The Bagels in Kandahar podcast

Military benefits seem extraordinary when you live in a society that does not value its people.

Witnessing greater and lesser horrors and trying to find humanity in inhuman times.

Sleep is crucial for human health. War isn’t. When the two collide, war always wins.

Everyone is talking about the Chris Rock/Will Smith slap at the Oscars. Here’s me apologizing through an analogy for that and the response to 911.

Thinking about how the media covered the Afghanistan war and how much Americans actually cared about the longest war in US history.

What does an infantryman do all day when they just get back from a war? Not much.

Post-deployment I found myself going from being single and living in the barracks to suddenly married and living with my wife, her mother, two cats and a dog.

Back home from deployment I rediscovered dating and received an unexpected phone call.

With fighting season long over, and 10th Mountain arriving to replace us, our final weeks in Afghanistan were upon us.

Coming back from midtour leave to new faces and a lot less to do once fighting season ended.

The holidays mark the end of the first half of my deployment and the end of fighting season.

Drone training at Bagram and the biggest mistake I made on deployment.

A new private arrives at our outpost at the absolute worst time.

From drill sergeants to platoon sergeants to officers, the military gives you a varied look at different leadership styles.

Military housing and the uncomfortable balance when your employee is your landlord.

Being Jewish on deployment was a unique experience.

Missing the NY Jets back-to-back AFC championship game appearances and what sports real purpose is in a war zone.

I discuss the jobs other than infantry that were a major part of my deployment.

When you’re deployed to the birthplace of Afghan Kush, resisting temptation can prove hard in a war zone.

Spending long cold nights alone in a tower was maddening, until a visitor arrived.

The positives and negatives of romantic relationships on deployment.

Reflecting on a positive memory of a quite unexpected snowfall.

Recounting the day I found out I killed someone and the questions that others ask about it and what God says about killing in war.

Recounting the heaviest days of combat and the most dangerous individual moment I went through on deployment.

How do you bond with your platoon when you’re the new guy? For me, it was cigarettes and a beating up a golden gloves boxer.

Where I greatly struggle to coherently describe what my outpost looked like. No story, just scene-setting.

I recount how I got my army nickname and how some other guys in my platoon got theirs.

Figuring out how true is a war story, and recalling a firefight with boredom.

From staff duty the weekend before deploying to arriving in Kyrgyzstan in the middle of a civil war, my first few weeks in big army were interesting.

Just a simple introduction with some background on me and why I decided to enlist in the army.