r/NewsThread

We Are The Mighty profiles retired Sgt. Maj. Mike Vining through the smaller personal details behind a much larger military résumé: Vietnam EOD work, Delta Force, Operation Eagle Claw, and later life outside uniform. The article uses the “sardines he never ate” story to humanize someone usually presented as a meme or legend.

Vining served as an explosive ordnance disposal specialist in Vietnam, where he recalled multiple near-death moments, including being left behind at an abandoned Special Forces camp and helping destroy the massive “Rock Island East” enemy weapons cache in Cambodia.

The profile also connects Vining to Delta Force’s early history. A related We Are The Mighty piece says he joined Delta in 1978 as an EOD specialist under Col. Charlie Beckwith, making him one of the unit’s original members.

The article’s strategic value is not just biography. It shows how specialized technical skills, especially EOD, became central to elite special operations as missions grew more complex and politically sensitive.

Vining’s post-service life, including mountaineering, historical writing, veteran community work, and distance from his internet fame, adds a useful contrast to modern military celebrity culture. The profile suggests that some of the most consequential operators may be least interested in mythmaking.

Do stories like Vining’s help preserve serious military history, or do meme-driven portrayals risk flattening complex service into legend?

Trump says US-Iran peace talks are in 'final stages' but warned Iran of 'nasty' consequences if they back out. Speaking at Joint Base Andrews, he described the negotiations as 'borderline' and added he'd prefer 'a few people killed, as opposed to a lot.'

For more than two decades, the United States has spent unimaginable amounts of money on wars in the Middle East, including conflicts involving Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria, and Iran-related military operations. While politicians continue to argue that these wars were necessary for “national security,” millions of Americans are left asking a simple question: What could that money have done here at home?

According to the [Brown University Costs of War Project], the total cost of America’s post-9/11 wars has exceeded $8 trillion when long-term veteran care and interest payments are included.

The wars in Iraq and Syria alone are estimated to cost nearly $3 trillion. Afghanistan added another $2.3 trillion. Even experts at [Harvard Kennedy School warned years ago that the final cost of these wars could reach between $4 and $6 trillion before veteran care and debt interest were fully paid.

Meanwhile, America’s healthcare and education systems continue to struggle.

Millions of Americans cannot afford basic medical treatment. Families go bankrupt over hospital bills. Insulin prices, mental health treatment, and emergency care remain out of reach for many working people. Public schools are underfunded, teachers are underpaid, and college debt has become a financial prison for an entire generation.

Imagine what even a fraction of those war trillions could have achieved.

Just one trillion dollars could have:

Expanded universal healthcare access

Eliminated massive amounts of medical debt

Modernized public schools nationwide

Paid teachers significantly higher salaries

Reduced or erased student loan debt

Improved mental health programs

Rebuilt roads, bridges, and public transportation

Invested in affordable housing and clean energy

Instead, much of that money disappeared into military contracts, weapons systems, overseas bases, and decades of conflict with no clear victory. Researchers from Brown University also found that a large portion of wartime spending went to private contractors, with billions lost through waste, fraud, and abuse.

The long-term consequences continue even after the wars slow down. Veteran healthcare and disability costs alone are expected to reach up to $2.5 trillion by 2050.

At the same time, ordinary Americans are constantly told there is “not enough money” for healthcare reform, education funding, affordable college, or helping struggling families.

That contradiction is what frustrates many citizens the most.

America has the wealth to provide world-class healthcare and education. The issue has never truly been a lack of money. The issue has been political priorities.

For decades, war spending has been treated as unlimited, while investments in citizens are debated as if helping Americans is somehow too expensive.

The result is a country spending trillions overseas while millions at home struggle to afford insulin, rent, childcare, or a college education.

A nation’s priorities are reflected in where it spends its money. And many Americans are beginning to ask whether endless wars have cost the country far more than dollars alone.