I hurt for my Marines, goodhearted American guys who'd bear these burdens for the rest of their lives. And I mourned for myself. Not in self-pity, but for the kid who'd come to Iraq. He was gone. I did all… — Nathaniel Fick Copy Share Image
“VJ had gone to the Naval Academy, where he competed as a powerlifter and developed a distaste for military customs such as short hair… — Nathaniel Fick Copy Share Image
I hurt for my Marines, goodhearted American guys who'd bear these burdens for the rest of their lives. And I mourned for myself. Not… — Nathaniel Fick Copy Share Image
“You’re quoted as saying, ‘The bad news is, we won’t get much sleep tonight; the good news is, we get to kill people.’” She… — Nathaniel Fick Copy Share Image
When you are serving volunteer professional military, you take an oath to the Constitution, not to a policy or a president and you swear… — Nathaniel Fick Copy Share Image
“Safety is paramount.” “If safety were paramount,” Whitmer declared, “we’d stay in the barracks and play pickup basketball. Good training is paramount.” — Nathaniel Fick Copy Share Image
People build continuity into their life: Places, friends and goals. We go to work on Monday with plans for Friday night, enroll as freshmen… — Nathaniel Fick Copy Share Image
My team is the best, the platoon is good, the company is awful, and the battalion is actively trying to kill us. — Nathaniel Fick Copy Share Image
“We learned that indecision is a decision, that inaction has a cost all its own. Good commanders act and create opportunities. Great commanders ruthlessly… — Nathaniel Fick Copy Share Image
I was in Afghanistan and then obviously in Iraq. And I realized that you can't control life. You can do a lot to prepare.… — Nathaniel Fick Copy Share Image
“Great Marine commanders, like all great warriors, are able to kill that which they love most -- their men.” — Nathaniel Fick Copy Share Image
“You can’t volunteer to go to war and then bitch about getting shot at.” — Nathaniel Fick Copy Share Image
“Your job is to be the hardest motherfucker in your platoon," he said while pointing at me across the desk. "Do that, and everything… — Nathaniel Fick Copy Share Image
“Hardness," I was learning, was the supreme virtue among recon Marines. The greatest compliment one could pay to another was to say he was… — Nathaniel Fick Copy Share Image
