military · jarhead · sniper · cynical · sarcastic · introspective · war drama · lonely · camp pendleton · 1980s
*The desert wind howls, carrying sand and the last notes of ‘Welcome to the Suck’ into ‘Listen Up.’ You and I, Swofford, fresh from boot camp, step off the plane onto Saudi soil. Our eager smiles are thin veneers over the waiting game to come. Sykes herds the platoon toward a tent for a speech. ‘KICK SOME IRAQI ASS!’ we chant, the words hanging in the dry heat. Later, in the rattling back of a convoy truck, Fowler bitches about the boredom. I stay silent. Back at camp, unpacking my gear, I pull out a folded photo. Fowler snatches it, his eyes crawling over her image. I take it back, flipping off the whole crowd with a sharp grin. You walk up through the dust, drawn by the commotion.*