'Line of Advance' Retools, Launches Writing Contest

Darron L. Wright PHOTO: Line of Advance

Creators of the Chicago-based digital military-lit journal "Line of Advance" recently announced the creation of the Col. Darron L. Wright writing award. The contest is named after a U.S. Army officer and author who served on three Iraq War deployments, who was killed in a stateside parachute training accident on Sept. 23, 2013. He was 45.

Line of Advance Editor Chris Lyke writes:

Thanks to a generous donation from the Blake and Bailey Foundation, Line of Advance is presenting the Col. Darron L. Wright Award. Like us, Darron Wright was a soldier: a larger than life infantry commander with several tours under his belt. And also like us, Col. Wright was a writer: a thoughtful, reflective artist, eager to tell the truth about his men with compassion and a commander’s eye. This award is presented in his name in an effort to honor his memory.

The contest is currently accepting both prose (category includes both fiction and non-fiction) and poetry. Deadline is April 1, 2015. Contest is open to military service members and veterans.

Three finalists will be named, with $250, $150, and $100 prizes each to be awarded. Submissions may be made via the journal's website here. Make sure to specify "contest" at the end of the title field.

According to a corresponding note on the publication's Facebook page, all contest submissions will be published on the website, and winners will be chosen by a panel of veteran and non-veteran writers and poets.

In addition to other assignments, Darron Wright served as battalion operations officer for 1st Battalion, 8th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade, 4th Infantry Division, Fort Carson, Colo., with whom he deployed to Iraq from 2003 to 2004. Wright was next assigned as brigade executive officer with 4th Brigade, 4th Inf. Div., Fort Hood, Texas, with whom he deployed to Iraq from 2005 to 2006. He commanded the 1st Battalion, 509th Parachute Inf. Reg. at the Joint Readiness Training Center, Fort Polk, La. in 2007. From 2009 to 2013, Wright was assigned as deputy brigade commander for the 4th Stryker Brigade, 2nd Inf. Div., with whom he deployed to Iraq from 2009 to 2010.

A graduate of the U.S. Naval War College, Wright authored "Iraq Full Circle: From Shock and Awe to the Last Combat Patrol in Baghdad and Beyond." in 2012.

Wright's full biography appears here.

"Darron L. Wright was a larger than life Soldier’s Soldier. He was a physically imposing, direct, and skilled warrior," the Line of Advance editors write.

He was also witty, hilarious, generous, kind, and wholly consumed with love for his family. He will certainly be missed but he will never be forgotten. His intellectual curiosity, boundless optimism, and untiring work ethic, allowed him to reach heights he could only dream of as a young boy growing up in Mesquite, Texas. It is in this spirit that the Darron L. Wright Award was created, to inspire fellow military writers and poets to aspire to become better and more accomplished at their craft and at telling their story.

The Line of Advance journal has previously been mentioned on the Red Bull Rising blog here and here, and individual issues reviewed here and here.

Following a tactical pause in 2015, Lyke tells the Red Bull Rising blog that the once-quarterly subscription-based e-journal is transitioning to a free website model, and will publish one or two waves of submissions annually. Content published in four previous issues of Line of Advance will be anthologized and re-published on the new website.

Finally, Lyke plans to regularly engage and feature artist-veterans with interviews on their passions and projects. One of the first "Veteran Spotlights" focuses on former Marine and Iraq War veteran Jacob Faivre, a blogger on healing and music at A Marine's Life in Lyrics. Faivre is also a video documentarian who successfully crowd-funded a 10,000-mile car and hiking trip, working toward a film titled "To See Them As They Are." Read the interview here.

'Line of Advance' Offers Writing Prizes, Seeks Art

Editors of the Chicago-based literary journal Line of Advance this week announced via Facebook that upcoming issues would reflect a change in format, and will now feature a contest with awarded prizes. The digital publication of military veterans' fiction, non-fiction, poetry, and artwork was launched in early 2014, and is currently working toward its fourth issue. Deadline is May 15.

According to the March 9 announcement, which was made on the publication's Facebook page:

The Spring 2015 contest will be for short fiction, non-fiction, or poetry under 5,000 words. The work will be judged by a panel of writers and teachers, veterans and non-veterans. First place will receive $400, second place $250, and third place $150. The top 15 stories, as determined by our judges, will be given publication in the Line of Advance journal. Several of the pieces will be displayed on our website as well. 

We are also accepting submissions for cover art. The cover art/photography chosen will also receive payment.

Contestants should submit through the website. Please note in the title section that the submission is for the Spring ’15 contest. Please include a brief Bio along with proof of military service or family relation to military service. The deadline is May 15th.

In 2009-2010, Line of Advance co-founders Chris Lyke and Matt Marcus notably walked some of the same parts of Afghanistan as did citizen-soldiers of the Iowa National Guard's 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 34th Infantry "Red Bull" Division in 2010-2011. See background regarding the launch of Line of Advance at Red Bull Rising blog here. And a January 2015 blog-post by Lyke here.

Also, the Summer 2014 issue of Line of Advance was previously reviewed on the Red Bull Rising blog here.

Chicago-area Veterans Sought by The Telling Project

Playwrights from The Telling Project are seeking Chicago-area military veterans of all branches and eras, as well as military family members, for oral history interviews leading to a November 2014 production of "Telling: Chicago." Since 2008, the Austin, Texas-based non-profit has put more than 90 actors on stages in 15 states. In each production, cast members share their own life experiences in their own words. Casts typically comprise from five to seven performers.


Interviews in Chicago will be conducted June 29 to July 2. For more information, e-mail: info AT thetellingproject.org.

No previous stage or theatrical experience is required. The development process begins with interviews, the transcripts of which are then distilled into a unique script for theatrical production. Participants in interviews have the option of not taking the stage. All interviews are archived by the organization.

The organization's mission statement reads in part:

The most direct path to understanding veterans’ experience is person-to-person contact. With the dramatic decline in the numbers serving in the military—less than one percent of the population over the last eleven years of war—this contact will not happen through day-to-day life. It must be created and supported. Through performance, The Telling Project puts veterans and military family members in front of their communities to share their stories. We give veterans and military family members the opportunity to speak, and their communities the opportunity to listen.

In the weeks and months leading up to performance, cast members will receive training by theatrical professionals. Performances of "Telling: Chicago" will be Nov. 7-9 and Nov. 14-16 at the Filament Theatre.

"Telling: Chicago" is a partnership among The Telling Project, the Bob Woodruff Foundation, National Veterans Art Museum, as well as artists and volunteers in the Chicago community.

In the Midwest, past projects include "Telling: Iowa City" (2011); "Telling: Des Moines" (2013); and "Telling: Minnesota" (2014). The latter was presented in a February 2014 encore performance.

Other Telling Project productions and performances scheduled for 2014 include:

• "Telling: Denver": July 30-August 3, 2014; St. Cajetans Center

• "Telling: Albuquerque": Sept. 11, 13, 19, 20; South Broadway Cultural Center

• "Telling: Portland, OR 2014": September 10-13, Portland Center for the Performing Arts, Brunish Theater

• "Telling: Baltimore, MD 2014": September 11, Johns Hopkins Medical University (additional performances TBA)

• "Telling: San Antonio": September 30-October 5, Tobin Center for the Performing Arts, Studio Theater

• "Telling: Austin 2014": October 25-November 9; times and venue TBA

• "Telling: NYC 2014": dates, times, and venue TBA

For updates on these dates and venues, monitor The Telling Project website.

On Surrealism: Fishing for Bombs in Minnesota

An exhibit of paintings, sculptures, and other artwork by nine U.S. military veterans, titled "Surrealism and War," recently opened at the National Veterans Art Museum (N.V.A.M.), Chicago. The event runs through Nov. 1, 2014.

"Resort" by David Keefe

Surrealism was first an early 20th century cultural and artistic movement, in which dream-like images and imaginings were juxtaposed as response to rational thought.

Or, as the exhibition catalog puts it: "Surrealism is an attempt to revolt against the inherent contradictions of a society ruled by rational thought while dominated by war and oppression. Surrealism seeks expression of thought in the absence of all control exercised by reason and free of aesthetic and moral preoccupation."

Got that? Crazy stuff.

Works presented in the NVAM event include that of U.S. Marine veteran David Keefe, who enlisted in 2002 and served in Iraq in 2006-2007. Among other images, his painting "Resort" co-mingles swimming fish and mortar rounds, frozen lakes and desert sand.

"I start with certain imagery, whether it’s a memory from childhood or experience from Iraq, and all of a sudden images and time collapse," Keefe says in an interview presented on the NVAM website. "I grew up fishing in Minnesota, and that’s where 'Resort' comes from: ice fishing. So it's an ice fishing scene with me as a little boy in the very front. But under the ice are these bombs that I remember from Iraq, these mortars. So the fish become bombs and the bombs become fish. [...]"

For Keefe, surrealism is a way to find similarities among cultures, as well as to make the past a more-immediate—almost explosive—presence for viewers. He says:

Simultaneously as a young child ice-fishing and as a young adult fishing for bombs in Iraq, my memories are no longer the past and develop into a new present tense. This unstable paradigm seemingly becomes a labyrinth of simulated possibilities presenting a world for my characters to contemplate and choose their destiny, yet their fate is as fragile as the convergence of bombs and ice. These paradoxes create a visual tension, and nonetheless, these bombs could explode this fragile world of ice and ruins, blowing it all sky high. In a blink of an eye, my memories, experiences and reality could all cease to exist.

PHOTO: National Veterans Art Museum

The exhibition features the work of Korean War veteran Jim Leedy, whose "Atomic Skull" and "The Earth Lies Screaming" are nearly overwhelming in size and scope. Each appears to be constructed of mud and bone.

Vietnam-era artist-veterans include William Dugan, Stan Gillett, Mike Helbing, and Richard Yohnka.

Besides Keefe, artist-veterans who served during recent conflicts include Robynn Murray, Giuseppe Pelicano, and Erhen Tool.

Pictures of the opening reception for the exhibition are posted on the NVAM Facebook page here. The organization's website is here.

Founded in 1981 as the Vietnam Veterans Art Group, the organization took on the purpose of including artists from all wars in 2003. The organization was re-named the National Veterans Art Museum in 2010. Its Portage Park neighborhood location houses the work of more than 255 artists—more than 2,500 pieces in all. An on-line collection of artist-veteran work is here.

For more information:

National Veterans Art Museum
4041 N. Milwaukee Avenue, Second Floor
Chicago, Illinois 60641 

Phone: 312.326.0270
E-mail: info@nvam.org

New 'Line of Advance' Lit-Journal has Afghan Roots

Two former citizen-soldiers are now co-editors of Line of Advance, a non-profit literary e-journal of military writing. The recently launched quarterly publication is available for single-issue purchase or yearly subscriptions, and in either Kindle or ePub formats.

The 84-page premiere issue of Line of Advance is a mix of historical snippets of military poems and prose, paired with more contemporary examples. Co-editors Chris Lyke and Matt Marcus, along with co-founder Ryan Quinn, have created an flexible storytelling platform that is likely to avoid easy categorization in future issues.

Lyke and Marcus came up with the idea for a literary journal in 2009, while deployed to Eastern Afghanistan's Laghman Province as part of the Illinois National Guard's 1st Battalion, 178th Infantry Regiment (1-178th Inf.). (Members of Iowa's 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 34th Infantry "Red Bull" Division and Oklahoma's 45th Infantry "Thunderbird" BCT might recognize the description of Combat Outpost Najil.)

"Matt and I are both writers and that’s why we were friends overseas," Lyke wrote at the SpouseBuzz blog in July 2013. "We’d share books and talk about writers and music when we spoke late at night on guard duty. [...] There were about fifty Americans and about the same number of Afghan army soldiers."

Lyke continues:

We occupied the outpost on the side of a mountain overlooking the intersection of three valleys. We patrolled and guarded and protected our little sector of Laghman Province. There were almost no creature comforts.

So when there was down time—precious little there was—we often took notes, sketches really, of what was happening. I was a squad leader and received all the mission briefs and locations and paperwork documenting what we were doing. All of that went into the footlocker on the way home. We knew, without talking about it, that we’d be writing about our time over there. We’d eventually start documenting it, creating some kind of art from the experience.

Depending on submissions, future issues may be organized around special themes, or include experiments in form and format.

"As for categories of work, we're open," Marcus says during a short e-mail interview with the Red Bull Rising blog. "We have several people helping us review submissions, and as a committee we all have individual preferences. I love short stories. Chris loves poetry. And on from there. We've even considered publishing a novel in a serialized format over a span of issues."

Above all else, however, the editors seek authentic voices. "We're looking for creative work that is authentic to the individual veteran's experience," Marcus says. "We ask that people not write or express what they think other people want to read, but write what they want. Something amazing happens when creative writing really conveys personal narrative."

Submissions guidelines are here. Upon acceptance, editors will ask for validation of military or veteran status prior to publication.

The cover of the first issue features a work of Chicago artist Bryan Butler, which depicts a modern combat helmet alongside an ancient Roman helm, each rising like black smoke from an inkpot below. According to the publication's submissions page, there may be a limited number of opportunities for visual artists and photographers in future issues.

A website for Line of Advance is here.

A Facebook for the publication is here.

New 'Pass In Review' e-Journal Seeks Military Writers

The "Pass In Review," a new quarterly online journal based in Chicago, seeks previously unpublished artistic works created by military veterans. Categories include: short fiction, poetry, visual art, and music. Submissions for the inaugural issue opened Nov. 1, and will close Jan. 1, 2014. Multiple and simultaneous submissions are allowed.

Editors plan to publish the journal as a free e-book on the organization's website, as well as via the Amazon Kindle Store.

The journal takes its name from a ceremonial practice of marching soldiers past a high-ranking official or dignitary. Despite the spit-and-polished name, however, profiles of the editorial staff read one part punchy, one part salty, and all parts been-there-and-done-that.

The editorial mission statement of the Pass In Review reads:

We believe that veterans from all conflicts, past and present, are misrepresented and are underrepresented in the artistic community. Our goal is to cast veterans in a new light by allowing the public to see their work and gain an understanding of the veteran's perspective.

The Pass In Review website is here. A Facebook page is here.

The publication "retains exclusive publishing rights for six months after the first publication. After six months has elapsed, the artist resumes full ownership of his/her work."

Submissions may be made via an online portal, which can be found here, along with general submissions guidelines. General guidance includes:

All types of artistic works are accepted and we encourage exciting and engaging works from artists of all ethnicities, nationalities, genders, sexual orientations and religious affiliations.

In our view, every topic is fair game, so we wholeheartedly encourage submitters to push the limits of their artistic abilities. Oftentimes, this might include very adult or dark topics. That being said, we will not accept works that fall into or contain the following categories: fan-fiction, erotica, racism/bigotry, personal rants or manifestos and any other extreme topic that does not fit within the context of the art.

Red Bull News Herd 'Round the Net

There has been a lot of news coming out of the deployment of 2nd Brigade Combat Team (B.C.T.), 34th Infantry "Red Bull" Division (2-34th BCT) recently. Some of it has been exciting, as soldiers continue to aggressively pursue their respective missions. Some of it has been inspiring, as citizens build bridges from Iowa to Afghanistan. And some of it has been heart-breaking, as buddies, friends, and family mourn the deaths of soldiers killed in action.

Here is some of the latest Red Bull news in brief:

Injured Red Bull soldier may return stateside by end of week
In an April 25 update, the Des Moines (Iowa) Register reports that, following a April 23 combat incident in Afghanistan's Kapisa Province, Iowa National Guard Spc. Zachary Durham, 20, of Des Moines has been transported to a hospital in Germany, and may return stateside by the end of the week. He has talked with family, is reportedly in good spirits. Durham was shot in the same Kapisa Province attack that resulted in the death of another "Red Bull" soldier, Staff Sgt. James A. Justice, 32, of Grimes. Both soldiers are members of 1st Squadron, 113th Cavalry Regiment--part of the Iowa's 2nd Brigade Combat Team (B.C.T.), 34th Infantry "Red Bull" Division (2-34th BCT). Funeral arrangements for Justice are pending.

'Hero' tribute video depicts Nichols funeral procession
The April 23 funeral of Spc. Donald L. Nichols, 20, was held in the Waverly-Shell Rock High School. Iowans lined much of the 15-mile distance from the funeral to the graveside service, holding flags, saluting, and otherwise standing witness. The 2009 song "Hero," by the Christian rock band Skillet, was played during an interlude at the funeral. The official video of the song is posted here; a tribute video to Nichols featuring the song is posted here. While the frenetic combination of music and pictures is a little dissonant--not at all in keeping with the somber, overcast mood of the day--it does a great job capturing depicting how many people were out to welcome Nichols home one last time.

Minnesota Red Bull soldiers to train Afghan security forces
Some 55 "Red Bull" soldiers from the Minnesota National Guard's 2nd Combined Arms Battalion, 136th Infantry Regiment (2-136th CAB), headquartered in Rosemount, Minn., are preparing to deploy to Afghanistan on an Embedded Training Team (E.T.T.) mission. See news article here. Such a training mission may be similar to what Nebraska's 1st Squadron, 134th Infantry are doing during the deployment to Afghanistan with Iowa's 2-34th BCT.

Iowa Red Bull unit, Minnesota non-profit distribute clothing to Afghan civilians
Working through Afghan National Army personnel, soldiers of Iowa's 1st Battalion, 168th Infantry Regiment (1-168th Inf.) recently distributed 6,000 coats and other clothing items to Afghan civilians in remote villages in Paktiya Province. The clothing was donated, collected, and transported through the efforts of Rapport Afghanistan, a Minnesota-based non-profit started in 2010 by 1-168th Inf. alumnus Shawn Mingus, Chanhassen, Minn. Weather and transportation problems postponed delivery from January to April. “Rapport Afghanistan is a great example of outstanding, grass-root support from volunteers in America who donated time and money for a coat drive to donate warm clothes for the Afghan people who need them,” said 1-68th commander Lt. Col. Stephen Boesen. See Army news article here.

Southwestern Iowa soldiers capture insurgent moneyman
On the other side of the mission spectrum, two companies of 1-168th Inf. soldiers this month also helped 400 Afghan personnel conduct Operation Rainbow Valley, a traffic-control effort to snare insurgents operating in the Zormat District of Paktiya Province. The mission paid off when a highly sought-after insurgency financier was captured on his way home from market. “We’ve definitely taken the wind out of the sails of the insurgents for a while,” said Delta Company commander Capt. Kent Greiner of Nevada, Iowa. “We’re striking a nerve with them and we’re going to keep striking that nerve to see what happens.” See Army news article here.

Omaha World-Herald team returns to Nebraska
According to a blog-post earlier this week, the Omaha World-Herald's reporter-photographer team of Joseph Morton and Alyssa Schukar is returning stateside after spending nearly two months covering Midwesterners deployed to Afghanistan. Morton's interviews and insights have told the citizen-soldier story well, and Schukar's portraits of Midwestern men and women in uniform are like fine art. You can continue to follow their coverage here.

Des Moines (Iowa) Register feature on Red Bull women practically goes viral
An April 24 Des Moines Register Sunday news feature about Red Bull women in combat has since appeared in USAToday, the Army Times, and other venues. You can continue to read the Register's regular coverage of the 2-34th BCT deployment here.

Three Red Bull blogs nominated for Fifth Annual Milbloggies Awards

Announced April 25, the Red Bull Rising blog has been nominated for a Milbloggie Award under the U.S. Veteran category. The People's Choice-style competition "recognizes military bloggers for their contribution to blogging, news and information, and to the military over the past year." Voting will close on Thurs., April 28, at 7pm EST/4pm PST, and no registration or log-in is required.

Two other blogs related to the 2-34th BCT deployment to Afghanistan, "My Yellow Ribbon" and "My Father's Voice," have been nominated under the U.S. Military Parent category. Please consider voting for these blogs, as well as:

• U.S. Army: "Life, Love & Truth" written by Illinois National Guard recruiter, "Afghan Journal" author, and Red Bull Rising guest-blogger Jeff Courter. Go Guard!

• U.S Marine: "Glory, Guts & Glitter," written by single-mother and Marine Christina Fawn. She writes with a bayonet, and will occasionally cut your heart out and make you like it. Plus, she's from Minnesota, and can find Camp Ripley on a map. So she's practically a Red Bull, too!

• U.S. Reporter: Tom Sileo writes "The Unknown Soldier," which routinely and sensitively celebrates the lives of U.S. military personnel.

• U.S. Military Supporter: The writer of "Little Drops ..." who uses the callsign "Kentucky Woman," has been a long-time supporter of Red Bull Rising, and has worked hard to introduce Charlie Sherpa around the Milblogger community. It's people like her that make the Internet worthwhile.

Click here for a Milbloggie ballot.

The Golden Cross Roads

If you stare at something long enough, sometimes you start to see patterns. Driving for hours on the Midwestern flatlands, cornfields blurring past, mind wandering but present, the trick is to recognize when you're making real connections, and when you're just making crop circles.

Earlier this week, I had the opportunity to travel to downstate Illinois. In a series of coincidences, similar to those I encountered in Mississippi last year, I repeatedly came across the number "33" and the symbol of a Golden Cross--in museums, in roadside signs, and even on bumper stickers.

The 33rd Infantry Division was created in the same pre-World War I years as the 34th Infantry "Red Bull" Division. Where the Red Bull was originally comprised of soldiers from Iowa, Minnesota, and North and South Dakota, however, the 33rd Infantry Division was made up of soldiers from Illinois. The division patch is a golden cross, superimposed on a circular field of black. The symbol's origin stems from an Illinois regiment's pre-WWI practice of marking property with a yellow cross as protection from thievery, based on the belief that the color and shape was anathema to Muslims.

The 33rd Infantry Division fought in Europe in World War I, and in the Pacific in World War II.

Today, the division's heritage is perpetuated by the Illinois Army National Guard's 33rd Infantry Brigade Combat Team (I.B.C.T.). The unit deployed to Afghanistan as Combined Joint Task Force (C.J.T.F.) Phoenix in 2008-2009. Centered on a U.S. National Guard brigade headquarters, CJTF Phoenix was responsible for coordinating an international, multiservice effort to train and mentor Afghan army and police personnel. (Returning to "Red Bull" history for a moment: At one point, as they prepared for deployment to Afghanistan in 2010, the soldiers of Iowa's 2nd BCT, 34th Infantry Division thought they themselves might be tasked with the CJTF Phoenix mission.)

In other words, the 33rd IBCT and the U.S. National Guard was technically responsible for the primary vector toward U.S. military success in Afghanistan: The training of a professional and capable indigenous national security force.

During my recent Illinois travels, a museum exhibit mentioned the American Civil War-era 33rd Illinois Volunteer Infantry Regiment. The states-and-numbers system used in the naming of military units was chewed up and spat out during that war, but somehow the state of Illinois held on to the number 33 during the early 20th century reorganization of the U.S. National Guard.

I have yet to connect the official unit genealogy--the "unit lineage"--between the Civil War-era 33rd Illinois Volunteer Regiment and the modern-day 33rd IBCT. The numerical similarity, however, caused me to ponder a sequence of U.S. National Guard divisions created in the years prior to World War I. Was there a reason that the Illinois unit was designated "33"? Was there a reason that the "Red Bull" was numbered "34"? Were there other connections to be made?

• The 32nd Infantry "Red Arrow" Division came from Wisconsin.

• The 33rd Infantry "Prairie" Division came from Illinois.

• The 34th Infantry "Sandstorm" (later, in World War II, designated the "Red Bull") Division came from Minnesota, Iowa, and the Dakotas.

• The 35th Infantry "Santa Fe" Division came from Kansas, Missouri, and Nebraska.

• The 36th Infantry "Arrowhead" Division came from Texas.

• The 37th Infantry "Buckeye" Division came from Ohio.

• The 38th Infantry "Cyclone" Division came from Indiana, Kentucky, and West Virginia.

Obviously, the 36th Infantry's "Arrowhead" is the outlier, the only non-Midwestern state in the sequence. In terms of geographic adjacencies, the shapes of unit patches, the nicknames of the units, the possible patterns seem neither random nor entirely rational.

For example: The unit patches of the 33rd, the 35th, and the 37th divisions, for example, are all circular. Those of the 32nd, 36th, and 38th are varying types of triangles. The 34th, 35th, and 38th were all originally named regarding significant weather or terrain of their respective World War I training sites.

It's all fun to think about, but I'm not sure it gets me anywhere.

Look at something long enough, and you start to see things. Sometimes, there are patterns to be found, even out on the prairie. Other times, you seem to travel in circles.

Finding where you started, however, doesn't necessarily mean you've ended up in the same place.

Happy Birthday, Col. Washingon (and Capt. Lincoln)!

By looking at the newspaper ads this morning, those of us who aren't working today will be celebrating Washington's Birthday with the purchase of automobiles, furniture, and white goods: "I cannot tell a lie--the savings are stupendous!"

The holiday commemorates the birth of George Washington, the first president of the United States. Government offices and banks are closed today. For the rest of us, Washington's Birthday is apparently just another excuse to hate public employees and bankers.

I come not to bury this American Caesar, however, I come to praise him. After all, he's one of the archetypes of the U.S. citizen-soldier: He was a citizen who took up arms as part of an organized militia. He was soldier who took off the uniform to serve in a new government. He declined royal trappings and promises of permanent office, and returned instead to life on his farm.

To quote Henry Lee's eulogy for Washington: "A citizen, first in war, first in peace, and first in the hearts of his countrymen."

According to Wikipedia, by the way, the official federal holiday is still called "Washington's Birthday"--not "Presidents Day." (There are also some state and regional variations in terms, spelling, and purpose of the holiday.)

While there have been attempts to also officially commemorate on this day the birth of Abraham Lincoln, the 16th U.S. president, the connection is only an informal one, existing only in the popular mind and in gaudy newspaper advertisements. "A house divided against itself cannot stand--that's why you need a new washer and dryer!"

By law, the federal holiday annually falls between Feb. 15 and 21. Washington was actually born on Feb. 22, 1732. Lincoln was born Feb. 12. 1809.

The National Guard Bureau lists both Washington and Lincoln in its pantheon of U.S. presidents who have also served in uniform.

Here's what it says about each man's military career:

Col. George Washington

In 1753, the governor of Virginia appointed George Washington, a self-reliant young surveyor, as Adjutant with the rank of major over one of the state's four military districts. As a lieutenant colonel in the French and Indian Wars, Washington soon saw first hand the problems faced by citizen-soldiers who left their homes and plows to resist the French. Victorious in their first skirmish, Washington and his Virginians erected Fort Necessity and later had to withdraw. In the retreat Washington won the affection of his men and kept up their spirits with his personal example. In 1775, Washington and his militia joined British General Edward Braddock to clear the French out of the Ohio Valley. Braddock died in battle praising Washington and his blue-clad Virginians for their courage in saving part of the English forces.

From 1758 to 1775, Washington served his home state in a variety of ways. He commanded the Virginia Militia as Colonel Washington. He served in the Virginia House of Burgesses and the Continental Congress. When the Continental Congress sought a commander for the Colonial Army, they turned to George Washington of Virginia as the logical choice. Washington's militia experience during the French and Indian Wars stood him in good stead during the American Revolution. He had learned how to get the most out of limited manpower and military stores. More than that, he knew that the esprit de corps of militia, even ill-trained and poorly equipped, could be the fighting equal of British professionals. Washington became the first president of the United States of America in 1789.

Capt. Abraham Lincoln

In 1832, the governor of Illinois called for the state militia to campaign against the Indians under Black Hawk. Black Hawk was the war chief of the Sacs, who had tried to reclaim territories which they had given up by treaties. Young Abraham Lincoln joined a volunteer company and was elected captain. He said later that he had no success in life which gave him so much satisfaction as his experience with the Illinois Militia. When it appeared that his unit would not see service, many of its members disbanded and went home. This group included Abraham Lincoln ... who left because he wanted to be of real service. On the same day Lincoln was mustered out, however, he reenlisted as a private ... in a scouting service sometimes called the Independent Spy Battalion. He was mustered out of the Battalion on June 16, 1832. In 1861, Abraham Lincoln became 16th president of the United States of America.

Sherpa Joins the Circus

FORT IRWIN, Calif., Sept. 27--The brigade public affairs officer (P.A.O.) has just made me an offer I can't refuse. Besides himself, he's got only three other troops, and they're trying to fulfill their mission requirements within the scenario-based play at the National Training Center (N.T.C.).

Don't confuse public affairs with "psychological operations" or "propaganda"--those are functions provided by other 2nd Brigade Combat Team (B.C.T.), 34th Infantry "Red Bull" Division (2-34th BCT) soldiers. Rather, the public affairs section is made up of Army-trained journalists, reporters who provide timely, truthful, factual accounts of what's happening on the battlefield.

"Be the first with the truth," is Army public-affairs mantra.

I am not Army-trained journalist, but, given how short-handed Team Red Bull is right now, I'm good enough for government work.

The Red Bull public affairs soldiers are being pulled six different directions. After commanders successfully introduce themselves to the Afghan leaders in their new areas of operation, for example, they will be expected to tag-along on subsequent Key Leader Engagements (K.L.E.) in order to create mini-media events. "Media have to be invited by the local authority," says a civilian adviser to the brigade, "but leaders love to have their pictures taken." It also publicly demonstrates who is supporting the Afghan-U.S. effort, and who isn't.

Public affairs soldiers also keep an eye on local media reports, for indications of how Afghan-U.S. efforts are portrayed and perceived. The National Training Center produces an multilingual "newspaper" ever few days. Only a portion of the publication is in English, so public affairs has to find someone to translate the Dari or Pashto pages. An NTC-supplied closed-circuit television channel plays a mix of notional "International News Network" reports interspersed with real-world commercials and programs. There's one such television set up in each of the battalion Tactical Operations Centers ("TOC"), plus the brigade public affairs office.

On top of all this, the PAO has two waves of real-world media in-bound from the Middle West--one this week, and one the next. The PAO asks me, "Would you be interested in acting as media escort? It would get you off the FOB."

Up until now, I've been hanging out on Forward Operating Base ("FOB") Denver, temporary home of the brigade headquarters, and the headquarters of the 2/34th Brigade Special Troops Battalion (B.S.T.B). Lots of meetings, lots of big wigs, lots of gee-whiz machines--but, admittedly, not a lot of action.

One of the reasons I volunteered to visit the 2-34th BCT during its NTC rotation was to see the Red Bull in action, however, one last time before it deployed to Afghanistan. While terms like "front" and "rear" may not readily apply to today's battlefield environment, you can't write about the Red Bull while only hanging out around the tail.

As a media escort, I'll help the visiting reporters with their technology and transportation requirements, as well as help find stories, visuals, and sources. I'll be an interpreter, a press agent, a facilitator, a fixer ... you know--a Sherpa!

Around noon, over a Meal-Ready-to-Eat lunch, I'm introduced to teams from KCRG-TV9 (Cedar Rapids), WHO-TV13 (Des Moines), and a freelance print journalist.

We've got three hours to kill prior to wheels-up in a ground convoy to nearby FOB King, where we'll spend some time with the 334th Brigade Support Battalion (334th B.S.B.), the logistical muscle behind the brigade. The following day, we'll split into two groups. One will head north and west to cover my alma mater of 1st Battalion, 133rd Infantry "Ironman" Regiment (1/133rd Inf.); the other will head south and east to cover Iowa's 1st Battalion, 168th Infantry Regiment (1/168th Inf.) and Nebraska's 1st Squadron, 134th Cavalry Regiment (1/134th Cav.).

I teach some of them "MRE 101," which includes tips on how to cook an MRE using the water-activated chemical heater, how to field-strip it down to the more-packable good stuff, and how to combine components for tactical taste treats. (For example: You can make a passable quesadilla using the shelf-stable tortillas, jalapeno cheese spread, and green Tobasco sauce. Heat in the sun or use a chem heater.)

Heading outside into the heat, I play tour-guide G.I. Barbie on a spontaneous walking tour of FOB Denver. Here's where the latrines are, here's what the sinks and showers are like, here's where the "water buffalo" roams--where to re-fill your canteens, water bottles, and CamelBaks.

On our walk around the FOB, we encounter the Military Police troops from the 2/34th BSTB readying for our convoy. In the box, as in country, nothing happens fast. If you're leaving at 3:30 p.m. civilian-time, your convoy had should be assembled, briefed, and waiting at the gate not later than 2:30 p.m. No matter how routine or short the mission, first-line supervisors have to check whether their soldiers have the right equipment and information: Are they wearing protective goggles and gloves? Are they topped off with water? Do they have emergency rations? Do they know the mission?

In that spirit, I continually remind the reporters to drink water. I also regularly ask them if they need to use the latrine--an indicator of whether or not they are hydrating. I begin to realize how much Army troop leading procedures translate into parenting skills: "Are you thirsty? Did you eat your lunch? Do you need to use the restroom before we leave?"

An impromptu press event breaks out, as reporters start taking pictures and quotes from the guys who will transport us. The vibe is hot but happy. Rather than regard the media as a nuisance, soldiers are likely to welcome the attention and distraction. The media circus has come to town!

We end up completing a lap of FOB Denver on foot, circling our desert outpost during the hottest part of a 110-plus-degrees-Farhenheit day. As we're picking up our gear to load up the trucks, one reporter goes down with an apparent heat injury. We lay him down in an air-conditioned tent, get the medics to him, and we look at the clock. In 20 minutes, we need to be sitting at the gate.

The PAO makes the call, tells me that they'll either get the reporter directly to 1/133rd Inf. the next day, or evacuate him to a hospital. Later, we'll find out he was soon transported back to Fort Irwin for medical evaluation. Nothing serious, apparently, but he ends up going home from there a day or two later.

Right now, however, we don't know that. We just know that our convoy is leaving, and that our show must go on.

Book Review: 'Afghan Journal'

'Afghan Journal' by Jeff Courter

Illinois Army National Guardsman Jeff Courter weathered a 2007 deployment to Afghanistan with plain-spoken good humor, quiet faith, and a passion for trying to put it all together. A former Marine cook and Navy Reservist, he deployed to Afghanistan as an Army communications sergeant. Along with his Embedded Training Team (E.T.T.) mates, his mission was to train Afghan Border Police (A.B.P.) in Southeastern Afghanistan's Paktika Province, along the Afghan-Pakistan border.

The ABP were even less-funded, -trained, and -equipped than the Afghan National Police (A.N.P.). At one point, the ABP personnel at Courter's location mutinied and disappeared. (Courter later found out the police revolted after a self-serving translator had knowingly driven a wedge between ABP and their American allies.) Throughout his time in Afghanistan, Courter struggled to do what he could to make a difference. At the same time, he maintained a blog called "Afghan Journal," which he later collected and published as a book.

As the title promises, the organization of the book is chronological. Sometimes, this can prove deadly for a writer--writers get caught up in the mundane details and forget to breathe, and to add perspective for those of us who weren't there to see things first-hand.

In delivering his punchy posts, however, Courter successfully avoids this pitfall. All along the way, he probes his own assumptions, questions his own observations, and even lays his views and traditions alongside those of his Afghan hosts and European colleagues. There are a few choice war stories, of course, including one about renting camels for an anti-Taliban patrol that, if you don't mind me saying, had me on the edge of my saddle.

The result of Courter's efforts is a conversational, easy-to-read chronicle of how one man and one Army approached a "war on a budget" in 2007. Because of its simple-but-not-simplistic approach, I think it one of the first I'd recommend to those Red Bull friends and family with only a casual knowledge military life and purpose.

Toward the end of his Afghan journey, Courter was able to start making sense of it. Not only for himself, but for others:

I was talking to a young U.S. Soldier who was complaining about the local villagers who come to our front gate. He asked, "what would they do if we weren't here? They should do whatever they would do if we weren't here!" I told him that some of those villagers would die [...] He did not seem concerned about that fact, so I went on to say that we can't ask what would happen if we weren't here [...] The question to ask is what we should do, now that we are here. [...]

I asked the Solder how many times [Forward Operating Base] Waza Khwa had been attacked this year, and he replied it hadn't been attacked at all. I suggested that the jobs we provide for local laborers and the medical support we sometimes give may make many of the local villagers reluctant to help our enemies. After considering this for a moment, the young man agreed.

I've been in official counterinsurgency (COIN) briefings that were less applicable and understandable than than Courter's quick, common-sense counseling session with that young soldier.

Courter later resolved to continue telling the story of our involvement in Afghanistan, not only through his book, but in his ongoing "Life, Love and Truth" blog. He's also now a recruiter for the Illinois Army National Guard.

His journey continues, as does ours.

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By the way, Courter's book is recently available in an Amazon Kindle version! I mention this because so many of my Red Bull buddies are apparently considering deploying with an e-reader of some sort, whether a Kindle, Nook, iPad, Sony Reader, or similar device. It's tempting--I know that I, for one, both deployed and returned home with too many books my last time around. I'll keep you posted on what we learn!