Marine Corps Association & Foundation

I went for a run yesterday. I have just started to adjust to this whole “running” thing. After all this time, I think I finally found my running niche. Inhale for two steps; exhale for two steps. By maintaining this routine, I found myself able to get lost in the run. I concentrated on every little thing my muscles were doing. My legs were churning, my stomach tightened, and my brain was numb.

If you have never visited Semper Fidelis Memorial Chapel on the grounds of the National Museum of the Marine Corps, you have missed visiting a truly inspirational place. It is a breathtakingly beautiful building, an edifice of stone, rich wood and soaring glass that derives much of its beauty from the surrounding landscape. It is also breathtakingly simple. Nestled in the woods, it was designed to pay homage to the improvised chapels found in the field, attended by those who bear the burden of war.

There’s something about a Marine Corps uniform – whether it’s dress blues or cammies – that’s incredible. It’s not what they are, but what they represent. They signify brotherhood, organization, efficiency, danger, and a certain vicious grace that I can never quite put my finger on.

I’m on my way to Afghanistan as you read this; in-transit between Dubai and Camp Leatherneck. It’s my 6th trip there, as I’m fortunate to write for Leatherneck and embed with various Marine units up and down the length of the Helmand River Valley. OOH-RAH!

It’s certainly been a busy past few years, and what’s interesting is how I wear several hats on these trips; I look at the war (or wars, having also been to Anbar) through the eyes of both a participant and a father – and what an eye-opening view it is.