As a private contractor of a different nationality hired to compliment a small military force performing unique operations, I witnessed and experienced the harsh and cruel realities of a hidden conflict. Some of the atrocities are fleeting, others are somewhat more lingering. The extended torment that I speak of is that soldiers must survive or live in unimaginable conditions. I imagine that if your life what threatened daily by incoming mortar rounds or RPGs or an accurate shot by a sniper, and the soldiers live there.
Then, my thoughts wandered to the criminals that are housed in the confines of a prison walls back home. The prisoners may say that life in prison is rough, but I don’t think it can even compare or come close.
Then I wondered why don’t they make criminals come out here and fight for their country like these soldiers are.
I soon realized that combat is for the finest of men, best of the best, the truly brave. Why? Because in battle, you must know when to pull the trigger and when to stop. And maintain your personal integrity for as long as you possibly can if you’re captured.
This I know because no convict will have the guts to be a real soldier.