The Authors
Wolf Gregis
Wolf Gregis is a prominent German author, veteran, and advocate.
Born in 1981, he served as an armor officer in the Bundeswehr, deploying to Afghanistan in 2008 and 2009 with assignments in Mazar-e-Sharif and Kabul. Following his service, he earned his doctorate in the humanities and has since become a leading voice for the “forgotten generation” of German combat veterans.
Gregis is the creator of Helm ab (Helmets Off), Germany’s most influential independent podcast focused on military life and veteran affairs. He gained national attention through his advocacy campaign #20JahreDesinteresse (20 Years of Indifference), which challenged the German government and public to acknowledge the reality of the war in Afghanistan. His literary debut, the novel Sandseele (Sand Soul), was highly acclaimed for its visceral depiction of the soldier's experience.
With The Good Friday Battle (originally Das Karfreitagsgefecht), Gregis authored a Spiegel Bestseller that serves as the definitive account of the Bundeswehr’s most significant engagement.
He lives in Rostock, Germany, where he continues to bridge the gap between civil society and the military community.
Jeff Montrose
Jeff Montrose is a former US Army infantry officer and Iraq War veteran who has lived in Germany for over 20 years.
He is the author of In der Wüste des Wahnsinns (In the Desert of Madness), a memoir reflecting on his experiences as an infantry officer in Iraq. His essays on military ethics and international security have appeared in the Journal of Military Ethics and Neue Zürcher Zeitung.
A combat veteran, Jeff served as an infantry platoon leader during the Iraq War and holds a degree from the School of Public and International Affairs at the University of Georgia, Athens as well as a Master’s in Peace and Security Policy from the University of Hamburg. Currently, he teaches U.S. foreign and security policy at the Catholic University of Eichstätt-Ingolstadt in Bavaria, Germany.
A dedicated advocate for contemporary German veterans, Jeff is a longtime member of the German Council on Foreign Relations, and the German Paratroopers Association. He lives in Bavaria with his wife and three children.
