Still In Kandahar

Today is my one year anniversary of being out of the Marine Corps. I would would guess that every war veteran, at some point in their life, actually misses being in a combat zone. I don't mean that they miss actual combat with all the killing and having friends die, but the small things that make such a life unique. Maybe it's just me. I doubt it though.

I miss the adrenaline rush that comes from an incoming mortar or rocket (you can tell the difference by the sound). I miss the absurd pranks that take place in the barracks area. I miss everybody gathering around a guitar and singing horribly even though nobody has had a thing to drink for months. I miss watching women run by in their Under Armour t-shirts and silky green PT shorts. I miss the late night spades games. I miss being on the boat and having steak every other night and then going to Afghanistan, a land-locked country, and having shrimp, lobster, and crab legs every weekend. I miss the jingle trucks. I miss the thoop! of Romanian mortars. I miss throwing rocks into the perimeter minefield hoping to set something off (we never did). I miss doing grease jobs with Lenny. I miss arguing with some slimy French bastard about a table in the coffee shop. But I think that most of all I miss the feeling of camaraderie that only comes in a situation such as war. When the guy that you think is a major asshole back in the States is the same guy who you may be having to trust with your life in the desert, and you are ok with that.

There are times that I think to myself, If they asked me to, I would go back. But then I go home and look at my daughter sprawled asleep on the bed and my wife curled up next to her and I realize that never in a million years would I do it again. Not for all the camaraderie in the world. So to all you soldiers, sailors, airmen and especially Marines still over there, keep your heads down, stay safe, and come home to your families too. Come back to where you belong.

Thoughts of the day:

"That strange feeling we had in the war. Have you found anything in your lives since to equal it in strength? A sort of splendid carelessness it was, holding us together." - Noel Coward

"It is well that war is so terrible, or we should grow too fond of it." - Robert E. Lee