The A few months back.

A few months back, a coworker of mine found out that I used to be in the Marine Corps.

I don't talk about it a whole lot, and my life took such a turn after I got out that you

really wouldn't think I was former military just from looking at me.

So when he found out, he was so surprised that he came to ask me if it was

true. The actual story of him finding out is pretty boring, so I'm sure you won't mind if I skip

over it. And then since me and him had gotten pretty close over the years, I didn't mind

answering all the questions he had. I ended up telling him a few funny stories from my days at Paris Island, and then eventually

we got into the topic of deployments.

I told him I'd been in Iraq from 2004 to 2005, and more specifically, how I'd taken part in

what became known as the Second Battle of Felusha.

At one point, he asked if it was scary, and while that might seem like a dumb question

on the surface, it's one that required a complex, multi-layered answer.

Sure, there were times when I felt frightened and afraid, but during most of the

firefights I took part in, all I really remember was feeling

mad about it. Someone starts shooting at you, and yeah, it gets your adrenaline up faster than

you can say incoming, but it's like one split second of abject terror, and then you and your

platoon mates are like, oh, you eff you effed up today mister and you're just angry

i'd get scared for other people more than i got scared for myself if it's me running from building to

building i'm focused on a hundred and one things but not so much my own safety if that makes sense

because i'm doing my job and helping

protect my buddies. But then, if it was someone else doing something dangerous and I could see it

...