essay | Benjamin Fortier

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

"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.

The Damage Done by Sarah Cavanaugh

It’s hard for me not to react emotionally to the news of Sarah Cavanaugh being revealed as a “stolen valor” con artist.

Simple Machines: The Backbone of Hardware

An article about how simple machines have changed the landscape of devices and hardware.

The Witch of War: Lessons from the Global War on Terrorism Campaigns

My online social media accounts were filled with praise for our troops (particularly the Marine Corps) for hunting down and killing insurgen