One thing I've always liked about the military is there's a certain amount of pragmatism. Phil Klay amounthavemilitary Change image and share on social
I ended up going to Dartmouth, and I did Marine Officer Candidate School during my junior summer. Phil Klay candidatedartmouthend Change image and share on social
When I was in Marine training I memorised 'The Waste Land,' which was a significant experience in terms of really breaking apart language and thinking about how the different voices in that poem function. Phil Klay breakexperiencefunction share on social
I write in coffee shops, libraries, parks, museums. I get antsy and then get on my bike and go someplace else, letting the ideas spin around in my head as I dodge taxis. Phil Klay antsybikecoffee Change image and share on social
There's a wide spectrum between a Navy SEAL hero-killer and a traumatized victim, but those are the archetypes - hashed and rehashed in the media, in popular culture, in the minds of people with a lot of preconceived notions but not much else. Phil Klay archetypeculturehash share on social
It's very strange getting out of the military, when you've lived in Iraq, and people you know are going overseas again and again. Some of them are getting injured. Phil Klay haveinjureiraq Change image and share on social
One of the things that's difficult for people to understand is when you join the military, you don't sign up as an endorsement of any particular policy of the moment. Phil Klay difficultendorsementjoin Change image and share on social
I've certainly thought a lot more about things like tyranny and patriotism and violence. I think I found some kind of clarity - definitely a thicker understanding. Phil Klay clarityfindhave Change image and share on social
War is an arena for the display of courage and virtue. Or war is politics by other means. War is a quasi-mystical experience where you get in touch with the real. There are millions of narratives we impose to try to make sense of war. Phil Klay arenacouragedisplay share on social
There's a tendency to look at anybody who joined the military as if they underwrote everything that happened policy-wise. That's not really the case. I have a friend who both protested the Iraq War and joined the military, and ended up serving two deployments in Afghanistan. Phil Klay afghanistancasedeployment share on social
