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Voices from Iraq: Spc. Devon Stewart, 4-23 Infantry Regiment

Feb-20-2006 » Filed Under: 172nd SBCT

Link to Full Article
Anchorage Daily News

. . . There have been soldiers that have written and made it sound like all of us have plenty of free time, and that life is a walk in the park. Although this is true for a certain few, the majority of us do not have the luxury of a set schedule, or the time required to enjoy the facilities provided on a day-to-day basis.

I am not going to sit here and write that my first tour of combat duty has been hectic every second, moving from building to building avoiding a constant barrage of bullets. That would be a lie.

It would also be a lie to not tell of friends being hurt in vehicle explosions by radical Muslims and foreign fighters. To not tell of snipers' bullets missing their intended mark by inches, bouncing off the armor of an open Stryker hatch and placing fear in the lucky soldier; of Iraqi Army soldiers, whom we are training day in and out, being killed in IED explosions as they drive in front of our vehicles while patrolling the streets of Mosul.

Those are the things that stick out in my mind as I wake up every morning (or night) and put on my vest, load my M-249 machine gun as we exit the wire and get ready for whatever is going to happen. [...]


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