Read other letters about this article

• Monday, April 9, 2007 04:52 AM

  A Normal Day at the Office

  Hi Everyone,

  First--I don't mean to minimize this ariticle. It's important and the criminals that started this horror are just that--criminals.

  With that said...

  As a former light infantry (dirty nasty grunt '89-93'), and Military Police officer ('87-'89)--I can personally attest to this as day-to-day practice.

  It happens all the time--I've seen guys with full leg casts stumbling around in the dirt with spiral, green-stick fractures--you name it.

  I followed a guy on a 12 mile road march--the last three he had a broken foot. He told his squad leader, but ya know--when your 40Kms from the nearest road--what choice do you have but to hump, hump and hump....

  Short of dead--you're going back to the line.

  I personally had severed hand tendons, was walking around with this 'Curse of the Mummy' gauzey mess, and rubber-band contraption in the wet and the muck--yet was deployed (the injury was the product of a bad window smash and climb through on an assault--still can't give anyone the finger--but that's probably a good thing)...

  Now before anyone gets all frothy--these guys are mostly kept with the company's First Sgt. (the Sr. mean bastard of the unit) to help lug chow, support the patrols with weapons and ammo runs, the Walking Wounded (as they are known) keep the RTOs and thier radios up, clean the AO and such....(in the rear with the gear)...

  So--let's not get carried away too badly...it's not like Johnny had his hand blown off and is now trying to frag an Ivan with one dick beater (vulgar--yessss, but welcome to the trench)...

  On the other side--it doesn't make it right by any means, but on the ground--at the level that NONE of us see--not the embedded reporters, not McCain and his rug buying buddies--and certainly not his Highness Lord Bush and Iago Cheney--is that even though the Sr. Mean Bastard of the company is just that--one nasty SOB--he does get those guys off the FRONT line.

  It ain't right--it ain't pretty, but it's not like we are pressing old men and boys into defending Stalingrad with sticks and mop handles...

  So, take a grain of salt and remember that context and perspective are everything while we sit here as spoiled civilians in our pjs sipping coffee. Hell when you look at it like that a wrinkled shirt is a friggin' crisis....

  —PostMortem Read PostMortem's other letters
  Permalink
  Flag
  Click "Submit Flag" if you feel this post is inappropriate. Explain why below if you wish.

  Cancel