Hazard Ground

Despite the darkness of combat, there always seems to be moments of levity that surface from time to time. Paul Szoldra, whether he believes it or not, is a master at finding those moments. Whether it was Marine boot camp, or the unforgiving landscape of Afghanistan, Szoldra found humor to get him through the boredom, frustration, and nervous anticipation of combat. A near miss from an IED blast that most certainly would have taken his life, was all that was needed to make Szoldra all-too aware of the horrific realities of combat. But none of the darkness, including life-altering and life-ending IEDs, would have been overcome without humor. And so Paul Szoldra eventually left the Marine Corps and started the “Duffel Blog,” an online military satire publication that has seen over one million unique readers each month. The Duffel Blog has been praised by everyone from Defense Secretary Mattis, to former Pentagon spokesman George Little, and The Onion’s founding editor Scott Dikkers! Check it out on this rather