'Journey to Normal' Film Features Iowa Red Bulls

In its Iowa premiere, the 2017 documentary "Journey to Normal: Women of War Come Home" will be shown in an exclusive, one-time engagement on the Boone, Iowa campus of Des Moines Area Community College (DMACC) at 7 p.m., Thurs., March 22, 2018.

A Q&A session with producer and director JulieHera DeStefano will follow the 93-minute film.

Hundreds of women service members were interviewed for the film project, and plans call for their stories to be archived and made available to researchers via the non-profit Journey to Normal website, producers say.

"Since 2001, over 280,000 women have deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan," the documentary says. "Journey to Normal shares 8 of their stories so that we might reflect on the individual experiences of all who serve."

Two of the eight women featured in the film are originally from Iowa. Featured in the documentary are:

• Jessica Astorga Dayton, a U.S. Air Force nurse from Dayton, Ohio
• Abby Brookbank Allen, a U.S. Army National Guard combat medic from Ida Grove, Iowa
• Ivonne Daly, a U.S. Army Reserve surgeon from Pittsburgh, Pa.
• Jill Finken, a U.S. Army National Guard attorney from Souix City, Iowa
• Christine Mau, a U.S. Air Force F-15 pilot from Mountain Home, Idaho
• Judi Reeves, a U.S. Army Reserve surgical technician from Middletown, N.Y.
• Devon Reyes, a U.S. Army Military Intelligence officer from Fort Knox, Ky.
• Amy Sinkler, a U.S. Army truck driver from Chadbourn, N.C.

The event is the last installment in the inaugural "In Their Boots Film Festival," a three-month series of film presentations intended to foster conversations about military service, veterans issues, and social reintegration. The event is co-sponsored by the DMACC-Boone student group In My Boots 5k, and the Central Iowa non-profit Paws & Effect. The festival is made possible by a generous grant from Humanities Iowa.

"Because we train service dogs for veterans, we recognize that 'coming home' from a wartime deployment can be a journey, not a destination," says Nicole Shumate, executive director of Paws & Effect. "Reintegrating into our society and with our families doesn't just happen overnight, and it doesn't happen without hard work and continued support. We are extremely proud to celebrate the lives and stories of the veterans depicted in 'Journey to Normal'—and all who have walked these paths."

In 2010-2011, in what was described as the largest deployment of Iowa troops since World War II, the Iowa Army National Guard's 2nd Brigade Combat Team (B.C.T.), 34th Infantry "Red Bull" Division (2-34th BCT) sent more than 3,000 citizen-soldiers overseas as part of the "Afghan Surge." The 2-34th BCT is headquartered in Boone.

Randy Brown, a Central Iowa-based freelance writer and editor of "Reporting for Duty," a collection of U.S. Army public affairs reports from the Iowa brigade's deployment, says that "Journey to Normal" uniquely captures some of what it was like to deploy to Afghanistan—and what it is like to return to family, friends, school, and work following a wartime deployment. "All of these stories are important—individually and collectively," says Brown. "To most of us, this is a depiction of war far more 'real' and relevant than popular movies about snipers and drones."

Interviews with at least three "Red Bull" soldiers are featured in the documentary. Each appears multiple times on-camera, in settings both downrange and "back home." Abby Brookbank was a combat medic assigned to 1st Battalion, 168th Infantry Regiment (1-168th Inf.), and was based at Forward Operating Base ("FOB") Gardez. Jill Finken was an attorney assigned to the brigade headquarters, which was based at Bagram Airfield ("BAF") during the 2010-2011 deployment. Martha Kester, a chaplain with 334th Brigade Support Battalion, also makes a number of appearances throughout the film.

For more information about "Journey to Normal," visit here. A Facebook page is here.

To view an early (2011) trailer about the film, visit here.

There will be a freewill donation pasta dinner fund-raiser preceding the movie, starting 6 p.m. in the DMACC-Boone food court area. Proceeds will go to support the "In Our Boots 5k" run, walk, and ruck fund-raiser event April 14, 2018. The 93-minute movie "Journey to Normal" will be shown in the adjacent auditorium starting 7 p.m.

A Facebook page for the "In My Boots 5k" student group is here. A website is here.

A registration page for the April 14, 2018 5k run, walk, and ruck event is here.

Stone Canoe, Wrath-Bearing Tree & Three Hoarsemen

At risk of sounding like an old Hair Club for Men TV commercial, I try not only to encourage veterans, service members, and family members to share their stories of military experiences through art and writing, but to do so myself, through my own work. So I hope you'll bear with me today—I'd like to share a few publishing success stories, in hopes that you'll consider sharing your stories with others, too.

Bonus fact: It's only 20 days until U.S. National Poetry Month!

Another bonus fact: I maintain a list of veteran- and military-friendly literary and art markets here!

I was thrilled to have a poem published in this year's issue of Stone Canoe. The YMCA Downtown Writers Center in Syracuse, N.Y. is the publisher of Stone Canoe, an annual literary journal now in its eleventh year. While the journal mostly focuses on the work of upstate New York writers and artists, its editorial mission notably includes an annual call for work by U.S. military veterans, regardless of geographic location or origin.

The poem is titled "Whiskey Tango Foxtrot," and was based in a conversation I overheard while waiting to purchase movie tickets to the 2016 Tina Fey comedy. It's my first poem on veterans' suicide, a topic I've tended to avoid in my past literary writing. I won't go into all the reasons why, but this was a time I felt compelled to get something down on paper. And I won't spoil the conclusions of the poem here, partly because I'm still wrestling with them. This excerpt sets the scene, however, and the poem's interior battleground:

All I want is a bag of popcorn
and some getaway laughs on a Friday afternoon,
and darned if the guy in line behind me
starts chatting up the stranger behind him.
First Guy is starting O.C.S. tomorrow, he says.
Buddy of his, another Mustang, committed suicide
earlier this week, and the funeral is Sunday.
Second Guy has drill this weekend. Remembers
after he last got home from active duty, his sergeant
called a few weeks later, said that one of the platoon
had first shot his wife and then himself.

I do not turn.
I do not engage.
Even though I know the password:
the name of the deceased. Instead, I hunker down
in my green fleecy hat.
The woobie I wore in Afghanistan.
The type that sergeant major hated. […]

Submissions for the 2018 issue of Stone Canoe open March 15, and will close in July. More information and guidelines here.

If you'd like to purchase a copy of the 2017 Stone Canoe, click for information here. The direct PayPal link is here. Total cost, including shipping and handling, is $21.17). To coordinate purchase of multiple copies, e-mail: stonecanoe AT syracuseymca DOT org

Back issues of Stone Canoe are available for $10 plus shipping and handling (total of $13.50). Click here.

*****

The Wrath-Bearing Tree blog has recently launched into poetry and fiction. Editors there are seeking work about economic, political, and other forms of violence found in society—not just work on military themes. They plan to post new poetry and fiction the first Friday of each month. I was pleased to have four of my poems recently featured on the site. The poems included a selection of aphorisms; a reflection on COP Najil; a war sonnet; and a set of three Japanese-style tanka.

The tanka is similar to haiku form. I follow the syllables-per-line pattern of 5-7-5-7-7. Here's one of those short poems, inspired by the Mother's Day send-off ceremony of a buddy's Iowa Army National Guard unit last year. With any luck, he'll soon be home so I can share it with him directly:

With ceremony,
Old Man assembles his troops.
It is Mother’s Day;
sons and daughters are leaving
in order to sustain war.

You can read them all FREE here at this link!

A submissions page is here. Or e-mail the editors at: wrathbearingtree AT gmail DOT com

*****

Much to my delight and surprise, there was a quick shout-out to my 2015 poetry collection, "Welcome to FOB Haiku: War Poems from Inside the Wire," on the most recent episode of "The Three Hoarsemen" podcast! While the well-read gentlemen there discuss mostly science fiction, fantasy, illustrated story, and related genres, they also occasionally cast about for leavening literary fare. At the 45-minute mark, fellow military veteran Fred Kiesche briefly mentions his enjoyment of the "FOB Haiku" book!

As a bonus, a little earlier at the 39:45 mark, co-host John E.O. Stevens offers some great insights into what he affectionately calls Chinese hermit poetry. At his podcast recommendation last year, I purchased "The Collected Songs of Cold Mountain"—a recommendation he repeats in this episode—and I share his enthusiasm for Zen-Taoist poetry that features, as he describes it, "old guys complaining about sunrises."

Sounds like a first sergeant I once knew!

Press Seeks Non-fiction on Coming Home from War

Publishers at Hudson Whitman, the small press of the distance-learning institution Excelsior College, Albany, N.Y., are seeking non-fiction stories from military service members, veterans, family members, and friends on a theme of "Coming Home: The Personal Aftermath of Iraq and Afghanistan." Word count is 1,000 to 6,000. Deadline is May 1, 2015.

Writers whose works appear in the anthology, to be published in spring 2016, will each receive $200, publication, and two contributors' copies.

The anthology project is headed by Dario DiBattista, a U.S. Marine veteran of the Iraq War, and non-fiction editor of the Veterans Writing Project's "O-Dark-Thirty" journal.

The call for submissions reads, in part:

As part of a Memorial Day speech in 1884, Oliver Wendell Holmes [Jr.], veteran of the Civil War, famously orated:

"The generation that carried on the war has been set apart by its experience. In our youth our hearts were touched with fire. It was given to us to learn that life is a profound and passionate thing. While we are permitted to scorn nothing but indifference, we have seen with our own eyes, and it is for us to bear the report to those who come after us."

In the 21st century, as the Iraq and Afghanistan wars—some of our nation’s longest conflicts—have risen and taken shape, men and women will turn to writing, as they have for centuries, to explain, to communicate, to heal, and to try to understand. Their stories—powerful, new, and necessary—will reveal the circumstances of those who served, as well as those who loved them, those who helped them, and those who stayed behind.

In the spirit of acknowledging this range of voices, Hudson Whitman/Excelsior College Press is opening a call for stories of coming home from Iraq and Afghanistan, and the personal aftermath created by these wars. The call is open to those who have served, as well as their families, spouses, relatives, and friends.

Many popular books focus on combat—war made visible, from the outside. We are seeking stories that help us comprehend the inside, the powerful yet often invisible events that shape the hours, days, nights, weeks, months, and years after coming home.

Submit in Microsoft Word (.doc) format via Submittable here. While not required, please include mention of any affiliations with Excelsior College programs. Authors will be notified by June 15, 2015.

Questions regarding the anthology project may be directed via e-mail to: dariodibattista AT yahoo.com

NYC's Voices from War to Conduct Free Workshops

New York City-based Voices from War will conduct a fourth series of free weekly writing workshops for military service members, veterans, and family members. The Winter-Spring 2015 workshop will meet most Tuesdays, 7 to 9 p.m., from Feb. 24 to May 19. There will be no sessions on April 7 and 14, and May 12.

The workshop is hosted and supported by 14th Street Y, 344 East 14th St (between 1st and 2nd Avenues), New York, N.Y. 10003.

Founded in 2013, Voices from War seeks to empower veterans to craft their own stories, whether for themselves or for broader audiences, in forms both fiction and non-fiction.

According to a workshop description provided in press materials:

In this workshop, we write our own narratives, while reading excerpted fiction and non-fiction by veterans, military spouses, and select civilians. Each week, we share student work, learning from each others' strengths and successes, while also discussing ways we can come closer to the stories we want to tell, whether just for ourselves or for a larger audience. The course is team-taught by two writers, a civilian and a veteran.

Workshop leaders are:

Kara Krauze, who has published in Quarterly West; Center: A Journal of the Literary Arts; Highbrow Magazine; The Daily Beast; Hypothetical Review; the Los Angeles Review of Books; and elsewhere. Krauze has an undergraduate degree from Vassar College in International Studies, and a graduate degree in in Literary Cultures from New York University. Her writing, including a memoir and novels, engages with the subjects of war, loss, and memory. She has lived in Indiana, Ohio, and England, and is a longtime resident of New York City.

Nathan Bradley Bethea, writer, critic, and a former U.S. Army infantry officer (2007-2014). Bethea left the military to attend Brooklyn College's Creative Writing MFA program in fiction. His work has appeared in McSweeney’s Internet Tendency, the Iowa Review, The Morning News, and The Daily Beast. He holds an undergraduate degree in Journalism and French from Indiana University.

Registration form is here.

A Facebook page for the organization is here.

For more information, visit the organization's website, or e-mail: info AT voicesfromwar.org

'Scintilla' Publishes Special 'Literature of War' Issue

With their Spring 2014 issue of "Scintilla," editors of the on-line literary magazine published their first collection of fiction, non-fiction, and poetry dedicated to a single topic. The "Literature of War: At Home and Abroad" issue features writers with both direct and indirect experience with the military.

Founded in 2011, the magazine is published twice yearly, and is available to readers FREE online here.

In the new issue's introduction, Editor Tim Lepczyk calls it the "best [...] most challenging issue we’ve published."

He writes:

[...] I’m in awe of the meaning these writers have brought forth, the vision, painful at times, that they have shared. For many of us, the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq have played out in a vacuum. If Vietnam was the first televised war, what were, what are these wars? The overlooked? The distant?

[...] Of the twenty-two writers whose work we published, the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq mean different things. For some, there may be overlap, and for others, their viewpoints may be diametrically opposed. What we have though are the ways in which people have been affected. We have stories. We have poems. They add to the larger narrative, and perhaps, together, create meaning.

The short stories in the issue are risk-taking, format-breaking, and invite multiple readings. For example, Robert Wallace's "A Brief History of the Universe" is a consciousness-bending and -blending tale that reveals itself to be less about homecoming, and more about the nuclear bonds between soldiers. It's "Thelma and Louise" meets "Band of Brothers," by way of "Rashomon."

In the issue's singular non-fiction feature, New York Air National Guard airman Julio A. Olivencia's "Fine Dirt and Dead Birds," the writer offers an impressionistic series of scenes, ranging from a ho-hum homecoming to cruising down Bagram's notorious Disney Drive at rush hour.

Olivencia's observations of war as a daily routine may take some readers by surprise. This is neither adrenalin-fueled action nor over-the-top service comedy:

"Me and Teddy found the perfect song for driving down Disney in the morning," Mike says, as we pull onto the main drag of Bagram Airfield. We start the morning crawl with "Shiny Happy People" coming out of the speaker in the cup holder.

For some, war is hell. For others, it's a commute.

It is in the issue's center-mass of 23 poems, however, that readers will encounter a rapid-fire salvo of hard-hitting—and sometimes humorous—provocations and perspectives.

Two poems—"Non-Combat Related Incidents and Other Lies" by Heidi Andrea Restrepo Rhodes, and "Private" by Adam Berlin—indelibly engage the topic of sexual assault in U.S. military ranks. These are words that should be read, and discussed widely.

In his editorial, Lepczyk mentions that he was partly inspired to produce the war-themed issue as early as "Scintilla" No. 2, when the publication featured a poem by U.S. Army veteran Paul David Adkins. That poem was "War Story #164: Explaining Why I Brought to Iraq But Couldn’t Open Weldon Kees’ Collected Poems."

Three more of Adkins' poems are featured in the "Literature of War" issue. Adkins' work often seems rooted in a low reality of TOC dispatches and SIGACT reports, which explode into the consideration of things more sublime. His "Iraqi Army Unit on Camp Striker, Baghdad Iraq," for example, offers a gritty, sh--ty little anecdote—the circumstances of which might be recognizable to anyone involved in training host-nation forces.

Their colonel met our colonel inside
the TOC to build
     a partnership.
His troops waited outside,
lit fires by their Humvees,
cooked chow and laughed.
Sparks swirled as if they conjured a genie.

They acted like they never used
a porta-john before.
Each Soldier filed in twice,
emerged doubled
with guffaws. [...]

In keeping with the oral tradition of "war stories" maintained by soldiers everywhere, the poem builds to a spectacularly scatological pay-off. This is a poem to pass around the barracks ... or the next staff meeting.

There is differently dark humor to be found elsewhere in the issue. In "Iraq Reflection," for example, Charity Winters delivers some clever wordplay and poetic construction using acronyms such as "IEDs and EFPs." To this reader, when viewed as a whole, the poem becomes a calligram, taking on the distinctive shape of a concave plate of copper—a component of the deadly Explosively Formed Penetrators (E.F.P.) mentioned in the work.

There is poignancy and pride to be found as well. In "Hanging Gardens," Massachusetts-based Iraqi-American writer Nora Alsahlwhi writes evocatively of her family's home country:

I write about Iraq
when her skin was
carmine, perfumed with
freshly picked celosias
wild pear petals in the morning,
and crushed saffron by noon [...]

I write about Iraq
when missiles began to rain down
on doctors treating the diseased
and politics ravaged villages
full of hardworking descendants
of Nebuchadnezzar, and Sargon the Great [...]

Provocative, poetic, poignant, Scintilla's foray into the literature of war deserves the considered attentions of both our citizens and our soldiers. Give your eyes time to adjust. Let the issue serve as an illumination round, parachute-floating briefly overhead, casting shadows so that we may see others—and have others see us. We are frozen for this moment.

When it gets dark, we shall start moving again.

*****

Note: "Scintilla" No. 6 also features "leaving empty," a poem by the writer of the Red Bull Rising blog. The poem regards the 2001 destruction by the Taliban of two giant statues of the Buddha located in Afghanistan's Bamiyan Province. In 2009, the Iowa National Guard's 2nd Brigade Combat Team (B.C.T.), 34th Infantry "Red Bull" Division (2-34th BCT) was preparing for a deployment that included that province. The mission changed before the unit arrived in country.

New York Citizen-Soldiers Publish Memoirs, Fiction

PHOTO: U.S. Army Maj. Benjamin Tupper

Editor's note: In his role as an assistant Army Public Affairs officer for the New York National Guard's 42nd Infantry "Rainbow" Division, Benjamin Tupper recently filed this round-up of books written by New York National Guard citizen-soldiers.

He himself is an author of two memoirs regarding his deployment to Afghanistan, "Greetings from Afghanistan" and "Dudes of War." Tupper's books have previously been reviewed on the Red Bull Rising blog here and here.

*****

By Maj. Benjamin Tupper
42nd Infantry "Rainbow" Division Public Affairs
New York Army National Guard

More than a dozen New York National Guard soldiers have turned their Iraq and Afghan war experiences into books: either writing about their own experiences or using those experiences as a basis for fiction.

From personal memoirs dealing with the hardships of war, to broad-based historical reviews documenting the achievements of a unit, readers have a wide range of choices should they choose books penned by New York citizen soldiers.

Capt. Matt Zeller’s book "Watches Without Time: An American Soldier in Afghanistan," chronicles his tour on an Embedded Training Team.

Zeller said he was motivated to write for both personal and professional reasons.

“I felt I had an obligation to share my story for the lessons learned. And, I found it therapeutic—it really helped me come to terms with everything I experienced and continue to experience” Zeller said.

Writing also had unintended and unexpected positive benefits, he said. As a result of his book, he was regularly invited to discuss Afghan policy and life as a soldier on a wide range of national television news outlets. He also was a guest lecturer at numerous Universities across the nation, including Harvard.

Retired Maj. John Ready, served in the New York Army National Guard’s 27th Infantry "Empire" Brigade Combat Team and 42nd Infantry "Rainbow" Division, before he went to Iraq as a Civil Affairs officer in the U.S. Army Reserve. He chose a different subject focus from the many Iraq authors who penned works before him.

“Most books on the Iraq War seemed to have the common theme of: ‘We came, we saw, we kicked their butt!’ They were stories of real combat, but I hadn't seen any books detailing the humorous and ridiculous side of war,” Ready said.

His memoir, "Does My Suicide Vest Make Me Look Fat?" infuses the distinctive humor that soldiers develop when facing the stress of war, with a serious look at the challenges faced by Civil Affairs units and soldiers in Iraq.

Both Ready and Zeller strongly recommend that all service members, regardless of rank or duty position or writing experience, consider putting their thoughts and memories to paper.

Zeller advises fellow soldiers and airmen to “start writing and don't worry about whether or not it’s good enough … find a few trusted friends and editors because their perspective on your writing can prove invaluable.”

Maj. Sean Flynn, who now commands the historic 1st Battalion, 69th Infantry “Fighting 69th” Regiment, wrote a third person account titled "The Fighting 69th: From Ground Zero to Baghdad."

Flynn said that writing about and documenting the modern day chapter of the Fighting 69th was an honor in itself.

“There is significant gratification in having captured the modern history of the 69th Infantry and adding to the narrative of this storied Regiment, a unit that my own family has served with since the Civil War,” he said.

Flynn worked with an editorial board comprised of Iraq War veterans, and the final manuscript was approved by the leadership of the 69th Inf. Reg. and 42nd Inf. Div.

He offered a different perspective on writing.

“Memoirs are difficult. I encourage soldiers, especially those still serving, to consider using their experiences to write fictional accounts of this war," Flynn said.

“Fiction gives soldiers far more latitude to explore the deeper meaning of warfare and what it means to be a soldier without disrespecting the service of any soldier the writer may have served alongside of. For those seeking to write a non-fiction account like the Fighting 69th, I recommend using an editorial board process to ensure key events and key individuals are represented accurately and to seek approval from the chain of command at every juncture,” he said.

Sgt. 1st Class John Holmes, who served with the 42nd Inf. Div. in Iraq, is unique among the list of published authors, in that he has mastered two realms of writing: the traditional long book format, as well as a web-based comic format.

With a regular following of over 80,000 readers, his successful comic Power Point Ranger captures the humor of military culture.

“I have soldiers all over the world send me messages saying "Hey, your comic made me laugh when I was really feeling down." That's a great reward,” Holmes said.

Holmes is also the author of the science fiction series of books compiled in ""Irregular Scout Team One: Small Unit Combat in a Post Apocalypse World," which looks at military service after a zombie outbreak.

Holmes offered this advice to prospective writers: “Write. Write. Write. And then write some more. Get into the habit of writing, and then REWRITING what you wrote." Also, networking is extremely important, he said. "Finally," he added, "write for your own satisfaction.”

While most published New York National Guard Authors wrote as a supplemental activity to their regular civilian careers and jobs, some authors, such as Paul Rieckhoff, used their writing as a springboard to starting a new career.

Rieckhoff, who was a member of the New York Army National Guard when he wrote "Chasing Ghosts: Failures and Facades in Iraq: A Soldier's Perspective," went on to found and direct the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (I.A.V.A.), which represents more than 300,000 members nationwide.

In Comic Book Art, Two War Stories are on the Move

Screen shot from 'Operation Homecoming.' Click here to view video.

Two recently posted online videos show how to tell war stories using newer comic-book tools, including animations and movie-theater-style coming-soon announcements.

First, in a bit of a blast from the past, The Atlantic magazine's Paul Rosenfeld recently re-posted an excerpt from the 2007 documentary "Operation Homecoming: Writing the Wartime Experience."

Made by filmmaker Evan Parsons, the 7-minute clip depicts a combat narrative told by mil-blogger and author Colby Buzzell. Buzzell wrote "My War: Killing Time in Iraq"
(2006) and "Lost in America: A Dead-End Journey" (2011). The Atlantic headline suggests the excerpt is in the style of a "graphic novel," but it's really more like a "motion comic".

Some comic-book enthusiasts loathe motion comics. ("Worst! Format! Ever!") Some love them. For what it's worth, this one seems to work: It delivers action and emotional impact, but avoids gritty ultra-realism. It also avoids the usual Hollywood hype-and-tripe. In other words, this isn't war porn. Neither is it "G.I. Joe: The Movie."

"Operation Homecoming: Writing the Wartime Experience" was a 2007 documentary regarding a federally funded therapeutic writing program for veterans. There was also a companion book. Both the movie and the book are worth checking out.

*****

FIRST ISSUE OF 'TILT-SHIFT' TO DEBUT AT 2013 NEW YORK COMIC CON

Preparing for the New York Comic Con Oct. 10-13, the creators of the comic book "Tilt-Shift" recently posted a movie-style coming-attrractions trailer. See it on YouTube or below in this blog post.

Written by Jose Torres, inked by Josh Hood, and colored by the Mike Spicer, "Tilt-Shift" tells the gritty, realistic story of U.S. military combat photographers deployed with special forces teams in Afghanistan.

The comic takes its title from a photographic term.

The project has been mentioned previously on the Red Bull Rising blog here and here.

Located in New York Comic Con booth AA16, the Tilt-Shifters will have on hand copies of their No. 1 issue, posters, post cards, and more. Writes Torres: "There'll be dudes in kit and our whole creative team just talking shop, war and comics!" If you're in the AO, be sure to stop by!

Check them out on Facebook here.

The New York Times Seeks 'Warrior Voices'

In recent print and online coverage, The New York Times called for military service members and veterans to share their experiences in prose, poetry, and essay. There was also a special solicitation to student-veterans.

Authors and editors such as Travis Martin and Ron Capps were interviewed as part of the inaugural feature, which appeared in the Fri., Feb. 1 edition.

Martin, the managing editor of The Journal of Military Experience at Eastern Kentucky University, Richmond, Kent., has previously offered advice regarding military writing to Red Bull Rising blog readers here. He was also mentioned in a blog-post earlier this week, regarding his participation in the blog "PTSD: A Soldier's Perspective."

Two of Martin's poems, "A Little Boy with Bananas" and "The Writing on the Wall," now appear under the New York Times' "In Their Own Voices" header.

Veterans Writing Project founder Ron Capps has also previously offered his military-writing insights to Red Bull Rising readers here. The New York Times has reprinted an essay regarding his experiences in 1998 Kosovo.

Mil-blogger Alex Horton started writing "Army of Dude" in 2006 and continues the mission as a staff writer for the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs' VAntage Point" blog. The New York Times has republished "Metal Memorials," his remembrance of a fallen buddy.

Journal of Military Experience alumnus Micah Owen is also featured under "In Their Own Voices," in which he relates a combat narrative from 2003 Iraq.

To submit your words to The New York Times, click here.

WWII Red Bull blog: 'Well, Happy, and Safe'

Journalist Kurt Greenbaum of Chesterfield, Mo., is using a blog to explore and archive a series of letters penned by his family during World War II. U.S. Army radio operator Frank D. "Babe" Mauro of Mount Kisco, N.Y., was eventually assigned to the Anti-Tank Company, 168th Infantry Regiment (168th Inf.), 34th Infantry "Red Bull" Division (34th Inf. Div.).

Babe would serve in both North Africa and Italy, and promote to the WWII-era rank of "technician fifth grade," a non-command rating also called a "tech corporal."

To read the "Well, Happy and Safe" blog, click here. The blog also appears under that "Love, Honor & Support" blog-roll in the right-hand column of the Red Bull Rising blog.

Greenbaum never met his uncle, who would have been age 70 when the journalist first began the personal preservation project in the late 1980s. As Greenbaum wrote in a 1995 magazine article:

When my maternal grandmother died in 1988, and my mother finished going through her belongings, she found an old train case stuffed with letters. They were letters from my grandmother’s son Babe, letters he had written from basic training and from Italy as he served in the U.S. Army infantry during World War II.

At one point, I think during a visit to my parents for Christmas, I made photocopies of all the letters, indexed them, and read them. In part, I was inspired because my grandmother had always stared at me, shaking her head at what she believed was the walking ghost of her son. I never saw the resemblance, but she did.

The blog takes its name from a recurring phrase in Babe's letters. Greenbaum muses:

From [the] 45th letter on, nearly every letter [Babe] writes will begin with those words. 'I am well, happy and safe.' He has landed in Italy. He is in the Infantry. He is now in combat as a radio operator for an anti-tank company. He is well, happy and safe. [...]

I wonder if it’s a technique that he uses, just to get his pen on the paper and start writing something. Does he dash off that first line just to get the juices flowing, hoping that something else will follow?

Or is he really just that upbeat about his situation? Does he love being in the army so much that he really does feel well, happy and safe?

Is he just trying to set his parents’ minds at ease? Babe wrote that letter four days before his 19th birthday. Relax, Mom and Pop. I’m thousands of miles away on foreign soil wearing a uniform and carrying a firearm. You haven’t seen me in eight months, since I shipped out for basic training. Yes, I’m still only a teenager.

In World War I, the U.S. 34th Inf. Div.—then nicknamed the "Sandstorm" division—comprised U.S. National Guard troops from North and South Dakota, Minnesota, and Iowa. The Midwestern connection continues to the present. The division headquarters is now part of the Minnesota National Guard, and is located Rosemount, Minn. Present-day units that notably continue to wear the "Red Bull" sleeve insignia include Minnesota's 1st Brigade Combat Team (B.C.T.), 34th Inf. Div. (1-34th BCT), and the Iowa National Guard's 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 34th Inf. Div. (2-34th BCT).

The 168th Infantry Regiment's lineage is currently maintained by the Iowa National Guard's 1st Battalion, 168th Infantry Regiment (1-168th Inf.), headquartered in Council Bluffs, Iowa, and a subordinate unit to the 2-34th BCT.

In his letters, Babe took great pride in the 168th Infantry's connection to the 42nd Infantry "Rainbow" Division, a headquarters that still exists within today's New York National Guard. The division was named by Gen. Douglas McArthur in World War I, who noted the National Guard division would stretch like a rainbow across soldiers from 26 different home states. (See comments section here for more information about the origins of the Rainbow division.)

On Aug. 7, 1943, Babe wrote from North Africa: "The same old story; I changed my address again. At least, though, I finally got assigned to a regular outfit, and boy, what an outfit. It’s the best on this side and I don’t mean maybe. It’s got a history that dates way back to the Rainbow Division of the last struggle."

The distinctive unit insignia (D.U.I.) of the 1-168th Inf. incorporates a rainbow element to this day.

Hometown News ... from Downrange

Love it or hate it, a deployment turns an overseas patch of dirt into something akin to a high school, or a hometown. You spend a lot of time on the same ground, with the same people, doing a job that no one understands, speaking jargon and language foreign to anyone who doesn't wear the same uniform. There are inside-jokes, pep rallies, and lots of rules to follow. Some bonds are made, some friends are lost. Then, one sudden day, you leave.

Everyone leaves it behind, but everyone deals with it differently. Some people want to forget it all. Some people can't help but remember. Some people want to relive the stories of glory and war, over and over again.

Still others try to hold on in a different way, and keep an ear tuned to what's happening back in the old neighborhood. If you've ever wondered whatever happened to the star quarterback, the class clown, or the prom queen, you know what I'm talking about.

So it is with me. In 2003, I deployed to Egypt as part of a multinational peacekeeping force. I saw a lot, learned a lot, made a lot of friends. I had experiences I would have never had unless I'd joined the Iowa National Guard. Ever since, I have had an interest in political and cultural happenings there. I didn't realize I was so transparent until my grade-school daughter started checking out library books on ancient Egypt, and the lives of children who live there today.

"Someday, Daddy, can we go to Egypt together?" she often asks me.

Inshallah, Sweet.

The National Guard is something of a small community, too. There are interstate rivalries, to be sure, and occasionally quirky differences in character and capabilities. Given that the National Guard is now considered part of an "operational" reserve—one routinely called upon to augment active-duty forces—rather than as a "strategic" one of last national resort, keeping track of which brigade is doing what mission has become a little like following hometown sports.

Readers of the Red Bull Rising blog, for example, will remember that the Iowa National Guard's 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 34th Infantry "Red Bull" Division (2-34th B.C.T) was the second U.S. National Guard brigade ever to deploy to Afghanistan as a "battlespace owner"—and the first to be configured for that mission from the start.

Following the Red Bull is one of the reasons I continue to take an interest in all things Afghanistan. And Iraq.

In 2009-2010, Vermont's 86th BCT had successfully transitioned from its role as the headquarters of Combined Joint Task Force Phoenix to become a battlespace owner.

Currently, Oklahoma's 45th Infantry "Thunderbird" BCT is in Eastern Afghanistan, operating on some of the same ground as their Vermont and Iowa predecessors.

In 2011, another Red Bull brigade—the Minnesota National Guard's 1-34th BCT—deployed to Kuwait and Iraq. At the last minute in 2011, some elements of Oklahoma's 45h BCT were diverted to Kuwait to serve alongside the Red Bull. After U.S. troops left Iraq in December 2011, the Red Bull remains in Kuwait to serve as part of a 15,000-soldier regional reserve.

Jonathan Raab is a New York National Guard soldier currently on his second deployment. In 2011, New York's 27th Brigade Combat Team had been preparing for deployment to Afghanistan. The brigade went as far as the National Training Center, Fort Irwin, Calif., before taking an unprecedented pause over the December holidays. Thousands of citizen-soldiers were caught in a limbo between mobilizing and deploying. As Raab wrote in a December 2011 essay published by Stars and Stripes:

They told us we were not going to Afghanistan, but that we might go elsewhere. The new rumored deployment date was far enough down the road that I’d run out of money well before then; I had just enough time to find a new job or a new place to live, to get settled back in with my friends, family and girlfriend, and to get on with life before having to let go of everything and everyone all over again.

Raab has since learned he will deploy not to Afghanistan, but to Iraq, in a mission similar to that currently performed by the Red Bull and Thunderbird soldiers there. Raab has a blog called "With a Bible in My Ruck," which I hope will continue. Consider this recent excerpt:

This is a non-combat mission. We'll be training and pulling guard duty for a year. Am I happy that my comrades won't be coming home killed or maimed? Yes, praise God for that. But as an infantryman and a soldier, I can't help but feel like I don't have utility in a peacetime mission. I feel unnecessary. I feel like I'll be in football practice for a year with no chance to get in on the game. That's irrational, I know. But there it is.

I wouldn't be honest with you if I told you that I wanted to go at this point. My article in the Stars and Stripes 'Ruptured Duck' Blog sums up how I feel about the situation and its uncertainty. Ever since we were cut loose in November, I used that time to find work and plan for my life. With this deployment, however, that's over. I'll be going overseas for a mission that I did not want or volunteer for, and I'll be returning to an even more difficult job market.

For more official detail on missions and units comprising the 27th BCT deployment click here.

In yet another sign that the National Guard fight is changing in Afghanistan, Arkansas' 39th BCT was recently notified that its pending deployment has been cancelled.

Deployed with the Ohio National Guard's 37th Infantry "Buckeye" Brigade Combat Team (I.B.C.T.), "Old Blue" is a senior non-commissioned officer (N.C.O.) with 29 years of experience. He's on his third deployment to Afghanistan, and his third military blog, "Afghan Blue III."

He's previously served as a trainer with Afghan National Police (A.N.P.) in Kapisa and Nuristan Provinces. He's also had eyes on Helmand Province in Southern Afghanistan, where he worked with British soldiers.

Like Raab in Kuwait, Old Blue has found himself pursuing a different mission than the one for which he and his buddies had prepared. The brigade to which he is assigned will not be conducting "full-spectrum operations"—a term that includes everything from humanitarian assistance to finding and killing bad guys—but will instead be performing "security force assistance" (S.F.A.)—advising and resourcing their Afghan counterparts. (It could be worse/better: Some Buckeye soldiers were diverted to Bahrain.) Still, he is a believer in counterinsurgency ("COIN"), and sees his new role as part of a process. He writes:

My quest in Afghanistan parallels my nation’s quest; finding a new role in an increasingly globalized world. [...] [I]f the United States can assume the role of mentor, advisor and enabler of development, perhaps future conflicts can be avoided altogether. Insurgencies can be avoided and terrorism prevented from developing.

In the meantime, I will do what I can to help speed success in Afghanistan. I believe that success can best be accomplished through the adaptive and intelligent practice of population-centric counterinsurgency.

I am the father of four children; two girls and two boys. I live in Cincinnati, Ohio. My intent is that someday my children will visit Afghanistan as tourists, not as soldiers.

Inshallah. And roger that.

*****

Both the "With a Bible in My Ruck" and "Afghan Blue III" blogs have been added to a "News & Views from Downrange" blog-roll on the right-hand side of Red Bull Rising. Both writers have also been featured on Garry Trudeau's/Doonesbury's "The Sandbox." If you know of other blogs written by citizen-soldiers currently downrange, please recommend them to: sherpa AT redbullrising.com.