Here you go

This is my blog.

I write about the military, culture, and military culture, among other things.

I suppose this blog is my public notebook, where I post various things I find in public records and elsewhere (like the recesses of my mind?). Want me to write for you? Email me to book a call.

Army Ranger: Soldier’s last stand in Afghanistan was “the most honorable thing I have witnessed.”

Sgt. 1st Class Christopher Celiz helping clear debris with fellow soldiers following the aftermath of a hurricane. (Photo courtesy of Katie Celiz)

In 2018, the leader of a team of Army Rangers on patrol in southeastern Afghanistan used his body to shield a U.S. crew in the cockpit of a medical evacuation helicopter from enemy machine gun fire. It would cost him his life.

Army CID questioned a soldier about housing allowance fraud. Then he disappeared.

Official Army photo of Sergeant First Class Johnnie Johnson. Johnson went missing after U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Division questioned him about his university degrees in December 2015. (U.S. Army)

Things began to unravel in the summer of 2015, as investigators got wind of alleged fraud. By that Christmas, Sergeant First Class Johnnie Johnson would be gone, never to be heard from again.

New website look, same vaguish purpose…for now.

Header image introducing the "Chad Garland Writes For You" branding with black background, black beard, black text, and gold accents.

Here’s the latest advance in the continuing evolution of this website, where I tend to spend far more time thinking about design than writing: Introducing Chad Garland Writes For You.

Out of the ‘shadows’: Air Force U-28A crews awarded Distinguished Flying Crosses for the first time

Distinguished Flying Cross medals sit on display during a Distinguished Flying Cross ceremony at Travis Air Force Base, California, Dec. 9, 2022. U.S. Air Force Maj. Gen. Corey Martin, 18th Air Force commander, recognized 24 Airmen for their heroic actions during Operation Allies Refuge. The Distinguished Flying Cross is awarded to any officer or enlisted person of the U.S. armed forces for heroism or extraordinary achievement while participating in aerial flight. (U.S. Air Force photo by Nicholas Pilch)

Two U-28A Draco crews were awarded the nation’s highest honor for extraordinary aerial achievement for their efforts in support of the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan in August 2021 as the country fell into chaos.

Marine Corps FOIA docs on Sgt. Nicole Gee transfer and burial

Marine Sgt. Nicole Gee cradles an infant during the noncombatant evacuation at Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul, Afghanistan, days before her death in an August 2021 suicide bombing. Gee was assigned to the Combat Logistics Battalion 24, 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. (Isaiah Campbell/U.S. Marine Corps)

Phone calls—and donations—poured in to the nonprofit that flew Marine Sgt. Nicole Gee’s remains to Arlington National Cemetery after a since-discredited Fox News story prompted outrage.

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