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There are a lot of oddities... by WilfordBrimley
things that you wouldn't even really think about until you've witnessed it.
Whenever someone asks what it's like, one of the first things I say is that it's a very visceral experience - you remember sound, taste, smell, touch, and some sight above just about all else. It's your lizard brain.
We would get sent to these outposts for days at a time in pretty isolated places north of Baghdad. If your whole platoon hasn't showered in a week and has been on patrol over and over again in that heat, then you become pretty grimy, but you don't realize it and are used to each other's stench. If a female doctor or EOD specialist or supply clerk or CRAM tech came around, you could smell her on the compound before you'd ever see her. The fresh shampoo used in her hair was a lush and powerful smell.
A lot of it is odd and almost surreal and kind of funny. Climbing a wall in the middle of the night during a raid only to land in shin-high human shit on the other side and completely blowing your element of surprise when you start cursing is quite funny in retrospect.