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They Almost Got Me – A Cybersecurity Professional’s Brush with a Job Scam
Because I'm a cybersecurity professional recently targeted by fraudsters, I feel a responsibility to share my experience.
Ben Fortier
Feb 273 min read
25 views
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"Someone Will Remember Us" - A Play About War
I wish I could tell you to go see this play. Unfortunately, I’m writing this while they perform their last two shows of the year.
Ben Fortier
Feb 232 min read
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Visions of Hell - Flash Fiction (Horror)
Based on the writing prompt "Something ancient rises from an old pond." Horror flash fiction.
Ben Fortier
Aug 31, 20242 min read
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1 comment


Where Do You Belong?
Our system looked like a perverse amalgamation of capitalism, socialism, and plutocracy. It was a hooded taskmaster
Ben Fortier
Aug 25, 20242 min read
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Flash Fiction in the Style of Sci-Fi
They operated like a hive mind. When the signal was launched, they swarmed out from the tunnels. Their hands came through the sewer grates.
Ben Fortier
Aug 4, 20243 min read
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Trials at Parris Island
Parris Island in July. The confidence course loomed around us with its ropes, walls, towers, and murky pools.
Ben Fortier
Jul 19, 20244 min read
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Afterthoughts: Book Launch
July 2nd was the book launch of Afterthoughts, a compilation of writings by veterans with ties to Rhode Island.
Ben Fortier
Jul 12, 20242 min read
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Flash Fiction Friday: Icky the Monster and the Terrifying Crucible
This one sort of got away from me. Not gonna lie. The prompt was easy enough, but I went in a weird direction. For some reason, my mind...
Ben Fortier
Jul 5, 20245 min read
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Arachnid Convergence in Maplewood Hollow: A Flash Fiction Story
Discover the eerie events in Maplewood Hollow as a mysterious Arachnid Convergence brings trillions of spiders to this quiet New England tow
Ben Fortier
Jun 21, 20244 min read
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Flash Fiction Friday - 16mm
A woman finds old 16mm film from her childhood and sees that she had a sister — what happened to her?
Ben Fortier
Jun 10, 20242 min read
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Summer 2024 Update!
Veterans for Peace Poetry Reading I was honored to be invited by the Veterans for Peace to read poetry for them at their rally point in...
Ben Fortier
Jun 9, 20242 min read
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Book Review: Double Knot is THE cutting edge war memoir
For the first time in years, I recently had the fantastic experience of being so engrossed by a novel that I could not turn away.
Ben Fortier
Apr 24, 20242 min read
23 views
1 comment

"Phantoms" Wins the Robert Gannon Award for Poetry
The Marine Corps Heritage Foundation has created a series of distinguished, nationally recognized awards that honor a variety of media, art,
Ben Fortier
Mar 17, 20242 min read
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Grow Through Your Suffering
My stomach was doing flips like a professional gymnast on a trampoline. This was not the final inspection on the Parris Island drill...
Ben Fortier
Nov 29, 20231 min read
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Men's Mental Health Awareness Month
November is men’s mental health. These prompts were created by “The Lighthouse of Poetry” which is a page dedicated to mental health
Ben Fortier
Nov 7, 20232 min read
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Northern Fallujah - Entry Control Point
It was a Friday. A holy day for the majority of the inhabitants of our fair city. It was around the time it started getting disgustingly...
Ben Fortier
Nov 7, 20233 min read
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Dreams and Nightmares
I was recollecting all the times I had struggled to fall asleep. It felt like thousands, if not tens of thousands, of hours staring
Ben Fortier
Aug 30, 20234 min read
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"It's that simple." A Navy Veteran Tells It Like It Is
This is a revised essay, the original of which I wrote nearly two decades ago as a High School student. It is about my grandfather.
Ben Fortier
Aug 25, 20235 min read
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Book Review | "Left of Bang" by van Horne and Riley
The book “Left of Bang” is a facilitated version of the Marine Corps’ Combat Hunter program. This advanced infantry program consists of...
Ben Fortier
Aug 25, 20232 min read
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Poetry Review | THE CLEARING BARREL - ANTHONY ROBERTS
Review of Poetry Book The Clearing Barrel by Anthony Roberts.
Ben Fortier
Aug 24, 20232 min read
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