Outside the Wire: American Soldiers' Voices from Afghanistan

Contents

Contents Foreword by brian turner xi Preface xv Acknowledgments xxiii spc chantal ogaldez Spring 1 sfc billy wallace Deployment 3 Karbala, Iraq 6 sgt catherine lorfils How Every Soldier Leaves 10 pfc anonymous female They Were Just Kids 14 sgt jarrell robinson Meltdown 17 sgt sean moore Sat Phone Black Op 20 spc karl mulling One Hell of a Long Day 23 marie mulling Protection 28 Our Lives Today 29 pv2 anonymous female Coincidence 31 sfc michael bramlett B-Hut Blues 33 sra michal sakautzki Bombed 35 sgt latayna orama The Hardest Good-bye 40 viii CONTENTS sgt kevin zimmerman Routine Mission 42 pvt veneta white A Woman, a Boxer 48 sgt jose githens Little Girl, Run . . . It’s Not Safe Here 50 sgt anonymous male Death through a 9x Scope 54 sgt christopher williams My Great Sadness 57 sgt michael diggs 800 West Ash Street 61 sgt jessie evans Busted 66 Disappointment 66 One More Day 67 sgt elether fareaux I Would Rather Die in Afghanistan 72 pvt emily anderson A Moment of Silence 79 spc j. j. saldana Words Unspoken 81 ssg trina priddy Freedom 83 spc anonymous male The Big Bang 86 pvt eneshia myles He’s Gone 94 sgt benjamin lowery Another Day in Paradise 97 a1c nicolas gonzalez Journal Entries 100 sgt jeffrey lambert Field of Fire 104 CONTENTS ix tsgt jonathon lemaster New Parents Day 107 sgt josh wyly Roses 110 sgt joseph colvin Moving On 113 sgt dan yoke Anna Maria 114 spc andrew stock On the Shoulders of Dead Men 116 spc andrew stock The Hate 124 Soldiers Tell Why Writing Classes in a War Zone Matter 129 On Teaching Writing to Soldiers and Veterans 131 Writing Prompts 141 List of Abbreviations and Military Ranks 147 ...