Page 713 - Total War on PTSD

used in emergency extractions for mined areas. While landing, a C-130 had a tire blow which caused them to pull off the runway into an uncleared area we used to call “Charlie keyhole.” My squad leader and I cleared a safe lane to the door which allowed them to exit the downed aircraft safely. After that extraction I was selected from a small group of handlers that supported a team of Special Forces in the Nangarhar Province.
I was introduced to the other side of war there. I was no longer behind safe high fencing and alarms; I was out on the very furthest reaches of the country with a team of 12 guys and a few support staff they kept on site. We lived in a what appeared to be a castle. We had the circular towers on each corner of our compound, each with some type of crew served weapon ready to be manned if needed. We had soft skin trucks with little to no armor and were told that speed was security.
This was where I started learning a lot more than handling a dog, I was retaught explosive calculations by the Weapons Sergeant. I learned ethernet cable network setup through the Communications Sergeant. I learned basic medical skills from their over qualified Medic. I was learning tactics from the Team Sergeant and the Commander.
I was attached to this team to assist in the vehicle control point set-up near our camp, as well as assist with mobile operations. I would bring my dog through after they finished clearing a compound of hostiles. While they were cleaning up the inside I was part of the outer security and then they would call my dog and I in to check for explosives.
At the age of 20 I was experiencing the full nature of war. The first time I reached down to pull a corpse from a vehicle the body felt like jello. This happened a few weeks before my 21st birthday. It was like every bone in the body had been pulverized or
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