Fire Watch

Marine Corps drill instructors represent one of the most legendary roles in the military. From the 1987 war movie "Full Metal Jacket" to their essential job of making new Marines at boot camp in 13-week cycles, the role has become iconic to the public and within squad bays alike.

Last month, Military.com and The Washington Post published a joint investigation into the mental health and personal struggles that have afflicted the drill instructor population. With my reporting partner, Kelsey Baker, we found that the high-stress environment for drill instructors was bleeding into some of their personal lives, causing depression, suicidal ideations, familial tension, sleep issues and increased alcohol use to cope.

We heard from leadership at both recruit depots. They said that the challenges long associated with the drill instructor role have improved over the last two years, citing recent data about reductions in suicide and misconduct for DIs, increased morale and other metrics the service says prove that point. They also outlined current processes for depot staff to receive mental health help.

Two sources who have been at the depots since these changes started said things have shifted for the better in some ways. The conversation about DI stressors was overdue, but they added that there are still underlying issues when it comes to mental health stigma, personal and familial stress, and a residual sense of being under a microscope when it comes to alleged misconduct.

Now, the question is this: As improvements are being made, will those changes fix long-standing structural problems affecting drill instructors -- and will the Corps continue to push for progress?

In this episode: Kelsey Baker, Gunnery Sgt. Steven Banuski, Michael Nichols, Col. Christopher McArthur, Drew F. Lawrence, Lieutenant Commander Nicholas Petikas

Since announcing his campaign for re-election, the public has weighed and dissected the merits and shortfalls of incoming President Trump's aims for the military.

But what has been missing is how these promises or inferences might come to fruition and what challenges they may face on their way to implementation.

In this episode, we spoke to two people with collective decades of experience in analyzing military policies, both foreign and domestic. We talked about five promises – or policies floated in the media – that will likely see early headway in Trump's military.

In this episode: Michael O'Hanlon, NBC News, Katherine Kuzminski, Drew F. Lawrence, President Donald Trump

At its surface, Stolen Valor is a legal term used to describe people who claim gallant military awards -- like the Purple Heart or Medal of Honor -- they did not earn in an effort to gain money, property or other tangible benefits, according to a 2013 congressional act.

But the phrase seems to have inhabited a broader meaning and gained a foothold in the public consciousness in recent years, one that has been sometimes divisive, but also critical to identifying when public figures might be embellishing or outright lying about their service records.

On this episode, we talk to three experts about Stolen Valor, the historic intertwining nature of service and politics -- and ultimately what it might mean for veterans looking to engage in the democratic process this election. We also look at how these fights over service brew and what they may mean for voters, too.

In this episode: Gov. Tim Walz, FOX10 Investigates, C-SPAN, Sen. JD Vance, Todd Connor, Anthony Anderson, Drew F. Lawrence, Dr. Lindsay Chervinsky

The V-22 was a novel aircraft when it was conceived in the 1980s. Promising to give American service members an advantage on the battlefield, it was versatile. It could fly like a plane, but rotate its propellers to take off like a helicopter. Military services jumped on it, especially the Marine Corps.

But since 2022, Ospreys have crashed four times during routine training exercises, killing a total of 20 service members. That figure is on top of more than 40 previous fatalities, many having occurred during a long and troubled development period for the aircraft. Concerns about the safety of the V-22 have lingered since its conception but have intensified with the recent deaths.

As their families look for answers, another trend with the crash investigations has emerged, and it has to do with pilot error. Time and time again after these crashes, pilots and crew are either partially or fully blamed. For loved ones trying to cope with the loss of these service members – often having a hard time getting complete or direct answers about what happened to their lost son or daughter or spouse – the assignment of blame adds only more questions. They ask: If there are known problems with the aircraft, why keep putting service members in it – and is it fair to point the finger at them when tragedy strikes?

Appearing in this episode: Lt. Col. (ret.) Doug Thumm, Thomas Novelly, Drew F. Lawrence, Amber Sax, Bart Collart, Tim Loranger, Congressman Stephen Lynch.

Last time, on Fire Watch, we took you inside Navy Boot camp. I was accompanied by Military.com reporter and Navy veteran Konstantin Toropin. And we came armed with a few questions: Is Navy boot camp different than veterans remember it? Is it still hard? And what do those changes say about the sailors joining the Navy today?

In this episode, we're taking a closer look at those changes – ones that have fueled generational dissent among Navy veterans who see new recruits as being coddled. But isn't there a better way to assess what the Navy and its new sailors are doing?

In this episode: Chief Petty Officer David Bevels, Rear Admiral Carl A. Lahti, Capt. Kenneth Froberg, Command Master Chief Van-Troi SibiliaMartinez, Konstantin Toropin, RDC, Commander Christopher McHenry, Recruits, David Rogers, Recruit, Video, Drew F. Lawrence, Announcement, ABC News

On this episode we will be focusing on years of underreporting of child abuse at Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake in California, one of the Navy's most sprawling installations which is located in the Mojave Desert.

This is a story about disclosure – or rather the lack of disclosure.

In this episode: Drew F. Lawrence, Konstantin Toropin.

In this episode we examine the history of the military, Hollywood and the veterans who brought real-as-can-be portrayals of that world to big and small screens. I interviewed some of the contemporary players – actors, advisors and writers – who made some of those portrayals a reality.

In this episode: Jim LaPorta, Drew F. Lawrence, Caitlin Bassett, Capt. (ret.) Dale Dye

We're in a Norwegian valley, high above the Arctic Circle. It's late afternoon in early March and a group of over a dozen infantry Marines are standing around an American and Norwegian chaplain. It's windy, cold. The Marines hold laminated prayer cards in dense gloves, some are shifting back and forth to stay warm. A radio chatters in the background with reports from the front.

"That symbol – that cross – came to signify that Rome could force people to obey out of fear, obedience out of fear of being raised upon that cross," a Marine chaplain said. "And Christ says, I will destroy the fear of death and dying. I myself will be raised upon that cross in order to evoke life and hope."

Article Five of the NATO agreement – if one is attacked, all are attacked – is a provision that binds these NATO countries together. The last – and only – time it has been invoked was in the aftermath of 9/11 when "NATO rallied in support of the USA," according to Vice Adm. Doug Perry, commander of Joint Force Command - Decades later, he said the alliance was now more relevant than ever because of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

We spent time with the Marines miles above the Arctic Circle in Norway as part of the largest NATO exercise in the region since 1988. We spoke to Norwegians, Swedes and Finns as well – all nations that contributed to America's fight in Afghanistan, all nations that lost troops to it, too. Now, those countries are on the brink of an uncertain future.

In this episode: Norwegian Chaplain, LT Kathleen Laboa, MONTAGE, Drew F. Lawrence, American Chaplain, Former President Donald Trump, Ville, Vice Adm. Doug Perry, HM2 Zachery Matthews, Marine Sergeant

Since the COVID-19 pandemic four years ago, recruiting across the military services has been in crisis. Many recruiters lost access to schools that were shuttered. The military also has been increasingly the subject of political attacks – mainly from the right of the aisle condemning the services as "woke." We'll get into that in the episode.

My colleague, Steve Beynon – an Army veteran and Military.com's Army reporter – and I wanted to see what it was like for recruiters on the ground floor. How do they recruit? Why were they at the Great American Outdoors show? Are the problems that gain so much traction in Washington the same ones that recruiters on the ground are experiencing?

We talked to people who approached the recruiting booth and asked them why they were interested in the Army. Some of the answers were pretty par for the course, and others were a bit surprising.

Appearing in this episode: Steve Beynon, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, Sen. Tom Cotton, Terri, Sgt. First Class Nickolas Gordon, Staff Sgt. Jonathan Volz, Lt. Col. Thomas Geisinger, Drew F. Lawrence, Carter