The Unpleasant Life of an American Soldier in Iraq



Lest we glorify the life of a soldier too much, Ron Martz paints a stark picture of what its like in the Atlanta Journal Constitution:



[this] was not nearly as dramatic or dangerous as the situation in which Sgt. 1st Class Brett Waterhouse, 37, of Gainesville, Fla., found himself that morning.



Waterhouse was using one of the fighting positions around the intersection as a toilet when a man approached and began screaming at him in Arabic. Waterhouse tried, with his limited Arabic, to tell the man to go away, but the intruder continued to scream and throw rocks.



Waterhouse was hastily completing his business when the man launched one final, sizable rock that was going straight for his head. Waterhouse fended off the rock with one hand, cutting a finger.



"That could have killed me if it had hit me in the head," Waterhouse groused.



When the man continued to approach, Waterhouse and several other soldiers pulled their weapons and shot the man.