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19 DOI: 10.7330/9780874219043.c01 1 The Things They Bring to War Carol Burke Luck is always borrowed, never owned. —Norwegian saying Today’s US Army soldiers deploy with three sets of grayish green ACUs (Army combat uniforms) or three sets of the more trendy “multicams”; with a helmet that comes with pads, strap, and cover; with three pairs of G.I. boots that soldiers mold to their feet by wearing them, when new, in the shower; with canteen and cover, trenching tool, “Gerber” (a utility knife), and gloves; with both goggles to protect from sandstorms and sunglasses (“eyepro”) that are only marginally more stylish; with wet-weather gear, jackets and fleece for cold weather, and even subzero-weather gear and insulated underwear. The outerwear is of high quality, but soldiers complain that the basic uniform is far too heavy in the sweltering summer heat. They haul their Kevlar body armor (with attachments for neck, shoulders, and groin) and the hefty “small-arms protective inserts” (SAPI) plates that fit into the vest and protect against high-velocity rifle rounds, and two sleeping bags—one for warm weather, one for colder weather with the option of fitting the former inside the latter. Then there’s the “bivy,” the bivouac sack that insulates the sleeping bag from the cold and wet. Any soldier will tell you that the only way to sleep in Army sleeping bags is nude so that body heat will be reflected off the synthetic bag. They also carry an air mattress, a rain poncho, ammo pouches, a laundry bag, a waterproof washing bag, more protective gear, a “CamelBak” (water reservoir), and eating utensils. Everything, along with a few personal items, fits snugly into one rucksack, 20 Carol Burke three hefty duffles, and an “assault pack,” a small backpack for toiletries, laptop , underwear, socks, and towel for the several-day trip to their destination. Among the personal items, soldiers bring books for the online courses they will complete during their year away and extra sheets to transform a bunk bed in a tent shared with eleven to twelve other soldiers into a private space. They bring pictures of lovers, husbands, wives, and children and metal bracelets with the names of fallen comrades from previous deployments . Because most forward-operating bases (FOBs) maintain generators to heat and cool every tent and plywood structure and to keep the lights on, the computers working, and the showers hot, the soldiers and civilians who live on them bring earplugs to drown out the constant drone of generators . Some need more help in getting to sleep, and they bring white-noise machines and doctor-prescribed medication to counteract the psychological scars from previous deployments. Deployed soldiers sport their current unit’s patch on their left shoulder and the patch from a previous deployment on their right shoulder. That’s on the outside; on the inside they bring their freshly inked deployment tattoos or the designs of tattoos commemorating previous deployments. Marines typically have themselves inscribed with the Marine eagle, globe, and anchor or the motto “Death Before Dishonor” as “visible reminders of who they are,” according to retired Marine Corps commander Colonel Mike Denning. Other soldiers wear images of skulls, flames, and weapons attesting to their power to vanquish whatever menace might come their way. Some soldiers who have come “downrange” (soldier-speak for deployment) to Iraq and Afghanistan have brought with them a second set of dog tags, what they refer to as their “meat tags,” an exact image of their official dog tags inked onto their torsos. Since the single most deadly weapon in the insurgent’s arsenal in these conflicts is the improvised explosive device, many soldiers make sure that their body, should it be blown up by an IED, can be distinguished from the remains of others. The stated purpose, however, is probably not the real function this practice serves. First, every squad leader and his platoon leader know who is going out on every mission and would instantly know who is missing. What’s more, bodies would likely be charred and the “meat tag” unrecognizable were the explosion to leave only a torso. No, the ritual of going with buddies to get such a tattoo allows soldiers to acknowledge the worst that might happen, note that harsh fact on their flesh, and then get on with the mission. Meat tags function in the same way as macabre battlefield humor; they symbolically inoculate the soldier against thoughts that might...

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