because it
all seemed
like a
training exercise
shooting huge
guns at
fort Jackson
reminded daily
that everyone
is potentially
in combat
like a
training exercise
shooting huge
guns at
fort Jackson
reminded daily
that everyone
is potentially
in combat
because it
all seemed
like a
training exercise
in England
in their
clean mock
hospital where
we loaded
patients off
stretchers
there was
no blood
and nobody
screamed
all seemed
like a
training exercise
in England
in their
clean mock
hospital where
we loaded
patients off
stretchers
there was
no blood
and nobody
screamed
because it
all seemed
like a
training exercise
until the
first child
died the
first Marine
called home
crying because
he had
no legs
the first
detainee tried
to hurt
me as
I tried
to change
his dressing
all seemed
like a
training exercise
until the
first child
died the
first Marine
called home
crying because
he had
no legs
the first
detainee tried
to hurt
me as
I tried
to change
his dressing
until I
came home
to nightmares
and flashbacks
ghosts and
panic in
crowded rooms
and loud
noises until
I realized
I never
really
came home
at all
came home
to nightmares
and flashbacks
ghosts and
panic in
crowded rooms
and loud
noises until
I realized
I never
really
came home
at all
Soldiers -- Jean Mirre
Ft. Jackson. in Columbia, South Carolina, is a US Army installation used for Basic Combat Training. As Camp Jackson, it was created in 1917 as the US entered World War I, then abandoned in 1921. Reactivated for World War II, it was to have been deactivated by 1950, but the Korean War began before it could be closed, and it is still in operation. It is the army's largest Initial Entry Training Center, training 50% of all American soldiers and 60% of the women entering the army each year; annually, 35,000 recruits attend basic training and 10,000 advanced-training individuals attend the U.S. Army Soldier Support Institute, the Department of Defense Chaplain Center and School, the National Center for Credibility Assessment (part of the Defense Intelligence Agency), or Drill Sergeant School.
ReplyDeleteMatt Borczon is a force to be reckoned with. Great stuff, as always.
ReplyDeleteStunning. Poet Laureate of Modern War.
ReplyDelete