SHOT OVER, SH#T OUT!

SHOT OVER, SH#T OUT!
By USMC Captain Pat 'Ski' N’ (Ret)

In the first days of the invasion in 2003, my convoy of Marines found itself at Jalibah Airfield. The previous couple of days had been pretty intense with little or no sleep, much less any time to take care of certain bodily functions, especially considering the bulky MOPP suits we had been wearing since the night prior to the initial push across the border. During a lull in the festivities, one my Corporals attempted to take advantage of the quiet and security afforded by the open terrain, and quickly headed away from our position about 25 meters, entrenching tool in hand. As we witness him doff his trousers and prop himself up on his e-tool (the “e-tool lean”), we naturally begin throwing rocks at him. After a minute or two of ducking and weaving in order to avoid the onslaught of rocks, he deftly bobbed to avoid a large and well-thrown rock heading right for him. As he did so, his entrenching tool promptly collapsed, depositing him directly on the fresh pile he had created. I didn’t know whether to laugh or feel sorry for him, so I followed suit with my fellow Marines and laughed, heckling him as he sheepishly cleaned himself up. He was certainly not the only Marine to have an embarrassing story about bodily functions that deployment, but he was the first!
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We are honored to welcome Pat as a contributing writer!
Pat joined in our beloved Corps in 1992 and retired in 2014 after 22 years of proud enlisted and officer service. He is an OSW/OIF/OEF veteran with a storied SRB the size of a major city’s phone book.

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We are honored to welcome Chris as a contributing writer!

Chris is a 15P (Aviation Operations Specialist) with almost 12 years in the Army. He comes from a proud military family, has 7 deployments under his belt and has served with 3ID, 160th SOAR, 1CD and 4/25 BCT. He has an associates degree in Military History and is nearing his BA in Military Leadership.