U.S. Army — Telling a Bigger Story
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Concepted and wrote a long-form brand narrative to modernize the U.S. Army’s tone of voice. The piece explored how to communicate purpose and global relevance in language meant to inspire future creative directions across voiceover, campaign, and brand work.

We make things explode.

Like your preconceived notions about what we really do.
Day in. Day out.

When disaster strikes—hurricanes, power outages, chemical or nuclear incidents, wildfires—we are there, on the ground, protecting lives and property. We operate a quarter of our nation’s hydroelectric power and store water to be used during droughts. Our Corps of Engineers builds and maintains our nation’s system of 2,500 levees, preventing hundreds of billions worth of potential flood damage.

Not what you expected?

Why not, when our dedicated technical and medical researchers have provided countless breakthroughs? The drones most useful for civilian farmers, journalists, and first responders? That’s us. Advances in small-scale wireless networking? Also us. Cell phone battery life research? That’s us too—we need our soldiers safe and reachable. You’re welcome. Infectious disease breakthrough research? We do that too, tracking, identifying, and stopping Ebola and, before it, yellow fever and the bubonic plague.

We are the U.S. Army. We quietly protect you from epidemics, natural disasters, and your phone battery running out. Oh, and we also safeguard the Korean peninsula, ensuring that U.S. phone manufacturers can keep making phones, many of which rely on parts from South Korea.

That’s what we do. We give Americans peace of mind. And we are proud to say that we do our job so well that people can take it for granted.

For decades, we were the glue holding together global stability and economic progress. We were vital in improving American social policy towards people of color and marginalized communities, establishing the right to serve as a hallmark of full citizenship, and prompting and promoting national movements for equity and equality. We were desegregated six years before the Civil Rights movement began. We repealed ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ several years before the Supreme Court approved gay marriage. Today, LGBTQ+ soldiers are an essential part of the U.S. Army.

We wave the flag of our contributions to society with the compensation we offer to our service members. In a world where stability is hard to find, we offer comprehensive healthcare, housing, cost of living allowances, home loans, childcare, family services, career support, education and training, employment opportunities, and much more. Through multiple types of pay and benefits, we promote their personal development and allow our service members—and our society—to thrive.

We’re the U.S. Army, the oldest, largest, and most senior branch of the U.S. military, and our role stretches far beyond that of the nation’s defense. We are diplomats, guardians, researchers, social workers, inventors, and rescuers. We build infrastructure. We save lives. We power the country and we protect it.

Join us to keep the world safe. Join us to defend equity and equality.
And yes, join us to sometimes make things explode.

We are the U.S. Army.