Howdy,
I’m writing to you from the GREAT state of TEXAS!
We’ve been BUSY here at GCV! Holy smokes!
might be on vacation, but her endeavors are (of course) bearing fruit. Thanks to our partners at Give an Hour, especially Rebeka Edmonson, we provide free Moral Injury support to America’s heroes. And it’s going great!That couldn’t be possible without you, my dear readers. Zmoong Andiwalaan (Pashto: My people).
We have an all-star team working behind the scenes to make this happen, and nearly all of them are Afghan refugees. Stories From My Brothers & Voices of the Resistance is edited by a young female Afghan refugee.
That’s a victory for the good guys, zmoong Andiwalaan.
While GCV+F is our love, we’re also going to start something else—a non-profit.
That non-profit is called The Afghan-American Veterans Alliance (logo forthcoming). It is filed. It is official. I won’t say much about it now.
However, let me give you our (rough draft) mission/vision statement.
Mission: To support Afghan National Defense and Security Forces members in the United States so they can thrive.
Vision: To help selected and well-qualified Afghans who attended America’s military universities get into their first homes—of their own.
I like to dream big. It’s how I survive. It will take some time but don’t bet against us.
When you subscribe to GCV+F, you’re part of our tribe. You’re helping us ensure that we uphold the promise to our allies who fought alongside our American servicemembers.
We’re starting to put some articles behind the paywall. Not many, but a few of our products will require $30 a year. Now, if you’re a balla on a budget, then drop us a line at gcv.friends@gmail.com and we can work something out.
For our founding members (G*d bless you), we’re developing a new product: Operation Chronicles. Here, we will give you a little peek at some of the other things we do to ensure those left behind make it home.
If you’re a paid subscriber but don’t have the cheddah to become a founding member, please let us know.
And if you’ve been down with GCV+F (we know who you are) from the get-go, let us know, and we can work something out for you to become a Founding Member.
To all our subscribers: Thank You.
The Weekly Wrap
Free Products:
had an incredible podcast this week at Shoulder to Shoulder.Over on Voices of the Resistance, our series inside Stories From My Brothers, GCV welcomes Jason Howk, the Director of Global Friends of Afghanistan.
Another big thing happening that affects Afghanistan is something called the Pashtoon National Jirga. It’s like a big meeting where Pashtoon leaders come together to talk about the region’s future. I heard from my dad that this Jirga could help solve problems between countries, but I wonder—will they talk about girls like me? Will they think about the future of Afghan girls? I hope so. This Jirga could make a massive difference if they make decisions that help people, especially girls, get their rights back.
We had two entries in our ‘Voices from the Field’ series.
MSgt Ben Waterloo, one of GCV+F’s contributors, returns with an excellent examination of military culture.
Within the first 24 hours after the storm, we determined that our everyday mission would not happen until at least Wednesday the following week. Everyone was still in recovery mode. We arranged for working parties to cut trees in yards and stack them on the curb, cut trees of houses, and put up tarps. We delivered food to those staying in the local area. We delivered gasoline to Airmen who were about to evacuate.
I wrote a eulogy for a fallen Airman, friend, and brother-in-arms.
When an Airman dies, it is a tragedy. It doesn’t matter if it's in combat or a car crash. The pain that it causes is unimaginable. It’s not like if someone dies at your office. While that might be tragic, it doesn’t hit the same.
That’s because that Airman was your brother-in-arms. And he was willing to do what it took to do the mission—right alongside you.
Mossman was an intelligence professional who supported and executed some of America’s most sensitive intelligence operations. He helped protect America—you at home are safe today because of Staff Sergeant Mitchell Mossman.
May his memory be a blessing to his brothers and sisters in arms, his family whose pain is unimaginable, and his lovely wife, Staff Sergeant Meisha (Martin-Benton) Mossman.
It was the honor of my life to serve beside you, brother.
We also had a few feature articles.
War is a horrible thing. It shatters lives and destroys everything it touches. It haunts me at night when the demons come. I remember it daily when I’m startled or grieve another friend murdered by our enemies who we let defeat us. Killing, seeing your friends murdered, and even seeing young girls brutally gang raped never leaves.
But even then, war is still, tragically, necessary—because we are human and are inherently flawed.
Yahya Sinwar murdered, raped, and ethnically cleansed more Jews than anyone since Hitler.
But his death while a military victory is more than that. It is the enduring call of my people exclaiming, “Never Again.” And for Israelis, when they say, “Never Again,” they mean it.
Over at ‘Will’s War Stories,’ I reminisce about Airman First Class Leebernard Chavis.
I carry his name on a bracelet and have it tattooed on my back. He was the lodestar of my 20 years in the military. When he died, I pledged to try to be the type of officer, leader, and commander he would proudly continue fighting alongside.
I will never forget him and the selfless sacrifice he made for his comrades, the innocent people of Iraq, and on behalf of this country.
He was an American hero.
May his memory be a blessing to his friends, his comrades, and most especially his family.
Over at our newest series, ‘Never Trump From the Jump,’ I examine why VP Harris might lose.
I hate primaries. I think they’re part of the problem with — gestures wildly— the shitshow that is American life. I think both parties should pick their candidates, which would rob the base (mostly lunatics) of both parties from choosing our general election candidates. Nevertheless, I’m a GCV, so I understand that will never happen.
Regardless, doing the ol’ switch-a-roo six months before the main event left a bad taste in many people’s mouths (not me, but a lot).
Should Harris lose to the Orange G*d King, then this talk about Biden being the best president of our lifetime will come to a screeching halt. Don’t forget who killed Joe Biden.
Paid Subscribers
We rolled out our second series for paid subscribers, ‘The Terrorism Chronicles.’ This week’s episode was accessible to all — but thou shall be thy last one!
This product will feature some of today’s most brilliant writers on terrorism, making the subject digestible for you, dear paid subscribers. We will cover all terrorist groups—domestic, jihadist, secular, and even some from yesteryear.
Get smarter about those trying to kill you.
I posted my third article from ‘Outgoing Rounds From the Edge of Madness,’ where you get the raw, uncut GCV.
People have been trying to kill me for the last twenty years. That doesn’t make me unique, but that’s just a fact. Sometimes, it was a hit list that was crafted in the field. You might not find them in some intelligence report buried in the attic of the Intelligence Community, but many of my terps told me that I was on a list.
Other Publications
I wrote a little something, something for
’s Morning Shots on the death of Sinwar.But the real victory goes to the United States military and especially the IDF. While Bibi and Biden bickered, CENTCOM Commander Gen. Michael Kurrilla’s command, especially the combined air operations center at Al Udeid Airbase, provided critical real-time support to IDF operations. The IDF, which had lost some prestige following the October 7th massacre, has conducted a brilliant campaign that will be studied in American war colleges for years—whatever one thinks of the political echelon’s failures of diplomacy and imagination.
I had more upbeat positive news at
’s Long War Journal.On October 8, the FBI arrested an Afghan man who authorities allege was planning an Election Day attack on behalf of the Islamic State. According to the DOJ, Nasir Ahmad Tawhidi, 28, an Afghan residing in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, “allegedly took steps to liquidate his family’s assets, resettle members of his family overseas, acquire AK-47 assault rifles and ammunition, and commit a terrorist attack in the United States.” Then, on October 13, the Anti-Terrorism Prosecutor’s Office in Paris announced that an unidentified relative of Tawhidi was charged with plotting to conduct an attack on a soccer match on behalf of the Islamic State.
Our Friends
We will start highlighting some other voices you MUST read/learn from.
As always, that starts with
, one of my Afghan teachers.GCV+F’s good friend,
, wrote an excellent essay for Reagan, Bush, McCain, & Romney Alumni for Harris.Like President Biden before her, Vice President Harris is running an inclusive campaign and listening to present and former Republicans, like me, who have not only endorsed her out of necessity, but because she has earned our endorsement.
Not because we universally agree with her on policy, because that isn't true. Rather, how she campaigned as a candidate in 2020, how she helped govern as Vice President, and how she is comporting herself now.
All right, zmoong Andiwallan, that’s a wrap. Phew. We hope you have a great weekend.
Enjoy some college football!
Gig’em Aggies! Is it ok to believe again.