Category: Army Veteran

  • “The Soft Bigotry of Low Expectations”

    February 8, 2010

    By: Lieutenant Colonel John Cook


    These are President George Bush’s words, not mine. I wish they were mine. They are from his acceptance speech before the Republican National Convention in 2004. The point he was making concerned the sorry state of public education resulting in a high rate of failure. He believed American educators had set the achievement bar too low due to the mistaken belief that some students simply could not perform. The same can be said about our present situation in Afghanistan. We have set...read more

  • CAMP EGGERS

    February 2, 2010

    By: Lieutenant Colonel John Cook


    There is no place, anywhere, quite like Camp Eggers in downtown Kabul. Home to over 1,600 military and civilians, Camp Eggers is also home of the Combined Security Transition Command-Afghanistan as well as the newly-formed NATO Training Mission-Afghanistan. Both of these organizations are commanded by LTG William Caldwell. In very simple terms, the mission of these two commands is to show the Afghans how to save their country and provide them the tools to do the job. The camp is named in...read more

  • SUICIDE BOMBERS

    January 22, 2010

    By: Lieutenant Colonel John Cook


    Of all the challenges facing Afghanistan, suicide bombers are in a class all by themselves. The idea of a man strapping on twenty pounds of explosives and walking into a crowded marketplace with the sole purpose of killing as many people as possible is beyond comprehension in a civilized world. There is nowhere to put this kind of behavior, even in combat. Yet it happens in Kabul with regularity. If the Taliban decide a bigger bang is called for, they will pack a non-descript Toyota Corolla...read more

  • The Streets of Kabul

    January 15, 2010

    By: Lieutenant Colonel John Cook


    Kabul is unlike any place I have ever seen. The streets are rutted, lined on both sides by open sewers. Driving through the city is like driving back in time. At first glance, it appears that the city is blissfully unaware of the fact that the world is in the 21st century. In front of a meat market, every animal, except for pigs, is hanging from a hook, completely dressed out with no where to go. Customers surround the fly-covered carcasses, pointing out the cuts they. If will all be sold...read more

  • Battle against a drunk driver

    October 1, 2009

    By: James Volstad


    What does Army Strong mean to me? As an Army Reservist back in 1996, it meant that I was able to overcome a near death experience while driving back to Fort Knox on my drill weekend. After a long day training soldiers, I had gone into town to get some supper. Coming back to Fort Knox that evening, I never made it to the post. Instead, I woke up in a local hospital, after 8 hours of surgery, being put back together after a drunk driver hit me head on while driving on the wrong side of the...read more