What happens when troops are idle? The "good idea fairy" shows up. Lt. Col. Jason Pike shares hard-earned lessons on military mission creep from Afghanistan and Vietnam—and why Venezuela might be headed down the same dangerous path.

We all have regrets. Looking back after writing my memoir, I was surprised to find I only carried two. One was professional—walking away from Ranger School out of fear. The other was personal—wishing I'd had more than one child. Two regrets. One in uniform, one in family.

Afghanistan has been called 'a place where empires die.' This Afghanistan war veteran perspective comes from serving there from 2011-2012, witnessing firsthand the primitive conditions and understanding why our withdrawal, though criticized, was always going to be messy. Here's what really happened.