Iraq,2008 "Oh my God, dude. I can't feel my face" This next story might not be sexy, but I'm willing to bet too many of you can relate to it. In the wonderful landscape of northern Iraq, six teammates and myself were creeping our way through the night to a small village somewhere outside the city of Samarra. We were doing the typical "low and slow" to avoid alerting anyone to our presence. We were about a hundred meters off to the side of a main road and spaced-out in a single file patrol...

If I could only pick five items to control bleeding, what would they be? For me, this isn't even a hard decision. They would be the exact same items I've used in war and right here in the U.S.A that are time tested, proven, easy to use and effective. Seriously, though, can we take a second and admire that picture up top? The tools of heroes on a beautiful fall morning in the greatest country on earth. Damn, I freaking love living in America. In the few years I was deployed as a medic in...

Loosing someone close to you is tough. Trying to press on without them is even tougher. If you really want to make it harder on yourself, try carrying the weight of that loss with you every day. Personally, I'll always carry the ones I've lost in my heart, but I've learned after years to never let their ghosts ride on my shoulders. I've personally experienced the loss of teammates and friends on multiple occasions. Each time only seemed to be worse than the last. Each time also...