Featured image courtesy of the Speed Track store.
By Wes O’Donnell
Managing Editor, Edge
Editor’s note: We do NOT get any compensation for the links to these products. We link them here just for your convenience.
The holidays are in top gear and we’re quickly hurtling toward the climax of the 2021 holiday season. If you’re like me, and I hope you’re not, you wait until the last minute to do all of your Christmas shopping.
Let us make it easy on you with these top five gift ideas for the veteran in your life.
5. When the Tempest Gathers: From Mogadishu to the Fight Against ISIS, a Marine Special Operations Commander at War – Hardcover – Illustrated by Andy Milburn
With the Global War on Terror officially winding down as our nation pivots to larger, near-peer adversaries, this book takes a look back at the past twenty years from the perspective of a Marine commander.
Milburn has an unusual background for a US Marine, and this is no ordinary war memoir. Very few personal accounts of war cover such a wide breadth of experience, or with so discerning a perspective. As Bing West comments: “His exceptional skill is telling each story of battle and then knitting them into a coherent whole. By the end of the book, the reader understands what happened on the ground in the wars against terrorists over the past twenty years.”
As the commanding officer of the Marine Corps’ special operations regiment, Milburn was selected to lead a multi-national task force given the mission of defeating ISIS in Iraq. He retired in 2019 as the Chief of Staff of Special Operations Command, Central (SOCCENT), the headquarters responsible for the conduct of all US special operations throughout the Middle East. $26.26 for the hardcover
4. Flag Display Case with Room for Medals and Challenge Coins
All of my awards and certificates from my military service are in a bin somewhere in the basement. Like many veterans, we just feel a little off touting our own accomplishments. That’s what makes something like this such a great gift.
Most veterans would never buy it for themselves, so why not show your appreciation for their sacrifice by putting all of their achievements in one beautiful case? $139.97
3. The DD-214 Blanket
I know it’s ironic, but we willingly volunteer for military service and once we’re in, all we can do is look forward to getting out! Here’s a bit of information that will surprise exactly nobody: Sometimes the military can be a frustrating place to work. That’s why the DD-214, the official Department of Defense discharge form that grants you your freedom, is so important.
Now, when intrusive thoughts of cleaning a latrine with a toothbrush enter your mind unbidden, or memories surface of doing your fifteenth pointless FOD-walk in one day, you can cozy up to your very own DD-214 blanket! $59.95
2. Tactical Christmas Stocking
High-speed, low-drag tactical Santa approved! With the hook and loop patch for the nameplate, you can customize this stocking to suit your veteran. It is a large stocking with durable fabric and MOLLE which can be stuffed with all kinds of pogey bait. $20.99
1. 2021 This Day in Military History Boxed Calendar
Never forget our nation’s heroes! Discover the events, weapons, battles, and people that have shaped the battlefield―and the world.
This 2021 military history boxed calendar chronicles 365 days of interesting facts across centuries, dating from the American Revolution to the present. Get inspired every day and honor the veterans and trailblazers! $13.49
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