Marine Corps drill instructors represent one of the most legendary roles in the military. From the 1987 war movie "Full Metal Jacket" to their essential job of making new Marines at boot camp in 13-week cycles, the role has become iconic to the public and within squad bays alike. Last month, Military.com and The Washington Post published a joint in…

Since announcing his campaign for re-election, the public has weighed and dissected the merits and shortfalls of incoming President Trump’s aims for the military. But what has been missing is how these promises or inferences might come to fruition and what challenges they may face on their way to implementation. In this episode, we spoke to two peo…

At its surface, Stolen Valor is a legal term used to describe people who claim gallant military awards -- like the Purple Heart or Medal of Honor -- they did not earn in an effort to gain money, property or other tangible benefits, according to a 2013 congressional act. But the phrase seems to have inhabited a broader meaning and gained a foothold …

The V-22 was a novel aircraft when it was conceived in the 1980s. Promising to give American service members an advantage on the battlefield, it was versatile. It could fly like a plane, but rotate its propellers to take off like a helicopter. Military services jumped on it, especially the Marine Corps. But since 2022, Ospreys have crashed four tim…

Last time, on Fire Watch, we took you inside Navy Boot camp. I was accompanied by Military.com reporter and Navy veteran Konstantin Toropin. And we came armed with a few questions: Is Navy boot camp different than veterans remember it? Is it still hard? And what do those changes say about the sailors joining the Navy today? In this episode, we’re t…

By Military.com

On this episode we will be focusing on years of underreporting of child abuse at Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake in California, one of the Navy’s most sprawling installations which is located in the Mojave Desert. This is a story about disclosure – or rather the lack of disclosure. In this episode: Drew F. Lawrence, Konstantin Toropin.…

In this episode we examine the history of the military, Hollywood and the veterans who brought real-as-can-be portrayals of that world to big and small screens. I interviewed some of the contemporary players – actors, advisors and writers – who made some of those portrayals a reality. In this episode: Jim LaPorta, Drew F. Lawrence, Caitlin Bassett,…

We’re in a Norwegian valley, high above the Arctic Circle. It’s late afternoon in early March and a group of over a dozen infantry Marines are standing around an American and Norwegian chaplain. It’s windy, cold. The Marines hold laminated prayer cards in dense gloves, some are shifting back and forth to stay warm. A radio chatters in the backgroun…

Since the COVID-19 pandemic four years ago, recruiting across the military services has been in crisis. Many recruiters lost access to schools that were shuttered. The military also has been increasingly the subject of political attacks – mainly from the right of the aisle condemning the services as “woke.” We’ll get into that in the episode. My co…

The PACT Act, which was meant to help veterans receive care and benefits after being exposed to toxins and burn pits while serving their country, was billed as the most sweeping piece of veteran healthcare legislation ever passed. But for some veterans, like those exposed to things like the “black goo” and even cyanide at Karshi-Khanabad Air Base, …

Note: This special Christmas episode originally aired on December 23rd, 2022. We thought it might bring you some holiday cheer again this year. Enjoy. When the red telephone began to ring, Col. Harry Shoup feared the worst. It was 1955, at the height of the Cold War, and Shoup was in the operations center of the Continental Air Defense Command in C…

Pier 6 sits where the Elizabeth River and Chesapeake Bay meet at the largest navy complex in the world – Naval Station Norfolk, Virginia. It’s Monday, windy and cold. Sailors, civilian contractors and dock workers, or stevedors as they’re called on Pier 6 hurry to unload three enormous food trucks filled with hundreds and hundreds of pounds of Than…

[ARCHIVES] Ambrose Bierce was an American Civil War veteran. As a Union soldier Bierce fought in many battles, was wounded, and went on to become a pioneer in the horror genre, helping introduce the psychological thriller to the American story. American tradition is steeped in rich horror and veterans like Bierce who have taken their experiences in…

A few blocks away from Baltimore Harbor where many a sailor have made port and ships have launched for centuries, I walk into a tan and green-shingled building lined inside and out with tattoo memorabilia. Snarling panthers, rickety ships, pin-up girls: slices of Americana-style ink hang over century-old tattoo guns as their modern successors whizz…

August 9th, August 9th, August 9th! If there is one thing you remember about this episode, it is that you should apply for your PACT Act benefits by August 9th. August 9th – that’s the date. If you are unsure what I am talking about, and why I am talking about it repetitively, I bet you have questions. Today, our guest will help us answer those que…

The Islamic State's Khorasan Province, also known as ISIS-K, has rapidly become the new boogeyman in the Middle East -- specifically in Afghanistan, where the overall ISIS apparatus has spread its influence. The State Department has issued warnings about the group and has previously designated its leaders as top-priority terrorists. Over the last f…

Last week, my colleague Konstantin Toropin and I spoke to the Chief of Navy Personnel, Vice Adm. Rick Cheeseman, and his senior enlisted counterpart Fleet Master Chief Delbert Terrell. They are the senior leaders who run the Navy’s personnel, manpower and training operations across the fleet. We had asked sailors to let us know what questions they …

Many Americans think of only one form of military heroism: the war hero. But there are many varieties of heroism -- yes, some that include acts of gallantry in combat, but others are performed by service members here at home. At least, that’s what the United Service Organizations, or USO, has hoped to show over the last 20 years when it nominates i…

Nearly 60 years ago, now-retired Colonel Paris Davis did something remarkable. He was a Green Beret, one of the first Black officers to join the elite Special Forces. And on June 18, 1965 as dawn was breaking over the rice paddies of Binh Dinh province Vietnam, Davis, his Special Forces team, and an inexperienced company of South Vietnamese soldier…

Last week, Americans looked toward the sky … they were scanning for a 200-foot-tall white orb that traversed the entire country in less than two weeks. It stalked the Midwest and floated into the Southeast like an all-seeing eye. It was a Chinese high-altitude surveillance balloon or spy balloon, according to the Pentagon, and on the afternoon of F…

In 2019, when Gen. Milley marched his boots on Sesame Street, it was in April, the Month of the Military Child. What Gen. Milley, Elmo and the rest of the world did not know at the time was that in less than a year, the world would change. The experts and researcher behind the family-friendly fun on Sesame Street realized that kids were particularl…

In late 2019, an explosion rumbled across a remote vista in Somalia, disturbing the low brush and red-brown dirt surrounding a lonely American airfield. It rattled the bolts of the decades-old base and buckled the knees of the National Guard soldiers tasked with defending it. Capt. London Nagai – the commander of the unit – and his Charlie Troopers…

When the red telephone began to ring, Col. Harry Shoup feared the worst. It was 1955, at the height of the Cold War, and Shoup was in the operations center of the Continental Air Defense Command in Colorado. CONAD, as it was known then, stood as the early warning system for a Soviet attack. So the ringing of the red telephone never meant anything g…

This episode contains descriptions of suicide. Listener discretion is advised. Traumatic Brain Injuries – the cost of the Global War on Terror is due – passed due – and veterans and families are footing the bill with their lives. Suicide is a complex issue. And as we are learning, TBIs add to that complexity. One university cohort study showed that…

Veterans Day is a holiday meant to honor those who have served in the United States Armed Forces. It is also a day that has historically served as a platform for those outside of the community to offer their thoughts on service – whether sincere or platitudinous. On this episode of Fire Watch, we speak to many veterans – ones with unique, distingui…

Ambrose Bierce was an American Civil War veteran. As a Union soldier Bierce fought in many battles, was wounded, and went on to become a pioneer in the horror genre, helping introduce the psychological thriller to the American story. American tradition is steeped in rich horror and veterans like Bierce who have taken their experiences in war and se…

These are the family members who were part of the Department of Veterans’ Affairs caregiver program, a largely unsung army of thousands of friends, family members and guardians that quietly take care of veterans who cannot independently take care of themselves as a result of injury or illness incurred from their service. Many have quit their jobs t…

On the way out of the military, troops get a single document that has the power to get them a job and healthcare. It is constantly used by the Department of Veterans Affairs as reference for disability or benefits ratings. If a veteran wants to go to school, a university is going to ask for it. So why are some sailors being forced to wait and wait,…

Who are the women shaking up Army rules? Today, junior ranks are leading the charge to make change in the military. Not only for hair policy, but for women's reproductive health and in tackling the pervasive sexual assault issue that has been plaguing the military for decades. On this episode, we're going to talk to some of those soldiers who have …

A year ago this week, U.S. forces were preparing to depart Afghanistan after 20 years of war. It wasn’t the first time that American troops witnessed the end of decades of conflict, trying to assess what it was all for. Almost 50 years prior President Richard Nixon promised the next generation peace in the wake of Vietnam. Just as Vietnamese refuge…

The PACT Act had a years-long, tumultuous journey to getting signed into law this week. It is meant to provide expanded health care for veterans affected by burnpit toxins and other exposures incurred during their service. Veterans and their advocates camped outside of the Capitol for six days waiting for a moment that was years in the making and o…

What happened at Red Hill? Last year, fuel tanks at the Navy facility spilled thousands of gallons of fuel into Hawaii’s water supply – sickening and displacing thousands of families from the Joint Base Pearl Harbor–Hickam area. This is their story. Appearing in this episode: Families, Military Leaders, Drew Lawrence, Kristina Baehr, Rebecca Kheel,…

How is the military making space troops? Fire Watch looks at the military’s newest service, how the Space Force is building its own identity in the long-established shadows of the other military branches and how Guardians are trained, from cradle to star amid a renewed 21st century competition in space. Appearing in this episode: CMSgt. Roger Towbe…

Join the talented reporters at military.com every two weeks for your military news -- told in podcast format. A Military.com production.By Drew F. Lawrence

They served beside U.S. troops and wore the very same uniform. But now 18,000 Afghan interpreters fear for their lives as the American government completes a military withdrawal from the country. How we treat our closest allies tells a story about who we are as Americans: the meaning of "no man left behind," and the value of friendship, loyalty and…

It took a national scandal over a Facebook group called Marines United to force a true reckoning within the Marine Corps about its cultural problems with sexual harassment and misogyny. Four years later, how far has the service -- and the military at large -- come in putting an end to this toxic behavior and creating a safer and more equal place fo…

The U.S. Navy's fleet is one of the most impressive on the planet -- but officials and strategists are desperate for even more ships to accomplish the service's global mission. The future fleet that planners want has up to 500 ships and includes drone ships, corvettes, light carriers and other innovative platforms. Does the Navy really need all tha…

It has been 10 years since May 2, 2011, the night a top-secret SEAL raid took out notorious terrorist and 9/11 mastermind Osama bin Laden at his hideout in Abbottabad, Pakistan. You may think you know the story of bin Laden and the ten-year manhunt that ended in his death, but you've probably seen it like this before. In Revealed: The Hunt for Osam…

Warfighting has come a long way from machine guns mounted on the back of horse-drawn carriages. New technologies can allow militaries to create and replenish weapons and ammunition on the run; train in virtual environments that they can touch, taste and smell; and command hordes of tiny drones that swarm enemy combatants on command. In many cases, …

Military veterans are emerging from the pandemic into a new world in 2021, and a lot has changed -- some things decidedly for the better. On this episode, host Hope Hodge Seck is joined by Air Force veteran Blake Stilwell of Military.com and Marine Corps veteran Jeff Daly of the American Legion's Tango Alpha Lima podcast to discuss the five things …

While the U.S. military's fifth-generation F-35 Joint Strike Fighter jets are still rolling off the production line and deploying across the globe, work has already begun on a futuristic 6th-generation fighter -- an aircraft that may have increased stealth, drone companions, boosted artificial intelligence and even the ability to heal itself when d…

Dale Dye has been an adviser on many of the generation's most iconic military films and shows -- from Platoon to Saving Private Ryan and Band of Brothers. But he didn't grow up in showbiz. He's a retired Marine who decided that the movies he saw weren't doing right by America's service members, and he decided to do something about it. On this episo…

Bing West has been called "The Grunt's Homer." After serving as a Marine Corps infantry officer in Vietnam and then going on to be an assistant secretary of defense at the Pentagon, he has devoted his time to long embeds with troops in Iraq and Afghanistan, telling their stories and bearing witness to the wars in a series of nonfiction books. His n…

Receiving the Medal of Honor -- the nation’s highest honor recognizing bravery in combat -- means joining an elite fraternity: there are only 69 living recipients, spanning conflicts from World War II to Afghanistan. At 33, Kyle White is one of the youngest. And now, six years after receiving the medal, he’s making a point of telling his whole stor…

Things are heating up in the Arctic -- literally and figuratively. As ice melts and new sea lanes open, the region is the site of intense new military competition between the world’s largest power players: the U.S., Russia and China. While the U.S. Coast Guard is working hard to protect American interests in the Arctic, including the wellbeing of t…

We’re in the middle of a national reckoning over racism and representation, and it has thrown new attention onto the fact that 10 of the U.S. Army’s bases, including some of the largest ones, are named for generals who fought against the Union in the Civil War -- men who by definition are traitors to the nation and who in some cases passionately de…

It’s hard to think of a more beloved -- and sometimes hated -- cultural touchstone in the military than meals ready to eat, or MREs. They’ve been around since the C-Rations of World War II and beyond, and have for decades offered a touch of comfort and a taste of home -- albeit a highly engineered one that can last for years at high temperatures wi…

It wasn’t so long ago that the notion of a military Space Force conjured up images of Star Trek and other fictional future worlds. But our own world is changing, and with a lot of work behind the scenes and a very public push from President Donald Trump, U.S. Space Force became the 6th military service on December 20, 2019 -- the first new military…

At 37, Lt. Col. Lisa Jaster was not only one of the first women to graduate the Army’s grueling Ranger School, she was also 15 years older than most of the students who went through. Six months after getting a buzz cut and entering a course that had never had a female graduate, Jaster would become the Army’s first mom with a Ranger Tab. She talks a…