Courage
Keith Nightingale
Burning buildings. Criminals and gunfire. Common definitions.
Climbing upstairs at WTC when all others are going down. A common image.
Infantry is uncommon. It defines courage in terms common to them but different for those not there.
Daily endurance. Mind numbing boredom. Constant, consistent performance.
Just doing it. Just do it.
Ruck up. Move out. No questions. No answers.
Endure.
Dinner in a bag, a can or a cellophane wrapper.
Water. When available. Ration when not. Use with care. We will be here a while.
Bone deep cold. Constant goose bumps. Slowed muscles. Watering eyes. Cracked lips. The ruck brings some warmth. Ironic.
Cold weather gear helps but does not resolve. No thermostat or extra blanket. Crackling fires in the mind.
Woobie poncho is more cosmetic than truly comforting. Anything helps.
Endure.
Heat is all encompassing and forces limits, testing endurance of what can be done.
Just do it. Work through it. We are alone together.
Just being has mortal consequences. Courage by presence.
Courage by each. Courage by all.
Sleep is an ephemeral thing. Too much has fatal consequences. Too little harms the body and weakens the unit.
Figure it out. Ration the opportunities. Internal rewards and internal discipline. Save the unit by individual sacrifice.
Living close to the earth reduces needs and introduces the basics of life.
Scorpions, leeches, snakes and centipedes--survivors of pre-history, introduce themselves to modernity’s Infantry. Sucking, biting, stealing, insulting. Life on the edge. Basic. Common to all.
Endure.
The unit family lives on the edge performing for those with elevated conditions at enhanced places. There is a difference. Me and Thou.
The hill is so high. You will get there. Now.
The ville is a long way away. It is so bare. How can we get there without notice? Just do it. Do it now.
I need help. We need help. Will it come? Will I see the dawn?
Move out. Do it.
Courage is belief in the leaders when still untested.
Will they sell my soul? It’s ok.
It is so dark. Where am I? Where are they? Awake all night figuring it out.
Hide and seek as an adult game. Who can find who first?
First usually wins.
Awful loneliness. All encompassing. Suddenly. A brief command.
Help your buddy to his feet. Gone.
For now.
Courage.
Sharing cold, hunger, fear, humor, heat, deprivation, dirt, anxiety, awareness, shock, exhaustion, pain and pride.
The courage of the comrades. Pick it up. Move it. Do it.
Mind over matter. We mind, and they don’t matter.
Mortality in moments.
Don’t think. Do. You know how--do it! Everyone else depends on you.
Not quitting takes courage.
Quitting is not an option in the family.
Courage. A common virtue uncommonly present. Courage is a shared virtue and a core value.
Courage is the organizational cement of the soul.
Courage amongst all cements the courage of each.
Courage is pride and performance writ large.
Courage is what Grunts are.