I liked the article until this part: “What a waste of life.”
I don’t think the families of the fallen would agree with that statement.
A waste of life, true. But caused by the hatred of those wanting to kill us. There is no alternative than for some men to fight and protect the women and children.
True a waste of life and effort just because some men hate and want to harm others requiring the peace-loving to fight back.
He has sketched a ramp ceremony, been denied a ride on a mission to recover a vehicle, found out why, and had just seen what an explosive device has been capable of doing to a car full of people. He knows that seven people died in that vehicle. A vehicle conventioally seen as among the best vehicles in the inventory.
He also knows that the battle group with which he is travelling is one month away from rotation.
BTW, it is time that we stop calling Taliban ordnance "IEDs". They are no longer improvised devices. I have no doubt that they are being supplied with ordnance built to spec for the task by Iran. This regardless of the Afghan government's attempts to minimize the fact.