MoonShine

  I write about the sun and moon a lot. Their very presence always seeps its way into my mental images. Their power is so archetypal and ancient, they make perfect backdrops for almost any moment, scene, or feeling. The glimmer of moonshine on the barren landscape of my FOB, or the beauty of sunshine on our days are constants. Everything else around here, including us, is in a state of perpetual change. Looking down around here, all you see is dirt, dust, rocks, and debris – twisted metal and trash. Lately my immediate world is a morass of thick mud, so I have a tendency, both physically and figuratively, to look up.

      Just now some friendly artillery was fired. I heard the BOOM, and then the glorious sound of the projectile sluicing the air a few hundred feet over my location towards a carefully predetermined target. I won’t miss that sound, but I do love it. I could actually hear the whizzzzz – whistling past me as the Doppler Effect played tricks on my ears. There is a dark satisfaction in hearing friendly fire in response to enemy fire. Sometimes I cheer out loud. But the juxtaposition of the skies’ gray coloration and the symbolism of the artillery is still an odd one. What a surreal experience to be in the midst of war, on a common rainy old day, where men who were once innocent children fire projectiles of death back and forth at each other. The double or underlying perception is just as interesting – how life back home goes on as usual. You may not be there, but the sun still rises through your bedroom window. You car looks the same. Your home stereo is playing music - awaiting your return. Your dogs still bark at the neighbors. And all this is occurring when the most intense moments of fear, determination, chaos, and even monotony are upon you.

   I work among people who have the mental, emotional, and physical agility to put their personal lives on hold, as it were, and remain vigilant and perpetually focused on the mission at hand, so that we can defeat this enemy and get home safe. And they do it with a smile. They make it look easy. We laugh and joke and seize the moment constantly. They are true professionals, and I’m very proud to serve with them. Beneath this moon, and these stars, which shined down on America only hours before, lives are changed forever, strength is wielded, lessons are learned, and determination always challenged. Sounds a bit like everyday life for some, I know, but in this place emotions are magnified, a primal awareness of mortality is faced more often, and heroes are made each and every day.

As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.      -Proverbs 27:17

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