Many war movies and TV shows feature a climactic scene when a soldier finally breaks. My crisis moment in the Afghanistan War came not from combat stress, but from a TV commercial.

I should probably explain. American service members serving overseas have access to Armed Forces Network television. This morale booster is a high priority for the military. Our remote outpost in Afghanistan had AFN running in our chow hall as soon as it was built and the TV arrived. AFN showed popular TV shows and live or nearly live sporting events.