Last Days

I see the "wakeup" clearly up ahead. Here is a quote from "Last Days at the FOB":

"Do not mistake my words. I am not broken, nor am I damaged. The story of our mission is not a tragedy, despite our losses. The deepest etchings on my soul, the ones that will remain in both this life and the next, were the incandescent examples of valor, courage, and brotherhood I witnessed each and every day. The men who served at my side were bound to me, and I to them, with tidal forces that have no equivalent in the sterile formality of the living world. Back home the concept of "self" is a rigid construct, a domain mapped with the rigid formality of a land agreement. But here on the bleeding edge we became more something greater than our individual parts. We became a family."

Profound to the very core... Lt Currie, CPT Bout, and Major K are almost out of the combat zone, but, as Danjel says above, it's about those he fought beside, that have changed him. An echo of the veterans of combat in so many wars once more. Here's a link to an interview with CPT Danjel Bout on the Milblogging site. It's a very interesting read, and a chance to find out what one man's stress relief has managed to accomplish. (HT: Mudville Gazette.