My grandson’s truck got hit with one. The noise was so loud, he lost most of his hearing, and will need hearing aids. Instead of coming home, he opted to stay in Afghanistan at a desk job, until his unit leaves this summer.
Your grandson is made of the best America has offered from its earliest days.
Not because he sustained permanent physical damage, but because even after so damaged he insisted on staying with his fellow warriors to finish the job. They often award medals for such conduct.
Politicians come on the scene, take the oath, live well on the taxpayer’s dime and unless their behavior becomes a public embarrassment - if then, they ultimately retire comfortably, again on our dime.
Men like your grandson come along, answer the call of their nation, take the oath, and too often pay a price for the rest of their lives.
I initially believed, on the basis of close observation, that our nation building efforts in Iraq was along the lines of rebuilding Japan and Germany after WWII, and thus entirely warranted.
Now, however, as superfries and ThunderSleeps suggests in #41 and #42, for the sake of men like your grandson, our national security interest policy ought to be that our military goes in, quickly and efficiently resolves the conflict, and then returns home. We have the technology to quickly return if needed, and we should leave any rebuilding to other Americans.
Your grandson has earned the right to always be proud of his service, but it is almost certain he would even be more satisfied if our efforts were less politically coreect and more efficient.