So... I'm at a high school today, sitting in on a presentation the Brigade Recruiter (a good friend and colleague) was giving for a careers class. He asked me to tag along to answer questions about the infantry, specifically the local regiment (RHFC) as he wants to maintain an equal presence of both units in the area (RHFC and 31 Combat Engineer Regiment, Waterloo det... He's an engineer).
I generally have no problem coming out to these gigs, as it gets me out of the office for a while... And I don't mind answering questions about my trade; thats my job. But every time I go to a school, someone asks about Afghanistan, since it's the buzz topic for the military, and the question everyone has is; have you been there?.
Both the Brigade Recruiter and I were on TF 3-06... He and I have been friends for a while, and he knows what happened to me and C Coy during the tour... So when he gets asked that question, and I'm there, he replies with "yes. We've both done a tour... I was there for 7 months, but he came home a little early due to injury." Which is always followed by more questions... in the end, I end up reciting the chapter from outside the wire, or I summarize, as was the case today, with "I got shot up, I came home." (in my mind I'm thinking; "read the book".)
Anyway, once people know the details, more questions come up. Here are some of the classic ones and my response... all of these were asked today.
Q: You were injured? Where?
A: In Afghanistan.
Q: No... where were you hit?
A: (more persistent) In Afghanistan
(this goes on for a while like bad Laural and Hardy shtick)
Q: Were you scared?
The common (and more correct) answer: "anyone who says they're not scared in battle is a fool. You just have to rely on your training and instincts... deal with the fear later"
The answer I give depending on the attitude of the individual asking: "No... It was fun... Like paint ball with red paint and pain." (lots of sarcasm)
I don't use that answer much... only for the kids who ask the question to be a smart-ass.
Q: "What's it like over there?"
Real A: [insert long description]
Answer for smart-asses: "Well... it's a lot like Canada... only it's hotter. It's dustier. It has a lot less modern stuff, and a lot more blown up stuff... and there are a lot of people shooting at each other... So... it's not really like Canada at all."
And of course... the winner of all questions:
Q: "Have you ever killed anyone?"
I get this question a lot... and at first I got mad when people asked this, 'cause it seemed kinda personal to me. But I've come to understand where this comes from; its usually a fairly valid question, and I try to answer honestly but not directly... usually with; "the role of the infantry is to close with and destroy the enemy... I did my job and I have not regrets about anything I did on tour."
But every once in a while I get the Smart-ass version... which I got today.
Q: "You ever shot someone in the face?"
A: "What. Today? It's only 10 am... I do all my face-shooting in the afternoon."
I don't know who was more shocked; the student who asked the question, or his teacher. (His teacher thought it was a funny and appropriate answer to a stupid question...)
I really love my job some days.