The War Horse News

Ever wondered how the Army National Guard and Air National Guard differ from the rest of the military? Whether it's battling wildfires in California, patrolling the New York City subway, or filling in as bus drivers and poll workers, Sonner Kehrt explores the limits state governors—and presidents—have on calling on their troops.

This July, a former #Marine was sentenced to 10 years in prison for his role in a 2020 neo-Nazi plot to attack the power grid in Idaho. He also allegedly stole military-issue body armor and assault-style rifle magazines from United States Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune in North Carolina, according to court records, passing them along to members of his group. It wasn’t the only case of stolen or missing military equipment this summer. In May, 31 M17 pistols were reported missing from US Army Fort Moore. That same month, 8 people, including United States Department of Defense civilians, were sentenced to prison for stealing millions of dollars of equipment from Anniston Army Depot. In July, two Army National Guard soldiers and an Air National Guard civilian were arrested for allegedly stealing and reselling thousands of dollars of military equipment, including ballistic vests, radios, and high-capacity magazines, from the 174th Air National Guard Attack Wing. When military weapons and equipment goes missing, it can make its way to the hands of #criminals, #gangs, and #extremists, experts told The War Horse. But In a country saturated with violence, at a time when political threats are on the rise, there is no evidence that the #military or lawmakers are on heightened alert regarding the disappearance of military firearms and other equipment. “That’s a national security concern,” says Daryl Johnson, a former domestic terrorism analyst for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Our Sonner Kehrt took a deep look at the issue. Read her story: https://lnkd.in/eKkwCzR9

I knew very little about the man I idolized and loved and wanted to be around all the time.⁠ ⁠ In those days, my father spent long hours on the USS Chicago, a guided missile cruiser that had done several stints in the Vietnam War. He’d been home only a few days after spending about six months away.⁠ ⁠ While he was gone, I struggled to make sense of the Civil Rights Movement, and the killings of Robert F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr. that came in quick succession. I wanted my father home.⁠ ⁠ Now he was in our driveway, and I stood there, wanting more than what he gave—orders to clean up the mess as he backed out of the driveway.⁠ ⁠ The car was fixed, but I felt broken.⁠ ⁠ Read the full story: https://lnkd.in/ge5hyA72 ⁠ Editor’s Note: This story was published in partnership with San Quentin News and was written during a writing seminar for incarcerated veterans in April hosted by The War Horse at California’s San Quentin Rehabilitation Center. Tens of thousands of military veterans are incarcerated across the United States, and these stories are intended to shine a light on their unique needs, challenges, and experiences.⁠ @pollen-initiative ⁠ #thewarhorsenews #weeklyreflection #incarceratedveterans

Travis Vendela died three times in triage and medevac, by his own account, after the lead Humvee he was directing in Iraq in 2007 drove over an improvised explosive device and blew off both of his legs. Scott Restivo lost his right leg to infection and sepsis in 2018 after surgery to address injuries he suffered at Fort Drum, New York, and aggravated in Iraq and Afghanistan. Bone cancer claimed Army parachute rigger Matt Brown’s left leg after he served for years at Fort Liberty, North Carolina. There’s no question about what the three Army veterans gave up for their country. Now, still active and in the prime of their 40s, they’re fighting to make sure the country doesn’t give up on them. From Utah to Tennessee to North Carolina, they say they are all experiencing similar frustrations with the dense bureaucracy and gaps in care for prosthetics and accessibility equipment provided by the Department of Veterans Affairs. Read the story: https://lnkd.in/eRWd7Qv3

The Sergeant was living in a car when I met him. After we both swiped right on a dating app, we convened at a park gazebo overlooking the Connecticut River. What might have been a deal-breaker for some women led to my life’s longest and most significant relationship. I used to think that going to war was romantic. Over the next few weeks, I learned the searing and decidedly unromantic nature of the Sergeant’s pain. Read this week's reflection by Molly O'Brien: https://lnkd.in/gpDnzsv5 #army #war #combat #veteran #iraq #dating #reflection #essay #military

When the first shot rang out at the Trump rally in Butler County, Pennsylvania, Jondavid Longo recognized the sound. But his brain wouldn’t allow him to believe it. “I thought, ‘OK, this might be a firecracker, a balloon, or something,’” the Marine Corps veteran and mayor of Slippery Rock, Pennsylvania, told The War Horse. “On the second shot, I realized exactly what it was.” Longo, who deployed to Afghanistan as an infantry rifleman, dived on top of his pregnant wife and yelled for people to get down in the chilling moments after the gunfire. When he got home that night, like so many stunned Americans eager for updates, Longo turned to social media and shared his gratitude: “I’m home now. I’m alright. My family is safe.” By then, the frenzy of misinformation, early conspiracy theories, and violent rhetoric was already exploding across the Internet. Read the story: https://lnkd.in/ggAQpKnE #extremism #misinformation #rhetoric #nonprofitnewsroom #nonprofitnews #election #veterans #military #politics

Terry Arnold imagined plenty of scenarios when he joined the Air Force in 1962 and again when he deployed to Southeast Asia four years later. Preventing bloodshed between Robert Mitchum and a drunk master sergeant wasn’t one of them. Read the essay: https://lnkd.in/eBVcz-cR #vietnam #airforce #informationofficer #PAO #oldhollywood #USO #reflection #essay #thewarhorse #nonprofitnewsroom

Mona McGuire was kicked out of the military for being gay. Andrew Espinosa was forced out of the military after he kissed a man on the cheek. For more than 25 years, both have longed to remove the stain on on their military records. In late June, when President Biden announced pardons for gay veterans convicted of consensual sex, they believed they would get a long-overdue reprieve. The pardon, they thought, could also unlock health care and other veterans benefits they have been denied because of their “bad paper” discharges. Then reality struck. In the weeks since the president’s historic gesture, McGuire and Espinosa have learned they and thousands of other veterans are unlikely to qualify under the narrow confines of Biden’s pardons. The whipsaw of emotions has renewed the sting of exclusion that has followed them for decades after their military service was cut short. It’s “another kick in the gut,” says Espinosa. Read the story: https://lnkd.in/ezN2VM7E

In the fall of 2000, I received a phone call from an unrecognized number with an unfamiliar area code and decided to answer. “Is this Tigerman?” asked a voice on the line. I thought for a second before answering. “Is this LT?” He knew he’d reached Tigerman, just as I knew I was talking to LT for the first time in 31 years. Read Jerry Lyon's essay in The War Horse at https://lnkd.in/eeCmTp6E #vietnam #veteran #vietnamveteran #reunion #airmedal #army #infantry #soldier #essay #reflection #thewarhorse #bureacracy

The profanity-laced email that landed in thousands of Coast Guard inboxes this past May wasn’t intended to foment a rebellion in the nation’s most under-the-radar branch of the military. It wasn’t meant to get cited in a congressional hearing. It was just sheer, scorching frustration. The 4,000-word screed from an anonymous, encrypted email account focused on alleged sexual misconduct at Sector Mobile in Alabama and claims the Coast Guard mishandled the investigation. Not long after firing off the email, the sender, who called themself Whistler McGee, also posted the letter on Facebook. Now, two months after Whistler McGee’s initial email, what started as a quest for vengeance has erupted into a rank-and-file reckoning over how the military handles sexual assaults and who should drive the conversation about whether leadership is doing enough to address the problem. Read the story: https://lnkd.in/gQw4txiC U.S. Coast Guard Maritime Legal Aid & Advocacy Combat Sexual Assault #coastguard #military #leadership #uscg #sexualassault #metoo #victimadvocacy #nonprofitjournalism #nonprofitnewsroom