The Wisdom of The Powers That Be

I cringe, and for the first time in my life, I am utterly mortified. Paralyzed by fear.

We are dismounted. Walking through a hostile village where ODA allegedly killed some civilians the night before. The story differs depending on who one might ask, but the facts are as follows:

- Two JDAMs were dropped.
- 5-7 people were presumed killed.
- The villagers hate us, and now they're shooting at us.

In this small orchard, I realize I may die. I dive for cover as the first RPG hits, and taste mud as my kevlar grinds into the ground,

In wide-eyed terror, I glance sidelong at the trees just a couple of feet above my head. Limbs are falling off as they are being cut to pieces by bullets.

I hear death like insects buzzing above me.

Another RPG explodes.

I snap to, and force myself to say "fuck it." Pushing my body up behind the eight inch irrigation ditch that is my cover, I hide my emotions with a mad smile.

Anger.

I cannot see any targets. I scan furiously, but I can't see the lead element. I refuse to risk shooting an American in the back, so I am helpless as no enemy appears in my gunsights.

It is over as suddenly as it starts and the shooting stops. We are frozen for a moment and no one speaks.

Accountability.

Miraculously, no one is hit. It's true. God watches over fools. Or in our case, those who would pay for the mistakes of fools.

Like the frightened kids that we are, we beat feet back to our trucks, racing the setting sun and cursing the powers that be.

No one is a non-smoker tonight.