Operation Homecoming is the result of a major initiative launched by the National Endowment for the Arts to bring distinguished writers to military bases to inspire U.S. soldiers, sailors, marines, airmen, and their families to record their wartime experiences. Encouraged by such authors as Tom Clancy, Tobias Wolff, and Marilyn Nelson, American military personnel and their loved ones wrote candidly about what they saw, heard, and felt while in Afghanistan and Iraq, as well as on the home front. These unflinching eyewitness accounts, private journals, short stories, and letters offer an intensely revealing look into extraordinary lives and are an unforgettable contribution to wartime literature. “One of the chanted mantras of our time is, ‘But I support the troops.’ Terrific. Now read Operation Homecoming to find out who they are, what they think, feel, want, have learned, won and lost in Iraq and Afghanistan.”—Daniel Henninger, Wall Street Journal “This anthology is the honest voice of war. . . . In the end, they are all one voice, a voice we must hear, and must not forget.”—Jeff Shaara “These voices are stirring, chilling, and unforgettable.”—Bobbie Ann Mason “[Captures] what journalists cannot, no matter how close they get—firsthand accounts from the warriors and the families they leave behind.”— Chicago Tribune “One of the chanted mantras of our time is, ‘But I support the troops.’ Terrific. Now read Operation Homecoming to find out who they are, what they think, feel, want, have learned, won and lost in Iraq and Afghanistan.” -- Daniel Henninger ― Wall Street Journal “This anthology is the honest voice of war. . . . In the end, they are all one voice, a voice we must hear, and must not forget.” -- Jeff Shaara “These voices are stirring, chilling, and unforgettable.” -- Bobbie Ann Mason “[Captures] what journalists cannot, no matter how close they get—firsthand accounts from the warriors and the families they leave behind.” ― Chicago Tribune “[These writings] help us gain a fuller appreciation of those fighting, and dying, in a war so far away and requiring so little sacrifice at home.” ― USA Today “The goal of the project, beyond providing an emotional and expressive outlet for military personnel and their families, and getting the basic eyewitness facts of history down on paper, is to add to a long tradition of war literature. . . . The collection rings with truth, the sort of truth mere obervers of war find hard to capture.” ― Washington Post Andrew Carroll is the editor of several New York Times bestselling books, including Letters of a Nation , Behind the Lines , and War Letters , which was also a PBS documentary. He is the founder of the Legacy Project, a national all-volunteer effort to honor veterans and active-duty troops by seeking out and preserving their letters and e-mails. He edited this book on a pro bono basis.     OPERATION HOMECOMING IRAQ, AFGHANISTAN, AND THE HOME FRONT, IN THE WORDS OF U.S. TROOPS AND THEIR FAMILIES THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO PRESS Copyright © 2008 Southern Arts Federation All right reserved. ISBN: 978-0-226-09499-1 Contents Preface by Dana Gioia.....................................................................xiIntroduction by Andrew Carroll............................................................xix1. And Now It Begins Heading into Combat.................................................22. Hearts and Minds Interactions with Afghans and Iraqis.................................663. Stuck in This Sandbox Gripes, Humor, Boredom, and the Daily Grind.....................1324. Worlds Apart Life on the Home Front...................................................1905. This Is Not a Game The Physical and Emotional Toll of War.............................2506. Home Returning to the United States...................................................322Acknowledgments...........................................................................397Glossary..................................................................................401Credits and Permissions...................................................................403Index of Contributors.....................................................................405Index of Titles...........................................................................407 Chapter One AND NOW IT BEGINS HEADING INTO COMBAT I remember the golden globe in the vast courtyard between the two buildings and a spattering fountain next to cold stone benches. Inside, I would look up in awe at the cathedral-like glass, the suspended walkways, and the grand, vaulted ceilings rising ten stories, crowned with a diadem of crystal chandeliers. I remember the large fabric hanging artwork. I can still smell the concourse level's red carpets when they were new. I was eleven. I remember sitting on those red carpets with my schoolbooks, imagining I was in