Articles by Patrick Mondaca
Trump is a fair-weather friend to the troops
Patrick Mondaca is an adjunct instructor at John Jay School of Criminal Justice in New York. In 2003 he served in Baghdad, Iraq, as a sergeant with the Connecticut Army National Guard's 143rd Military Police Company. His writing has appeared in The Washington Post, The Globe and Mail and more. The opinions expressed in this commentary are the author's. View more opinion articles on CNN.
Citizens Don't Need AR-15s
Two 30 round clips, filled with .223 cartridges and other high capacity clips for an AR-15. (George Frey/Getty Images) In the words of Bobby Sands, who died from a hunger strike protesting British rule over Ireland in 1981, It is "the undauntable thought,' my friend, that thought that says 'I'm right!'" which is the thing that motivates our schoolchildren protesting for changes to gun control legislation throughout this nation.
Trump’s Tweets Are Unfitting Of An American Via @dailycaller
As was reported by the BBC this week, President Donald Trump retweeted a series of unverified videos posted by a far-right British nationalist group. Trump’s tweets are unfitting of any American, let alone an American president, on all counts. This latest tweeting incident follows reports in recent months, as news sources from around the world reported white supremacists carrying burning torches and chanting Nazi-era slogans like “blood and soil” in streets of Charlottesville, Virginia.
Congress promised foreign-born recruits citizenship - time to deliver
President Trump was just in France with President Macron reviewing the troops. He loves the troops. He loves military parades, the hugeness and grandeur, the pomp and circumstance. He looked on with apparent admiration at Napoleon’s tomb. No doubt a bit envious. Likely imagining his own spectacular sepulcher in future Washington.
Some combat veterans are drawn to risk. Here's how to keep them alive and free.
There need not be more senseless veteran deaths or captivities in war-torn countries. The time has come to think outside the traditional. Austin Tice was a former Marine Corps captain and veteran of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan who left for Syria prior to completing his final year of Georgetown Law School. Tice was captured by unknown armed actors in Syria while working as a freelance journalist in August 2012. He remains in captivity to this day.
An erstwhile Baptist, I have since found solace in the Muslim prayers to God
Facts & Arguments is a daily personal piece submitted by readers. Have a story to tell? See our guidelines at tgam.ca/essayguide. The sun is an army invading from the East. In between the peaks of the minarets of Khartoum, over the crests of the high, stucco walls of the neighbouring villas and far from the street where the tuk-tuk drivers begin their queues, I am awakened by the first stabbing, shards of light through my window.
Patrick Mondaca: Not injured by war, but displaced | The Kansas City Star
In 2003, I went to Baghdad as a military police sergeant with the U.S. Army. I came home a different man.Instead of traffic, I see blocked convoys and kill zones. Instead of crowded subways and train platforms, I see hundreds of potential casualties hemmed in by machine-gun fire from superior advantages of height and terrain. On rooftops and window ledges and on the steeples of cathedrals, I see places of concealment for snipers.
Another View: Not injured by war, but displaced
In 2003, I went to Baghdad as a military police sergeant with the U.S. Army. I came home a different man. Instead of traffic, I see blocked convoys and kill zones. Instead of crowded subways and train platforms, I see hundreds of potential casualties hemmed in by machine-gun fire from superior advantages of height and terrain. On rooftops and window ledges and on the steeples of cathedrals, I see places of concealment for snipers.
Another View: Not injured by war, but displaced
In 2003, I went to Baghdad as a military police sergeant with the U.S. Army. I came home a different man. Instead of traffic, I see blocked convoys and kill zones. Instead of crowded subways and train platforms, I see hundreds of potential casualties hemmed in by machine-gun fire from superior advantages of height and terrain. On rooftops and window ledges and on the steeples of cathedrals, I see places of concealment for snipers.
Another View: Not injured by war, but displaced
In 2003, I went to Baghdad as a military police sergeant with the U.S. Army. I came home a different man. Instead of traffic, I see blocked convoys and kill zones. Instead of crowded subways and train platforms, I see hundreds of potential casualties hemmed in by machine-gun fire from superior advantages of height and terrain. On rooftops and window ledges and on the steeples of cathedrals, I see places of concealment for snipers.
Veterans have a problem that no amount of parades or VA funding can solve
In 2003, I went to Baghdad as a military police sergeant with the U.S. Army. I came home a different man. Instead of traffic, I see blocked convoys and kill zones. Instead of crowded subways and train platforms, I see hundreds of potential casualties hemmed in by machine-gun fire from superior advantages of height and terrain. On rooftops and window ledges and on the steeples of cathedrals, I see places of concealment for snipers.
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