Cheri Arfsten, director of Military & Veterans Programs says, “We are proud to serve our nation’s veterans at PPCC, and even prouder to announce that we have two published authors in our ranks. Aaron Friese and Ismael E. Vega Jr., both veterans of the U.S. Army, took their harrowing experiences while deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan, and used them to teach us about the adversities experienced in war.”

Their essays are published in PPCC’s academic journal, Parley. “War is Hell, This I Believe” and “Strength and Honor” are two powerful essays that give the reader a glimpse into the world of deployed soldiers, but they also address the importance of brotherhood, duty, suffering, and honor. 

These essays give us a true sense of what is it like to be a soldier, what it is like to lose friends, and what it takes to begin picking up the pieces.  “All gave some and some gave all” is the overlying theme to both of these pieces, and now the ones who gave all will be forever memorialized in the pages of Parley.  

We thank our service members and veterans for their service and welcome them back home.  We are thankful for their presence here, not only because of the sacrifices they have made for their fellow countrymen, but also for the richness of experience they bring to our classrooms and our community.