The Godfather is one of the finest all around NCO’s any of us ever had. Usually I can categorize a leader by a specific stength, but for the Godfather, that is pretty much everything; tactically proficient, knowledgeable & competent, driven and leads by example. And to make life in a combat zone exponentially more fun, […]
When it comes to the topic of race and equality, the military by large is light years ahead of the rest of society. Though it wasn’t always that way until equal rights became the law of the land, just as same sex marriage became the law of the land recently. The military doesn’t pick and […]
In this article published in 2014, a disabled veteran who lost both legs as a 20 year old while serving in Vietnam, repeatedly called the VA for assistance for a new wheelchair. Finally, in desperation he went to the local Lowes hardware store in an attempt to purchase the parts required to fix his wheelchair […]
St. Patrick’s Day brings two birthdays in my house, though one was born just after midnight on the 18th of March. A master of both the high crawl and the low crawl, this warrior puts the “I” in IMT (Individual Movement Techniques). When he hears the word R A N G E R!, he responds […]
Born on St. Patrick’s Day, this warrior is as Irish as they come. Jacob Stephen Slane’s name comes from the ancient and first High Kind of Ireland Slane Mac Dela. King Slane is buried on Slane Hill, near Slane Castle and Slane Abbey in Slane Ireland. It is further said that St. Patrick performed the […]
Born in Barbados, “Wheels” was a member of my squad in Somalia with J’Dub as our Squad leader. After returning, we came up together as NCO’s. The previous nickname he had was “Booger”, but that was before he met Steve Mangold, and it’s not exactly a nickname that describes the general level of “bad-ass-ness” that adequately […]
My brother Poncho called the young M-60 gunner “Baby Face” in Somalia, as Carr had just got to C CO in March of 1993 while A CO was in Somalia, which is why I didn’t remember seeing or meeting him prior to Somalia. I first remember running into Carr at the range after we had […]
You’ll hear me talk a lot about those who weren’t technically grunts but who go every step of the way with the infantry in combat. So far, I’ve only discussed the FO’s and FSO’s. Now, the first of the medics, first platoon’s Doc Cheetah. Doc is a native of Florida who joined the Army during […]
“A story: A man fires a machine gun for about a year, and then goes to war. And afterward he turns the M60 in at the armory, but keeps a pocketful of chemlights. And no matter what else he might do with his hands, love a woman, build a house, change his son’s diaper; his […]
“A story: A man fires a machine gun for about a year, and then goes to war. And afterward he turns the M60 in at the armory, but keeps a pocketful of chemlights. And no matter what else he might do with his hands, love a woman, build a house, change his son’s diaper; his hands remember the chemlights and how they made Marvin fucking glow.”
Behind The Gun: Poncho's Last Walk 