Thoughts on incoming fire

Disclaimer: Mom and Diane- don't read this entry!

Incoming fire is a funny thing- on the one hand you quietly hope for it and on the other you dread it. Unless you've been under fire it's hard to understand.

I've posted the quote by Winston Churchill before but I'll post it again for the latecomers:

"There's nothing quite so exhilarating as being shot at and missed"

I've never been directly shot at with smallarms, but I've been around for a few rocket/ mortar attacks now and I've been around when we didn't know which direction they were shooting but it was fairly close. It's a bit of a rush afterwards, I can only imagine what it's like to be in direct combat. I'm not saying that I want to be, just that you get a serious rush when it's happening.

The other big thing is that people attitudes change- they get much more sociable and the little squabbles disappear. Suddenly that annoying habit that so and so has isn't so noticeable, etc. When your base isn't taking fire, people can get a little more testy with each other. We all live and work in a small area, we have no choice but to see the same people day in and day out. When things aren't stressful, little things annoy you more- the way someone drives, the way someone else eats, the bathroom that your hoochmate didn't clean, people not taking their laundry out the machine. When there are frequent attacks, you tend to not notice those things.

The other thing is the stories you will have- I don't have many friends who can say they've had a rocket go screaming overhead, fired by one pissed off fellow who'd like nothing more than to have it land on their head (I do have a few who can say that).

I suppose on a deeper level we all have something to prove to ourselves too.

"Am I man enough or strong enough of character to deal with this?"

It sounds silly when you say it, but most people have wondered what their breaking point is- how much can they handle. We thrive on stress or more specifically the adrenaline that it produces. Think about how many times you've bombed a downhill on your bike knowing full well that a crash at that speed and in those conditions would hurt like hell. Think about bombing the double black diamond slope at the ski resort or trying a ski jump or jumping out of an airplane or sampling any of a thousand other activities that bring you excitement mixed with fear.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not nuts and I don't want to be in direct contact with the enemy and I'd be just as happy if we didn't get any more rockets while I'm in Iraq. These are just observations, not aspirations.............