• That Explains it All
• I Thought I Was Going to Die: Part 3
• NSA and the Cult of the Presidency
• The Day of Days
• Does the Infantry Have a Future?
• Douche of the Week: Jesse Ventura
• Ranger Up Interviews: Ricky Schroder – Starting Strong
• I Thought I Was Going To Die: Part 2
• Are We Doomed?
• The Damn Few- Episode 13: Gunny Time

Barrett’s Writing

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  Douche of the Week: The Discover Card

    By Grin and Barrett Three years ago, I wrote a story for Ranger Up called, “Keeping the Home Fires Lit.” It was an homage to my wife, and to all...

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  We Remember Iraq: The Four Contractors

  Editor’s Note: Out of all the recollections we will be posting over the next several days this one is the hardest for me.  You see, Jerry Zovko (he went by Jerry...

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  Grammatical Retirement (Conditional): “Courage”

  By Grin and Barrett  What makes a King out of a slave? Courage. What makes the flag on the mast to wave? Courage. What makes the elephant charge his tusk in...

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  Haze Gray and Underway

    By Grin and Barrett There is a very serious danger that poses a significant threat to the brave men and women serving in our naval fleet. Specifically, those men and...

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  One Tough Mudder

  By Grin and Barrett And the Lord appeared unto Tug and thusly spake, “Verily I say unto thee, that thou shalt go forth unto the masses, and that thou shall be,...

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  Douche of the Week: Chris Matthews

  By Grin and Barrett In the annals of absolute journalistic truisms, there are specific lines that need not be crossed. Blasts of ridiculosity have haunted talking heads and pundits in the...

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  Men’s Etiquette

  By Grin and Barrett In the aftermath of another nausea inducing trip to the sauna, I think it’s high time someone sets the standard for men’s etiquette. A disturbing vacuum exists...

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  The Deployed Soldier’s Guide to the 4th of July

  By Grin and Barrett Successfully celebrating special occasions while forward deployed (Iraq or Afghanistan, take your pick) is typically a thing of deliberate ingenuity and will. Unless you are a Brit,...

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  The Machida Trail – Part 7

  By Grin and Barrett When Jacob was expelled from school for beating Chunder Maclin with a cafeteria chair, his father sat him down and explained to him the he was proud...

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  Douche of the Week – Ron Maclean

  By Grin and Barrett Doesn’t everyone read the Rhino Den?  In the annals of American literary accomplishments, we have Stephen Crane, Stephen King, Steven Pressfield (that’s a lot of Stephen’s), Mad...

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  Bounties and Bad Intentions

  By Grin and Barrett I have a particular routine I adhere to in my morning commute to work.  I start the day with a prayer for wisdom, grace and strength, and...

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  Grammatical Retirement – “Going to War”

  By Grin and Barrett High time we retired another overused, under-thought phrase popular in today’s lexicon.  This time, however, the object of my grammatical frustration is not due to military abuse...

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  The Machida Trail – Part 6

  By Grin and Barrett Jacob threw up again.  Head pounding, Jacob grabbed a towel off the bathroom wall and wiped his mouth.  He had spent the last three hours struggling out...

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  Myth of Normalcy

  By Grin and Barrett  Robert Heinlein wrote, “Anyone who clings to the historically untrue, and thoroughly immoral doctrine, that violence never solves anything I would advise to conjure up the ghosts...

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  The Machida Trail – Part 5

  By Grin and Barrett Jacob’s eyes wouldn’t open.  It wasn’t that he felt some sort of numbness, a paralysis that refused to obey his mind’s will.  Rather it was a binding...

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  An Akio Nightmare

    I often image (not really, just good for the dramatic effect here) what it would be like to climb back into the womb (wow, now that I’ve actually written it,...