Double Failed IED Attack At US Marines Convoy In Ramadi - Iraq

A little (sur)reality from Iraq.

We have two large military base in this area, Hunter Army Air Field and Fort Stewart, homes to, amongst others, the 75th Ranger Regiment and the Third Infantry Division. Both units have seen extensive action in Iraq and Afghanistan.

I take a lot of military families out on tours. They often come to party and have some fun on the town with their families before they leave or right after they come back. I've had some pretty rowdy Rangers coming back from Afghanistan, letting off some serious steam. One group was so wound up I thought they were going to tear the hearse apart, literally. They were actually really nice guys and were apologetic about the damage, but I was sweating it for a while.

Not too long ago, I had a group from the 3rd ID, just back from Iraq. At a certain point of my tour there's a pretty serious scare. Some have lost bodily control. I guess I wasn't really thinking about it, but when I scared these guys they started freaking out worse than any girl-scout troop. (of course, without the Beatles concert-style screaming, but pretty close.) I was a bit amazed. We all had a good laugh over it, but I became acutely aware of how affected these guys were. The ones shipping out don't react like that.