Combat
"The missile screamed at him before ending in a massive explosion. The 2nd Brigade TOC was completely disintegrated. Armored vehicles had simply disappeared."
Read excerptThe Ghosts We Carry
From Combat to the Disconnected Generation
"At forty-two, he mastered the art of the exit.
Now he's learning something harder: how to stay in the room."
This is not a war story.
It's a story about what happens after.
About a generation more connected than ever—and more alone.
About patterns carved so deep they feel like fate.
About the love that finally said: don't quit on me.
Three Threads
Isolation
"Three men in three separate units, experiencing three variations of the same millennial condition—never more connected, never more alone."
Read excerptRedemption
"For the first time in his life, the pain of leaving would exceed the pain of staying. She became the immovable object his pattern couldn't overcome."
Read excerptFeatured Excerpt
"The Ghosts"
The ghosts follow him, though most people can't see them. They sit in the empty chair across from him at breakfast. They ride shotgun on long drives. They stand at the foot of his bed on sleepless nights. Not metaphorical ghosts. He's too literal-minded for that. These are the actual dead, preserved in his memory with high-definition clarity.
But most persistent are Kuhns and Kinslow. They visit him more frequently than the others, their presence particularly acute during his morning shower as he brushes his teeth—a peculiar habit he's maintained for years, the water cascading over his shoulders as he methodically cleans each tooth, feeling the shape of them under the bristles.
The tactile sensation inevitably conjures thoughts of Kuhns, of the teeth that should have been in Ramadi instead of his own.
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About the Author
Steve Bogucki
Combat veteran. OIF I with 2nd Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division during the invasion. Ramadi 2004-2005 with 1/503rd Infantry as a Forward Observer.
FAA Division Manager for AI & Data Analytics. Long Beach, California.
This is his first book.
Two combat deployments to Iraq
Former Presidential guest (Storm the Hill, 2007)
Federal service since 2010