Bunker Mulligan "Let us endeavor so to live that when we come to die even the undertaker will be sorry." ~Mark Twain

Just a quick update from Slice on how things are going in Afghanistan:

Things are going really well here. We are killing a lot of mid to high-level bad guys. If we had a little more time here, or if the Army would reinforce success, we could break the back of the Taliban. It’s amazing to watch our military in full force.

Looks like we may be extended for thirty days, but no one can say for sure. Still awaiting SecDef approval. We’re not even sure where it would be–here, Greece, Liberia, etc. It’s all a crap shoot. But if we do get extended, that may blow my goal of having single-digit days on the ship for a 6-month float.

Most Marines don’t feel comfortable at sea. Beaches suit them better!

This is Birdie’s new job in his brigade.

Not too bad for a snot-nosed kid. We’ll, I guess he has grown up.

I hadn’t really thought about it in these terms before. Perhaps it is because I wore a uniform for more than twenty years. And maybe it is because I have a son wearing an Army uniform, another wearing a Marine uniform, and yet another wearing a police uniform.

Heroism is a matter of perspective. I remember seeing video all over television when a disgruntled client attacked a lawyer outside a courthouse in California. Dozens of cameramen and reporters were there to film and comment on the scene, but not one rushed to intercede. The assailant had a small caliber pistol, so perhaps they were right in staying out of the way. As a military man, however, my first thought was, “Take that man down and disarm him! Don’t stand there filming! Stop the attack!”

To me, doing such a thing isn’t in the realm of heroism. It is a matter of duty as a human being.

Our military is made up of people who think in such terms. They are doing something heroic every day, although neither they nor I recognize it as anything other than doing their duty. To expect the same of a civilian–reporter–is simply too much.

Sarah discusses this in terms of having watched Under Orders, Under Fire. I recommend each of you do the same.