Conduct Unbecoming: A Military True Crime Podcast

A listener note: I recorded this while in the final throes of a cold that I though I had beat, but heard in my voice in the first few words. Sadly, I've not yet found a filter to de-nasalfy a recordi…

Our cell phones bear witness to our insecurities, patiently returning search results for the things that spark in our brains that we need immediate answers to. Mine, if you were wondering, would tat…

About this time two years ago, the weather in Virginia had just begun to shift from crisp to cold and I decided it was time to fill up my tires because the cold made the air inside sluggish. I first…

At work, I have a little white board where I can see at a glance where all of my projects are - it’s not entirely dissimilar to the surgery board in Grey’s Anatomy, except my projects are not life o…

I used to have this recurring nightmare about going into a restroom and instead of finding a stereotypical American toilet, I’d encounter the kind that required the user to squat over them.  It didn’…

I am a human who gets to the airport with as much lead time as possible to get through security, confirm my gate exists, and then try to be chill. I say try because I have no chill while traveling. I…

When a job is wrapping up, it’s only natural to turn an eye to what comes next.  Folks getting out of the military can speak with people trained in supporting servicemembers transitioning into civili…

What we don’t talk about in the Bar is that law school ruins eyeballs. Looking between our incoming class photo and photos from my 3L year, I clocked a lot of new framed faces. I went that opposite d…

Growing up in the Golden State means a certain familiarity with warm summers and fire risks. We worry about lightning strikes, gender reveal parties that involve any kind of explosives, and lost hike…

Any time I’ve walked into a barracks building, I’m immediately transported back to freshman year at the college dorms. There’s a lot of growing up that happens in both spaces for a similarly aged gr…

Petty Officer Williams woke to the sound of her alarm in the morning of November 6th. Williams, the mother to a five-year-old, should have woken to the soft noises of her child stirring in the next …

A move to a new duty station is a bit of a fresh start - that's my preferred framework for thinking about the move. Afterall, it can smart a bit to think about the family and friends we had to say go…

When we hear information repeated to us, we’re hardwired to begin to believe it. The positive effect we feel when we hear the information or story repeated is called the illusory truth effect. We hav…

A half hour up the road from resort-lined beaches is an Army base nestled in the interior of Oahu. Though the on-base housing might not be beach front, they’ve got ready access to everything the isl…

Stop me If you’ve seen A Few Good Men. A group of servicemembers sneak into a soldier’s bedroom in the middle of the night to do a bit of corrective action. When day breaks miles away from American …

I’ve left mission-driven non-profit jobs twice. It was really emotionally taxing to leave jobs that I really believed in once upon a time--I was so committed to the mission in both instances, and had…

If you are old enough to remember the foibles of a certain President around the turn of the millennia, you’re likely familiar with the phrase, “it’s not the crime, it’s the cover up.” For Corporal L…

I don’t think anyone would accuse me of having good luck when it comes to my checked luggage making it with me on trips. I’ve had a number of suitcases driven up days after my arrival. Most recently…

Captain Brown arrived at Minot Air Force Base some time before June 2012 and although Air Force duty station assignments are short, he was determined to make the most of his stint in North Dakota. E…

In the old cobblestone streets of Mons, Belgium, Lieutenant Becker and his wife had an opportunity to start fresh. They were thousands of miles from their family and friends and, when faced with the…