface Vessels (USVs) through security cooperation with our allies and partners.
The US and UK made a deadly team
US-UK cooperation began – almost – in the 1920s when the US Navy tested, but did not purchase, two torpedo boats from the British Thornycraft company. Patrol boats were considered coastal defense craft and gained little interest in the US Navy, which relied on two oceans and capital ships for security.
Planning to defend the Philippine islands led the Navy to recognize that the shallow draft, speed, versatility, and low costs made torpedo boats an excellent defense for Pacific island waters. The Navy sought torpedo boats from US companies in 1938, and the Electric Boat Company (Elco) responded with a design based on British 70-foot Scott-Paine MTBs. The first American PTs, near copies of the British boats, improved with more powerful engines, went to the Pacific in 1941.
The US Navy’s PT-20, based on the British MTB design, in 1941. (Source: https://jenikirbyhistory.getarchive.net/)
Another batch of PTs went to the Mediterranean in April 1943, attached to the Royal Navy (RN) Inshore Forces. After some limited starts, the US crews learned from experienced RN mariners, allowing for the opportunity for growth in expertise. Combined PT-MTB operations expanded to anti-submarine patrols, reconnaissance and defensive patrols, rescuing downed aviators, landing clandestine agents onshore, and more.
The Royal Navy’s Vosper-designed MTB 219 shows its speed and firepower in World War II. MTB 219 attacked the German battleships Scharnhorst, Gneisenau, and cruiser Prinz Eugen.
MTB 219 is the sole surviving MTB of its class and is being restored at the Kraken Technology Group. (Source: The Kraken Technology Group)
Operating from bases on Sardinia and Corsica, US PTs (also made by the Higgins Company) and Royal Navy MTBs raided German shipping and honed tactics together. They frequently worked in sensor-shooter teams as they had in Operation Gun, where radar-equipped PTs located enemy shipping and vectored in MTBs that wielded heavier firepower. Both navies used the tactics of “swarming,” where their speed, surprise, numbers, and firepower overwhelmed defenses of more heavily armed vessels and convoys.
One method of PT boats attacking an enemy convoy, from the US Navy’s 1942 Motor Torpedo Boats, Tactical Orders and Doctrine (Source: MOTOR TORPEDO BOATS-PART3)
A US Navy comparison of Elco and Higgins PT boat designs. (Source: https://jenikirbyhistory.getarchive.net/)
The PTs and MTBs also worked together in the Pacific to a lesser extent, but the Mediterranean was the best example of their combined operations. In addition to Operation Gun, PTs and MTBs cooperated in operations including the invasion of Elba in August 1944, creating diversions and landing commandos. By the end of the war, combined US-UK patrols in the Mediterranean were estimated to have sunk or damaged 32 enemy vessels totaling 18,650 tons.
USVs continue the missions of the PTs and MTBs
The ability to strike capital ships with low cost and expendable craft is a concept even more relevant and valued today. Modern USVs bring a unique capability for missions, as the Ukrainians have proven in the Black Sea.
Long a priority for their respective defense establishments, the US and Royal Navy are developing, testing, and fielding USVs that are carrying on the PT and MTB missions with significant technological improvements. Configurable USVs can carry multiple weapons packages, communications, and sensors. Missions include electronic warfare, casualty evacuation, supply, counter-mine, and even counter-unmanned aerial systems (UAS), and more. Without crews that need to survive, USVs can make accurate and deadly one-way strikes, as the Ukrainians have demonstrated. The US Navy’s Sea Hunter and other USVs are proving their capabilities in multiple exercises. The Royal Navy Motor Boat (RNMB) Ariadne and new platforms like the Kraken Scout are in development and testing to perform USV missions in the Royal Navy.
The US Navy’s Sea Hunter at Exercise Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) 2022 (Source: DVIDS - Images - Unmanned Surface Vessels Transit Pacific Ocean in Route to RIMPAC 2022 [Image 4 of 8]
Like their PT ancestors, USVs can operate in sensor-shooter teams with intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR)-equipped vessels and continue the tactics of “swarming” where their speed, agility, and low silhouettes allow them to close in to targets and overwhelm defenses. Adding UASs and Uncrewed Underwater Vehicles (UUVs) allows attacking enemies above, on, and below the water surface. At less than 10 meters in length and capable of speeds over 50 knots, USV swarming attacks are harder to detect, faster, and more lethal than those of World War II.
All of this comes together with our allies and partners. Under the Australia-UK-US (AUKUS) security partnership, for example, the three countries are rapidly developing a doctrine for combined USV operations. A key AUKUS initiative is the "Maritime Big Play" program that enhances USV real-time data sharing, processing, and decision making, among many objectives. Pillar II of AUKUS focuses specifically on developing underwater, uncrewed systems. In NATO, exercises like the recent Task Force X Baltic and Arcane Thunder 25 are also advancing concepts for combined USV operations, and with US Army uncrewed platforms.
Outpacing our adversaries
The US, UK, and our allies are in a USV race against adversaries. Russia knows the impact of USVs from bitter experience and is reacting with their own platforms. The PRC is also learning lessons from Ukraine and rapidly making advanced USVs. Their platforms will carve into the current US-UK overmatch edge. Our successful World War II cooperation took years to develop – a luxury we will not enjoy in the next conflict.
Yet while our adversaries march on, the AUKUS agreement is under review by the Defense Department. Considering our past combined success and future common adversaries, continuing USV cooperation is vital for national security.
Accelerating collaboration under AUKUS and NATO now combines our best technologies and makes a strong strategic message; we are combined, ready, and formidable.
The USV race is one that we cannot afford to lose.
Michael Schellhammer is a partner at the Artemist Advisory Group. He is a retired US Army officer and 2017 graduate of the US Army War College. He is the author of “George Washington and the 1779 Campaign for the Hudson River,” (McFarland & Company, 2012) and “The 83rd Pennsylvania Volunteers in the Civil War,” (McFarland, 2003).
The Written Word
Fiction and Nonfiction written by servicemen and veterans.
Smoke and Silhouettes Rex Hambly Here’s a piece I wrote reflecting back over the 23 years that I have been in wildland fire suppression. Firefighting is not warfighting- but they are very similar. I hope that readers will recognize that special bond that makes it all worthwhile. When I woke it was cold, and my sleeping bag was wet with dew. Not soaked through, but just enough to make it sticky and a pain-in-the-fucking-ass. I forced it into the stuff sack which was far too small, half of its bulk dangling like the intestines of freshly butchered game. My stiff fingers ached with that early morning, all-too-familiar arthritis. I asked myself why I was here. But it was too early for that kind of self-reflective bullshit. I am here because the taxpayers pay me, and that's an honor. If I were a better man, I'd be a volunteer. I threw my wet sleeping bag into the back of my pickup. I fumbled through a pitch-black parking lot – some rural, defunct, and forgotten fairground no doubt – dodging ankle snapping potholes and the dark silhouettes of weary men and women. Our commonality being that we all look like ghosts moving against the smoky pre-dawn glow. In the dark, you can’t see the injuries that we hide. Half dead, half alive. I grabbed some milky, neon yellow powdered eggs from the “kitchen”, and tried to wash them down with some damn Folgers coffee that smells and tastes exactly like Brasso metal polish. I grabbed a handful of the requisite papers and maps, all with outdated intel. Outdated, just like yesterday’s sandwich, still sitting on my dashboard. I’ll use my own hand-drawn maps. As I negotiate the walk through base camp in the dark, I give subtle head nods and chin-tilts to people I recognize solely based on their silhouette. Year after year, I see them in the dark; yet I don't know their names. We eat together, we sleep together, and we bleed together. I know them only by their silhouette and the sound of their voice on the radio. But they are my brothers and sisters. Holding papers, maps (outdated), a bag lunch (also outdated), and sipping coffee from a grimy old mug that was rolling around the floorboard of my truck yesterday afternoon, I step in for the pre-brief. I take a swig from the dirty mug and can feel the dust from the floorboard grinding between my teeth. Somehow, the clashing of my jaw is far louder than the man spewing nearly useless “intel” in front of our small group. I step out of the pre-brief tent and hear someone yell – a familiar voice – but it is skewed by generators, trucks, clatter. Is it a dream? Hell no. Jimmy Buffet said it best: “My head hurts, my feet stink, and I don't love Jesus.” This is not a dream. I recognize the figure in the dark. My brother. A former weight lifter turned fireman. It is dark, but even at 100 yards I can see his smile. "HEY BUBBA GET OVER HERE.” I fumble my way over to Brian. "Hey man, what’s up?" "Just my cholesterol! Love you man, give me a hug, fucker." As my ribs are being crushed by the strength of his heartfelt heavy duty embrace, I take a moment and reflect through the first rays of sunlight, searing through the morning stillness, illuminating the toxic, hazy smoke. In that moment I realize that we all are just ghosts – we're all dead men walking, entombed in the flesh-castle we were given at birth. Better make the most of it. What an honor to know such great men and women. So I savor it, all of it. The blisters on my feet, the arthritis in my fingers, the acrid diesel generator exhaust burning my lungs. I notice every sensation, but none of them cause discomfort; they just ARE with me, as I am, standing here with my brother. I didn't know it then, but soon he'd be gone. The radio on my belt crackles, and I am pulled back to our attempt at building a shared reality. Something about fire impacting this, immediate need of equipment for that, get air attack over here quick. “Typical”, I think to myself. Sigh. Guess I’ll skip briefing again. Hustle over to my truck. Promptly spill coffee on the comm platform. I NEED two radios. Fuck. I’ll have to use my handheld today. Deep breath. Turn the key. Screw my wig on tight. Rex is a 23 year veteran of the wildland fire service, currently serving as a Battalion Chief for the Bureau of Land Management. He is heavily involved with peer support on his home unit, which has suffered an epidemic of suicides over the last several years. Rex is also known for developing the original Battle of San Pasqual Staff Ride - a field study for fire staff on the pivotal battle of the Mexican-American War, and developing the Last Chance Survival Simulation Workshop- a SERE-like course designed to prepare civilians for the unfortunate event that they become trapped in a wildfire. Rex is a single father, and lives with his son and his dog in the foothills outside of San Diego, where they enjoy sailing, downhill mountain biking, and motorcycles.
Luck and Time, and Titles
George Carty
In July 2011, without telling a soul, I drove myself to the Marine Corps recruiting office the next town over, completely unannounced, and demanded to speak to a recruiter. I was impulsive, but at 17, I felt the call to service pulling me in forcefully. At that time, I could not have cared, nor imagined, how impactful a decision as seemingly simple as picking a service branch would be on a person’s identity more than a decade later.
Ultimately, for reasons that deserve an entirely different essay, I did not join the Marine Corps, but the Air Force. That decision sometimes torments me in strange ways to this day. As a young man with a desperate itch to become a warrior and feel the full weight and adventure of warfare, a quiet part of my mind felt anxious that perhaps I risked “missing out” on some part of the experience by choosing the Air Force. Nonetheless, within a few years, I was sitting in the back of a C-17 departing Iraq, sweating into my body armor and helmet, rifle in hand, sitting directly across from a Marine infantry platoon. The line that separated the consequences of my decision seemed less profound.
During that deployment, I had several interactions that flipped my worldview on its head when it came to branch stereotypes. I received many a peculiar glance from infantrymen who could not wrap their minds around Air Force guys having high-cut helmets and lightweight body armor. I met Marines who never left the wire, and I met Air Force cybersecurity sergeants who were attached to MARSOC. I conducted prisoner transport missions led by an Air Force communications specialist who coordinated with foreign diplomats and Army Special Forces. I met a fat Army Ranger. I met Marines who contributed more significantly to the Air Force’s airlift operations than most airmen. There were no clear boundaries on what a service member could do with their career once they crossed the Atlantic. I began to see that the branch insignia matters less than the moment in which you find yourself.
In our community, there tends to be a lot of weight associated with titles. “Combat veteran” carries more weight than “veteran,” and “Special Operations [fill in MOS] Sergeant” carries more weight than most other MOSs. This is not without good reason, of course, but the same notion of a hierarchy similarly applies to branches. As a conventional Air Force guy, my branch of service alone seems to imply to many people that I spent nine years in an air-conditioned office, eating steak and lobster every Friday, and sleeping in five-star resorts on TDY. We are the perceived wimpy branch, where comfort and benefits take precedence over hard work and facing danger. While there is undoubtedly truth in the “chair force” stereotype, and I spent more time than I deserved to in some of the nicest foreign hotels I had ever seen, having to qualify my service to veterans and civilians alike by saying I’ve conducted security missions in every major theater of the GWOT is not something that any Marine has to do. The title “Marine” alone seems to speak a thousand words, based largely on their history and reputation, and I will always be a little bit jealous of that.
But somewhere along the way, I’ve realized that how much you do with your service largely depends on you … and a significant amount of luck.
When I’ve beaten myself up over the decision I made at 17 years old, I remember a moment in 2015 that never stood out to me until almost a decade later. While I was stationed in Osan Air Base, Korea, a Marine infantry battalion arrived to participate in one of the base-wide semi-annual exercises simulating war with North Korea. Air Force guys were mocked and belittled at almost every interaction we had with the Marines for “not knowing what we’re doing” with our weapons, having shitty tactics, our poorly situated armored vehicles, outdated radios, etc. They certainly weren’t wrong about all their criticisms, but much of it felt like an increasingly hostile inter-branch rivalry. At the end of the exercise, when it came time to pick up brass and tidy up the base to resume normal operations, I had a memorable conversation with one of the junior enlisted Marines.
He explained this was as close as this battalion would ever get to combat. After the exercise, they were headed back to Japan to finish out their deployment. He described the visceral frustration of his unit; many of them would continue to do training rotations and “deployments” in the Pacific while other infantry units were heading back to Afghanistan. This wasn’t quite what they signed up for, or at least, so they thought. I greatly appreciated his transparency, more than he probably will ever know.
The community of veteran writers I’ve found since my departure from the Air Force in 2021 has told me that this is not an uncommon experience. Many people who pursued an MOS, a branch, or a title that was “more likely” to get them involved in the fight never found the adventure they sought. An equal number of servicemen, on the other hand, may have found themselves in the fight when they actively avoided such a direct role when they went through the recruiting process. The title becomes less significant in the chaos of individual stories, random assignments, and moments that no job title can fully capture.
Perhaps this phenomenon of randomness and luck is what contributes so heavily to the “service record inflation” epidemic, whether it be the occasionally exaggerated “no shit, there I was” stories or full-blown public stolen valor. Everyone loves to hate the high-profile, public-facing vets for their blatantly false representation of their service records (we all know who). Maybe this is evidence that the title isn’t enough after all; there must be a larger-than-life story attached to fill a void that the title couldn’t fill alone.
The range of interactions I’ve had with civilians and other veterans has been a rollercoaster. A high-school kid recently approached me to ask about enlisting, excited by the rumor that the Air Force “doesn’t deploy.” Shortly thereafter, an older gentleman in a gym sauna asked what branch I’d served in, then smirked, “Oh… the Air Force counts as the military?” He had been an Army finance clerk in the 80s. One of my professors casually referred to every veteran in class as an “Army guy,” and a former Navy JAG once told me I should have joined the “real” military (he spent his three-year contract behind a desk in Key West, FL). Oddly enough, it has rarely been the Marines, soldiers, or sailors of the GWOT era who diminish Air Force service. More often, it comes from those distantly removed from the modern serviceman, those who cling to stereotypes that have outlived such accuracy as they may ever have possessed.
So it seems that chosen branch of service may not be the most significant factor in what separates one veteran’s experience from another’s. I’ve gathered that the difference often lies in where the circumstances placed you. The precise unit you land in, the missions you inherit, and the conflict of the year are outside our control. Some men spend years longing for a fight that never comes, feeling void of their rite of passage. Others stumble into firefights they never wanted or expected. The titles we carry into civilian life can’t live up to the private collection of moments that quietly define what our service means to us individually.
How you frame your story of service will carry you further into your adult life than any single job title, award, or medal. How you frame your story is how you must move into the civilian world with pride. What you do with the luck and moments you were given, and how you choose to remember them, will define you long after you leave the uniform behind.
Honor, Courage, Committed
Benjamin Van Horrick
“FD-12 me, motherfucker.” In D.C., the FD-12 form allows cops to involuntarily commit those in the midst of a mental meltdown. The beat cop canted his head at the request, then spotted the blue diamond on the homeless man’s forearm. The red and blue inked diamond — the number one in the middle with five stars around it — marked present and former members of 1st Marine Division. To the outside, the diamond is a striking symmetrical design. To Marines, the four-sided figure on flesh served as an artifact. For these men, tossed about by bureaucracy, government forms were not mere pieces of paper. The forms were a magic carpet. For others in the encampment, the talk of forms held little weight and less meaning. “Nah, Devil. You are too sane. You're not getting committed. And you don’t want that smoke.” “Devil...” “When were you at Pendleton?” The homeless man’s master plan, a commitment to an air-conditioned ward, was derailed by a brother-in-arms. “Do the paperwork and get me out of here, Sergeant.” Three men from the encampment focused their eyes on the cop and the homeless man demanding the forceful revocation of his agency. “Where did you learn that one? Boot camp? I’m not committing you, devil.” “Too much paperwork?” the homeless man pressed. “You ever been committed? Ever been to a psych ward?” the cop shot back. “Maybe…Have you ever been?” said the homeless man. “You've never been. I know it by the answer. Trust me, devil. I’m doing you a solid.” “Fucking take me.” “Devil—” “Stop with that devil shit. You gonna arrest or FD-12 me?” The tall, powerful cop hid his eyes with wrap-around Oakleys, the kind he favored after months as a turret gunner in Helmand. The homeless man took a clumsy fighting stance. To Marines, this stance is not a call to violence, but a greeting. “Devil, move on,” the cop said. He’d seen those who wanted to fight. The swift steps to close the distance. The odd calmness before violence commenced. This man wanted a show. “Brother, your NCOs ever show you Sicario?” “Yeah…” “Many a lesson in that movie. You remember the end?” “I passed out before the end.” “Yeah…that tracks.” “FD-12 me, man.” The cop removed his Oakleys. “This is the land of wolves now. You’re not a wolf.” The cop handed the man two sweat-soaked twenties. “Leave the district. You’re not made for this.”
Poetry and Art
Poetry and art from the warfighting community.
Second Chances
E.B
To fall in love,
I would need to erase
chapters in my life.
But then you wouldn’t
think I was the brightest
star in the sky.Still Convoying
Cody Lefever
We convoyed.
Logistics for the war.
Flatbeds and fuel tankers,
supplies and diesel
bumper to bumper,
with gun trucks intermixed.
Empires broke on these roads.
Their hate remains.
Felt every
bump,
seen every
inch.
Creeping along the Land of Bones
where others like us came and failed to conquer the dirt
or its people
or their ghosts.
Speaking the tongue of spirits,
asymmetrical defenses
against eternal conquest.
Silhouettes on a motorcycle watch us from a far-off ridge
Inducing anxiety,
for even unarmed enemies are dangerous.
Today, they stalk and plan
to hunt and trap
and kill.
To bury the explosive and
hide its trigger
that one day
will be
driven over.
Maybe not here,
but on an American highway fifteen years from now.
A familiar piece of trash
haunts
from dirt roads thousands of miles away.
Hiding
what nearly killed,
what one day becomes
a wave of destructive pressure.
Placed by shadows
stretching through memory’s distant yet vivid light.
Intermixing with the present,
creeping between the folds of a mind forever looking
in the dirt.
Logistics for an ended war.
Still convoying.
Off the Clock b. Liechti Hope. Hope is for those with tomorrows. Do you? Do you have a future? Me? I have a past. OD green. Lock step to route step. In ranks. Out front. Rucking, jumping, deploying, drinking. Courses of action direct execution. Bullet proof. Stubborn. Find myself breathing heavy on an uphill scramble. L5 to S1 throb as I trek a single track, S-curved trail, bumping against times, places, buddies long gone. On high ground, shoot an azimuth to get my bearings… without a uniform, without rank, without a title, without the chaos of pursuit. The Redeemer numbers my days. Settles me. Every turn offers possibilities for all the life built up in me. Looking forward to walking side-by-side other souls searching for hope.
Secret Soldier Sonneteer
Evan Young Weaver
Cover and conceal, a cache for later
Weapons, ammunition for the ambush
Notes, books, even thoughts, even greater
Recite and give commands, both in a hush
Second nature, to mimic nature, hide
A covert campaign of hidden, field notes
Secrets within pages of secrets confide
Please pass by the little drawings of boats
For casual observer, just officers’ plans
From perspective of one, errant couplets
Composed in school, on flights, in Japan
Please ignore the doodle of the Muppets
Thirty green books, locked with a slight lean
Dated, only moved to be cleanedTransition and Veteran Resources
Career and civilian transition guidance, geared towards helping servicemembers plan their careers and help transitioning servicemembers succeed in civilian life.
Combat Warriors, Inc.
Irvin Reed
When I was fourteen years old, I had to wrestle a gun away from my suicidal father. Medically retired due to significant combat injuries in Vietnam, he decided it was his only way out. It was my first exposure to PTSD. Fortunately, my father is still with us.
I grew up hunting, fishing, and enjoying the great outdoors, then, like my father, I joined the Marine Corps. Outdoor pursuits fell away as my family and career took priority over a twenty-five-year career. A couple of years before I retired, while stationed in North Carolina, a friend introduced me to Combat Warriors, Inc., a non-profit organization with a simple yet profound mission: To provide quality outdoor experiences for military service men and women, past and present, and their families, primarily, but not limited to, hunting and fishing. That gesture did more for me than I can ever repay, reigniting my desire to hunt and enjoy the outdoors again. Now I am the Vice President of the Wyoming chapter.
Travis Marshall, our chapter President, is a licensed hunting guide in both Wyoming and Arizona and a retired Army Special Forces soldier with 21 years of service. Travis and I are both combat veterans with 100% service-connected disabilities who have navigated most situations a combat veteran has to face during and post-service. That experience makes for a greater level of understanding and compassion when it comes to serving our fellow servicemembers.
2020 was our chapter’s inaugural hunt, hosting two retired disabled veterans, one from Texas and one from Virginia, on an elk hunt. We paid completely out of pocket to ensure the event was a success. Wyoming Game and Fish assisted with transferring donated big game licenses from Wyoming residents, who purchased the tags via the big game lottery system, and donated them to our vets, who must be at minimum 50% service-connected disabled for us to have the tags transferred, per a Wyoming Game and Fish requirement. After successfully demonstrating we could do it, Combat Warriors National President, Mr. Bill Warren, who was onsite to ensure everything ran safely and respectfully, conferred official chapter status for Wyoming.
In October 2021, with the help of many from the Big Horn County community, we were able to conduct an elk hunt for two more retired disabled veterans as well as host an antelope hunt for two service-disabled veterans. The next year, we took three service-disabled veterans elk hunting and hosted two service-disabled veterans antelope hunting. We also applied for and were awarded two wildlife commissioner’s tags for antelope, which were utilized by a service-disabled veteran and his disabled son. Every veteran hunter successfully filled a tag.
We’ve continued to grow our efforts, and in 2023, we took five service-disabled veterans elk hunting. Additionally, we also took three service-disabled veterans antelope hunting, and one went whitetail hunting. All the veterans filled their antelope tags, the whitetail hunter filled his tag, and two of the four elk filled theirs. 2024 was even better, with eleven combat veterans from multiple services attending a fully guided upland bird hunt at the Rose Hill Game Preserve in Culpeper, VA. It was our first event for the year. We also took three combat veterans on a guided antelope hunt and four combat veterans on a guided elk hunt. All the antelope hunters were able to fill their tags and three out of four elk hunters filled their tags! 2024 also saw a combat veteran fill a donated moose tag!
For 2025, we will be taking up to twelve combat veterans on a dove hunt in Orange, Virginia in September, as well as planning to take two combat veterans on either a wild pig, Russian boar, or a ram hunt in West Virginia. The same month, two combat veterans will be antelope hunting in Wyoming, and in October, four combat veterans will be hunting bull elk in Wyoming.
There are many non-profit organizations that support our military. What sets Combat Warriors apart is that we are not branch-specific, warriors do not have to be wounded, and 100% of the money raised goes directly to the events we hold. None of us is paid anything for our time; we all volunteer to help deserving veterans experience the great outdoors. Our biggest challenge is ensuring that we have the financial resources every year to do what we are passionate about. Individual chapters are responsible for their fundraising, so whatever we are able to do depends on the support we can generate and every penny we raise goes solely to supporting our events.
Fundraising is the only way we can make these events happen. We are extremely grateful for any support people are willing to contribute. Of course, all donations are tax-deductible, and receipts are provided. If you would like to help us in our mission, you can donate through the website. Click on the donate tab and select Wyoming in the drop-down tab or contact me directly at cwihuntwyo1@yahoo.com , and I can assist you.
Health and Fitness
Guidance for improving physical and mental performance, nutrition, and sleep.
Creative Arts for Vets
Todd Burkhardt
After military service, I struggled with reintegrating into the civilian world as I entered the next chapter of my life. Feeling lost and depressed, I was invited to an open studio by an art therapist who took the group I was with through a series of prompts using various art mediums for us to find ways to express ourselves. I’m not artistic, but I loved the experience. I really enjoyed smearing and blending oil pastels on the paper and creating--while getting my fingers dirty and oily. There was a mindfulness and intentionality to it that drew me in because I found the ability to express myself through non-verbal means very powerful. Soon after, I thought if the arts could help me maybe it could help other veterans.
Evidence-based research shows that arts-based wellness can reduce symptoms related to isolation, anxiety, depression, loneliness, post-traumatic stress, military sexual trauma, transition to civilian life, substance use, suicidal ideation, and suicide. In 2021, Lauren Daugherty (the art therapist who invited me to the open studio) and I formed Creative Arts for Vets (CAV), an initiative run through the Center for Rural Engagement at Indiana University. CAV facilitates in-person arts-based wellness events around Indiana by partnering with various non-profits, veteran organizations, and community partners to improve the social and emotional wellbeing of our veteran population. Over the years, our team has grown, adding college interns, additional therapists, and John Keesler a social work professor.
After a year and a half of facilitating in-person events, I started to think about how our team could reach more veterans. Six members of a CAV team worked for seven months to develop “The CAV Book” to serve as a bridge from in-person CAV events to home life to aid in improving veteran wellbeing. The CAV Book is a guidebook for therapeutic artmaking for veterans, those currently serving, and military-connected populations and is designed to aid in improving veteran wellbeing through arts-based exercises infused with social work and art therapy practices, veteran narratives, and supplemental veteran-centric wellness resources.
CAV Books are accompanied by art supplies (oil pastels, watercolor pencils, and charcoals). CAV Books increase access to mental health and well-being resources. Additionally, using art can assist in the development of coping strategies as well as post-traumatic growth. The CAV Book also contains psychoeducational material regarding suicide, suicidal ideation, grief and loss, survivor’s guilt, moral injury, and resiliency. This book is a way to use art at home and self-regulate healthily and positively. The CAV Book can enhance resiliency and help facilitate the discovery and development of skills to successfully navigate challenges veterans face. Since the publication of the CAV Book in March 2023, we have distributed over 14,000 across the country. We are in all 50 states. And the CAV Book has been requested by over 90 VA Facilities nationwide. The CAV Book reception has been very positive. One therapist said, “The CAV book has been a wonderful supplemental resource for Veterans engaged in art therapy. The book is helpful as Veterans transition into and out of the art therapy clinic. It is also helpful for Veterans who would like to use art for mental wellness outside of or in between art therapy sessions.”
Retired Navy Captain Moira G. McGuire, the former Chief of Integrative Health & Wellness and the Arts in Health Program at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, said, “When the CAV Book and supplies arrived at my door, I opened it with much anticipation. After providing opportunities and leading efforts to increase the use of creativity and self-expression as tools for health across the military health system, I was thrilled to learn of Dr. Todd Burkhardt's efforts to provide an accessible, comprehensive kit for aiding service members and veterans in the use of arts for well-being. In reviewing the kit and its contents, I was not disappointed. The thoughtfulness used to design and curate this kit is immediately evident, and one can't help but imagine the immense and profound impact working through the CAV book will have on the individual, the community, and the nation. In reading the CAV Book, you immediately recognize that Todd gets it. He understands the military experience, knows the feel of the fabric against skin, has palpated the wounds, and is courageous in navigating provocative terrain, all while ensuring a foundation of psychological safety. This kit should be a standard component of all go bags and should be made readily available to any and all who have served and continue to serve.”
That meant a lot to me, but someone who said, "It's saved my life," meant everything.
To request a free CAV Book, scroll down on our website to “get your free copy” and fill out the request. go.iu.edu/IUCAV. Also, we will send 10 free CAV Books to service providers of veterans.
We are here for you at no cost to you. Please reach out!
Headspace and Timing
Tyler Heisey
In the world of machine guns, “headspace and timing” are crucial adjustments that keep the weapon system firing safely and effectively. If those settings are off, the gun can jam or misfire, and small errors can have major consequences. Headspace is the distance between the rear of the barrel and the face of the bolt. Timing is the adjustment that ensures the gun fires when the recoiling parts are in the correct position. Together, they keep everything running smoothly.
That same concept inspired the name of our quarterly community newsletter: Headspace and Timing. Just like a weapon needs precise calibration, our minds and communities need the right adjustments to stay on target. Life—through deployments, transitions, stress, or daily struggles—can throw off our headspace or timing. The newsletter exists to help us recalibrate, offering perspectives that strengthen not only mental health but also financial security, physical wellness, relationships, and the hobbies that keep us grounded.
This is more than a publication. It is written by mental health professionals, students working toward becoming one, active duty service members, veterans, and family members. Together, we share insights from lived experience, professional knowledge, and personal stories. The “headspace and timing” here is about balance—the right mix of voices and perspectives. When these come together, the result is a newsletter that fires true and serves the community’s overall well-being.
Headspace and Timing is written by the community, for the community. It is where lived experience meets professional insight, and where every voice contributes to keeping us all in sync, just like a well-calibrated weapon system. I say this because at the end of the day, we are all on this patrol called life together.
If you’re not ready to sit down with a therapist yet, that doesn’t mean you can’t start learning, reflecting, and building your toolkit. Reading a newsletter is a safe first step. Head over to the Instagram page (@Headspace.and.Timing) and sign up for the newsletter. Start exploring topics that matter—mental health, wellness, and resilience—at your own pace. Sometimes the first step toward getting back in sync is simply reading.
Because not everyone is currently seeking support, you may have a desire to share some of your own knowledge through the newsletter. That’s correct, H&T always welcomes interested individuals who would like to write. You can be considered for one of the editions if you meet any of the following:
1. Licensed mental health professional.
2. A student becoming a mental health professional.
3. A subject matter expert within a certain field who can directly support someone with the transition out of the service.
4. If you have a story of healing, growth, and resilience.
If you are interested, you are encouraged to send a message on the page.
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This ends Volume 38, Edition 1, of the Lethal Minds Journal (01SEPT2025)
The window is now open for Lethal Minds’ thirty-eighth volume, releasing October 01, 2025.
All art and picture submissions are due as PDFs or JPEG files to our email by midnight on 20 SEPT 2025.
All written submissions are due as 12 point font, double spaced, Word documents to our email by midnight on 20 SEPT 2025.
lethalmindsjournal.submissions@gmail.com
Special thanks to the volunteers and team that made this journal possible:
This article really hit me. As a liberal or progressive-minded vet, I nevertheless feel close to my more-conservative brothers and sisters in arms with whom I spent interesting months in SW Asia over 10 years ago. The concept of GMF describes well how my feelings towards these men and women supersedes our political differences - and we all understand the oath we took to defend the Constitution against all enemies.
So - thanks, I needed this. CW4 (ret) V