War like a Drug
I told you he’s the best American combat writer currently operating in Iraq. Teflon Don on War Cocaine:
The first time I got blown up, I had to remind myself to get up and look around for the trigger man or possible gunmen set to take advantage of the confusion. I felt like I was floating through a world where time stood still. There’s something about looking directly at an artillery shell and seeing it vanish with a sharp crack and rush of dust and debris that changes you. My brain was yelling at me “This isn’t normal! You shouldn’t be alive and thinking right now!”, and my body was yelling back “Well, I’m definitely alive, so hoist your doubting ass up into the turret!”
I’ve never felt more alive than I do in the moments after a near miss. I feel the same way after a big jump skiing, or after jumping off a bridge, but here the feeling is magnified a hundredfold. It’s incredible when you do something that you shouldn’t live through but do.
Don’t forget to read everything else he’s written while you’re there.
Posted by Jules Crittenden at 9:18 am on Tuesday, March 6, 2007
3 Responses to “War like a Drug”
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March 6th, 2007 at 4:43 pm
War like a Drug
War CocaineTeflon Don (H/T: Jules C.) There’s a rush that comes on the heels of significant events here.After the IED explodes, or the RPG whistles overhead, or the shot cracks past, there’s a moment of panic as you process the
March 6th, 2007 at 4:45 pm
Poor dumb kid shoulda studied harder so he didn’t get stuk in Irak to begin with. Ain’t that right, Johnny?
March 6th, 2007 at 4:50 pm
War like a Drug
War CocaineTeflon Don (H/T: Jules C.) There’s a rush that comes on the heels of significant events here.After the IED explodes, or the RPG whistles overhead, or the shot cracks past, there’s a moment of panic as you process the