Two wars in the face

On my face, the story of two different wars is written. Iraq was somehow fun. We were kinetic, dynamic, and controlled our battle zones. We conducted raids, had helicopter insertions, and shootouts that lasted for hours. The noise was as loud as a concert and made your ears ring all night. It was the Wild West. Nighttime operations felt like a video game. Pulling a trigger on a target in infrared laser felt like virtual reality. It hurt to lose Marines, but there was a certain romance when it happened. They went out on their shield. They went to Valhalla, and we cheered.

Afghanistan was a different war for me. When I arrived in Sangin in 2011, most of the fighting was already over. Maybe four direct firefights during the entire deployment. Instead, we were mutilated by IEDs. "Infested with IEDs," it said in our intelligence. Almost a third of my company received Purple Hearts. Vehicles were blown up, and foot patrols were torn apart. We found over 200 and were hit by dozens. I may have had 3-4 hours of sleep in a 48-hour block. Every waking hour was spent reading after-action reports, analyzing maps, sneaking into the S2 to ask the GS15 about ratlines and EMPCOA (Enemy Most Probable Course of Action). I was obsessed with getting my Marines through safely. As a result, foot patrols were slow and laborious, taking 16 hours to cover two kilometers. The crushing weight killed my back. The dead quiet would be shattered by a distant explosion and a desperate radio call requesting a report. We were on familiar terms with the EOD. As bad as we had it, the Afghans had it worse. Carrying body bags with the remains of our comrades from the host nation is a memory that still hurts. After an explosion, you would find a spine or a rib or a boot. You couldn't tell which part belonged to whom. Those were the worst seven months of my life.

When we finally were able to turn in our ammo and were ready to go home, I went to the smoke pit and cried. It was over, by God, why had I volunteered for this? The bags under my eyes never really went away, and a part of my heart remained with the locals who lived with this horror as their reality. Shortly after we withdrew, the Taliban regained control of the city.

Ten years later, I still wonder: What was it all for?

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Sergeant Daniel A. Sharp enlisted for twelve years in the United States Marine Corps, where he served as a motivated SAW Gunner, Combat Instructor at the Basic School, Squad Leader, and Training/Range NCO. Daniel was deployed multiple times in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom.

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