Line of Advance

03/09/2024

The Colonel Darren L. Wright Memorial Writing Award is open for submission!

Thanks to a generous donation from the Blake and Bailey Family Fund, Line of Advance is presenting the 2024 Colonel Darron L. Wright Memorial Writing Awards. Like us, Darron Wright was a soldier: a larger than life infantry commander with several tours under his belt. And also like us, Col. Wright w...

25/08/2024

Everyone, we are super excited to announce JGP MacAdam as this year's judge for the Wright Prize. He's an accomplished fiction and non-fiction writer as well as a big advocate for up and coming writers. Learn more about him at the link below. And don't forget, this year's contest goes live on September 1st!

Thanks to a generous donation from the Blake and Bailey Family Fund, Line of Advance is presenting the 2024 Colonel Darron L. Wright Memorial Writing Awards. Like us, Darron Wright was a soldier: a larger than life infantry commander with several tours under his belt. And also like us, Col. Wright w...

09/08/2024

Hey everyone. Old LOA towers needed a little reset period. We are now back and ready to go! This is your WARNO: The 2024 Colonel Wright Prize will open on September 1st. More information to follow!

06/02/2024

Today's short story is "In A Hole" by Jason Green. Hope you enjoy it.

By the time SEAL Team 6 killed Osama bin Laden exactly 543.2 miles to the southeast of our base in the mountains of northern Afghanistan, none of us really gave a s**t. It was May of 2011 and we were ten months into our one year deployment as part of the “President's Surge” to finish rooting out...

31/01/2024

Phil Halton is the publisher at Double Dagger, an accomplished writer, and a pretty great guy. His new book Red Warning is available for purchase on Amazon. I’m getting my copy today!

Red Warning (Lieutenant Ahmadzai Thrillers)

11/01/2024

Here's a great and powerful poem by Allison Whittenberg.

For remembrance, the picture of her girlish dark-haired freshness and a taut, three-paragraph bio was posted on a flagpole For a week, students passed her, too wrapped in their own bad days and stressors, their own crosses to bear, to notice Hiding, maneuvering, Creating a bottomless sense of ch

20/12/2023

This is the prologue from Erin Solaro’s upcoming book. It’s haunting and looks at history honestly and sees these people as three-dimensional human beings. It’s refreshing and I can’t wait to read the finished book.

Prologue: The Guest from the Past From Now You Know: The Last Day of Field Marshal Erwin Rommel © Erin Solaro, all rights reserved. Who can refuse to live his own life? —Anna Akhmatova  Mine is a family of dreamers and doers, secrets and silences, scientists and soldiers, so I

05/12/2023

This week's post is a poem by Charles McCaffrey about 9/11. Check it out!

History and cultures met with explosive force high above the world on a bright September morning Steel and glass lives and illusions shattered in the blink of an eye And in the aftermath investigations legislations invasions Must defend must avenge And another generation of damaged

29/11/2023

I enjoyed this story by William Crosby. Half expected Odin-or maybe Poe- to be sitting there and watching the destruction.

In midnight clad stood the crow on his nightly watch. In this brief respite, nothing assaulted his senses—not a creak of an old elm, sagging beneath the weight of the years, not the rustling of its leaves in the hot breeze, carrying with it the smell of freshly upturned earth, not even a distant s...

17/11/2023

Check out this cool story by Ryan Hopkins about a young person watching his father head off to war. Also, any story that mentions Marquee Moon is alright with me. Happy Thanksgiving!

7:00 am Man what a ripper of a song! That was “No One Knows” by Queens of the Stone Age, off their newest album, Songs For the Deaf. Listen up, here’s a piece of knowledge from the Rock-n-Roll College. Smacking drums on that track was none other than Dave Grohl. That’s right, the very same D...

07/11/2023

Enjoy this short story by Victoria Hudson. I remember how sad it was saying goodbye for deployments. At least my family was allowed to be there with me. Great job Victoria.

Captain Harper pulled the olive drab duffle from the floor of the closet. “Mommy, can I help you pack?” "Here sweetie, you hold the bag open for me.” Pulling a worn, pine stool from the corner, Sarah jumped atop, stretched out her arms to grasp the side of the cylinder-shaped canvas bag t

23/10/2023

Enjoy this story by Elaine Little.

In your mind, gyrating butts punctuate the run-up to the Iraq War because you often sat in the TV room at the Richard L. Jones Armory in Chicago waiting to be assigned to a funeral honors detail, and BET was the channel of choice. The funerals all had two things in common all were veterans,

03/10/2023

Here's another sad story beautifully told. Enjoy.

Pa decided to join the Bonus Expeditionary Force. After dropping Ma and the youngsters off at Uncle Vernon’s, he let me ride the rails with him from our home in Waynesboro, Pennsylvania, all the way to the Washington Freight Yard. Pa and thousands of other veterans were demanding their bonus pay.....

26/09/2023

This is a great story, wonderfully stark, and honest. Makes a parent's heart skip a beat.

It’s 3:00 am, and I can’t sleep. Again. I’m sitting at my desk in my home office. It is a room I find myself occupying often, now that I am retired, and no longer have an office outside my home to go to. There is a pencil holder on my desk, a gift from my wife. It is six inches wide and five i...

22/09/2023

I really enjoyed this great story by Wally Wood. I hope you do too.

At 0530 on a frosty January morning at our camp on the outskirts of Tokyo I located the idling deuce-and-a-half with the brigade’s personnel records. I tossed my duffle bag into the back on top of the waterproof chests and joined the driver in the cab, a private first class named Williams. “You ...

29/08/2023

The final results for the 2023 Col. Darron L. Wright Memorial Writing Awards are here. Today, we’ll post the winners of the Poetry by Veteran category. The winning poem is “Coast Guard Air Station San Francisco'' by B.A. Van Sise. Judge Ben Inks says of Van Sise’s work, “A poem that reveals itself the more you read it, “Coast Guard Air Station San Francisco” is a panorama of images that tells a harrowing story in less than 80 words. The paintings I formed in my mind as I read will stay with me always.” In second place, “Corpses” by Thomas Lambert, and in third place, “May 1940” by Erin Solaro. Thanks to all the writers that submitted their work. It was a joy to read all of them.

Non-Profit Literary Journal for America's Military Veterans, their Families, and Active Duty Members.

22/08/2023

The results for the 2023 Col. Darron L. Wright Memorial Writing Awards are here. Today, we’ll post the winners of the Prose by Military Family Member. The winning story is “I Stumbled in my Step'' by Eben Ormston. Judge Ben Inks says of Ormston’s story, “Historical fiction that does more than just world-build an era we are indelibly removed from. With an authentic voice and narrative, “I Stumbled in My Step” actively gets me, as a reader, to care about the lives of the people/characters depicted. Not easy to do given the natural limitations of the genre.” In second place, “Stanley Speaks” by Connie Kinsey, and in third place, “Married to the Sea” by Halle Mosser. Thanks to all the writers that submitted their work. It was a joy to read all of them.

Non-Profit Literary Journal for America's Military Veterans, their Families, and Active Duty Members.

15/08/2023

The results for the 2023 Col. Darron L. Wright Memorial Writing Awards are here. Today, we’ll post the winners of the Prose by Service Member or Veteran. The winning story is “Falling Man'' by Brian Kerg. Judge Ben Inks says of Kerg’s story, “Similar to Col. Darron Wright’s memoir Iraq Full Circle, “Falling Man” provided a unique sense of philosophical closure by identifying a parallel between 9/11 and the Fall of Kabul. Arguably bringing the beginning of OEF (and the larger war on terror) and the end of OEF together by identifying a macabre déjà vu.” In second place, “Rules of Engagement” by Charity Tahmaseb, and in third place, “The Last Man” by Bill Cushing. Thanks to all the writers that submitted their work. It was a joy to read all of them.

07/08/2023

The results of the 2023 Col. Darron L. Wright Memorial Writing Awards are here! Guest judge Benjamin Inks has decided on the top three pieces for each of the four categories. LOA will release the winners from each category throughout the month of August. Today, we’ll post the winners of the Poetry by Military Family Member. In first place, “Navy Brat” by Cornelia Asjes. Judge Ben Inks says of Asjes’s work, “Lyrical and buoyant, “Navy Brat” asks the reader to consider the sacrifices military dependents make and who they might become because of such adaptations.” In second place, “The Homecoming” by Kate Lewis, and in third place, “Tarawa” by RT Notaro. Thanks to all the poets that submitted their work. It was a joy to read all of them.

Non-Profit Literary Journal for America's Military Veterans, their Families, and Active Duty Members.

02/07/2023

LOA has received more submissions for this year's contest than ever before. That's fantastic! Good work, writers. Results can be expected the first week of August.

28/06/2023

Only a couple days left to submit to the 2023 Wright Prize!

Thanks to a generous donation from the Blake and Bailey Family Fund, Line of Advance is presenting the eighth annual Colonel Darron L. Wright Memorial Writing Awards. Like us, Darron Wright was a soldier: a larger than life infantry commander with several tours under his belt. And also like us, Col....

16/06/2023

Two weeks left to submit to this year’s Wright Prize!

Thanks to a generous donation from the Blake and Bailey Family Fund, Line of Advance is presenting the eighth annual Colonel Darron L. Wright Memorial Writing Awards. Like us, Darron Wright was a soldier: a larger than life infantry commander with several tours under his belt. And also like us, Col....

19/04/2023

I already put it up on the LOA website, but I’m excited to announce that this year’s guest judge is Benjamin Inks, whose book of short stories, Soft Targets, will be out this summer. If you’re on the fence about submitting, don’t be shy!

Thanks to a generous donation from the Blake and Bailey Family Fund, Line of Advance is presenting the eighth annual Colonel Darron L. Wright Memorial Writing Awards. Like us, Darron Wright was a soldier: a larger than life infantry commander with several tours under his belt. And also like us, Col....

31/03/2023

LOA is now accepting submissions for the 2023 Col. Darron L. Wright Memorial Writing Awards! This year's submission window is from March 31st to June 30th. Veterans and family members of veterans, prepare your best work and submit!

Non-Profit Literary Journal for America's Military Veterans, their Families, and Active Duty Members.

30/03/2023

I love this poem by Chris Allen. It's beautiful, and musical, and reminds me of growing up near Lake Erie walking in the woods.

Riva Ridge is a loop. It surrounds Korengal Valley Blvd. and is crossed by Euphrates. The base handbook says until thirty below we must maintain outdoor operations of all physical conditioning—Every degree below zero better preparation. The Adirondacks running up to Appalachian mountains, a s