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Soldiers' small talk in the Afghan war: Geography, grad school and Rocky IV

29.05.10

It is exceptionally easy to forget that the majority of the men and women fighting in Afghanistan and Iraq are just a few years removed from costly school. As a military reporter, I've had the chance to see them as they really are, in those odd moments between boredom and heroism, when they're waiting for a helicopter, massacre time on outposts or starting to bump down a road that may or may not be laden with explosives.

In these moments, the troops can be goofy, heroic, profane, loyal and wickedly funny. In these moments, they are often just kids.

I witnessed one such snapshot last month, as I sat on one of the last U.S. helicopters preparing to fly into eastern Afghanistan's cruel Korengal Valley. American commanders were only a few weeks away from shutting down the base there, ending a bloody five-year stand-off with the Taliban.

A machine gun punched a nickel-size hole in the Chinook two nights earlier, and everyone paused to peruse it as they got on the big black whale of a helicopter.

Source: Washington Post