As a new military police platoon leader, Robin Fontes unexpectedly found herself present at a turning point of strategic significance. Assigned to the Berlin Brigade, Fontes and her soldiers were part of the American effort to maintain an outpost in the German capital, keep tabs on the Soviets, and stay ready for the start of World War III—all while citizens across Eastern Europe were increasingly demanding additional freedoms and political representation from their communist governments. As tensions inside East Germany continued to rise, Fontes had a front-row view. When the Berlin Wall came down in October 1989, she found herself thrust into a delicate balancing act in the midst of geostrategic uncertainty in a profoundly historic moment.
In this episode Maj. John A. Meyer shares a story from his first deployment, in 2007, to Afghanistan. On July 27, his platoon and...
In 2003, Karl Blanke was a weapons platoon commander during Operation Iraqi Freedom. Crossing the line of departure in the first wave, Blanke’s Marines...
Sergeant Major Chuck Ritter overcame a series of bad decisions in his youth—as well as a rough start to his Army career—to become a...