Guard Duty

I spent part of my day outside watching people build shit. This was by no means an exciting event to speak of. I somehow doubt it could turn into a any sort of screenplay, so I’ll make it a blog post instead.

I started out in a chair. I had a book with me. I opened the book but I never read a single page. I sat their watching the guys work. I stood up and watched them work. Arms folded. Walked, stood and sat. My purpose for being there was to make sure that these foreign contractors weren’t planting explosives or rigging shit in some way to create casualties.

Last month there were ten Marines who were blown into charred pieces at the commencement of an award ceremony. They were in a building left over from something or other and one of the Marines stepped on a floor panel that trigged, I believe, three artillery shells that were hidden underneath the floor. I’ve already told you the rest. So this isn’t a job to be taken lightly.

Not that it makes a difference who it is, but it could be myself and the guy next to me who one day who fills a back page article about an explosion. Some obscure media line about a couple of soldiers who died while on duty.

Two Army soldiers were killed Thursday from explosives hidden in concrete. PVT Charlie, age 20 of Pleasantville, USA and SGT Rolligun, age 26, of SpringTown, USA, died as result of the blast. Both were assigned to Army’s 242 Command Battalion.

The story would be on page 10C.

I didn’t have a loaded weapon with me, just a knife. It was just me and three workers. Most people like Americans, appreciate what were trying to do and the jobs we provide, but not everyone. I asked myself what would happen if these three guys decided they didn’t like me. It’s one of me and three of them. Then what? To my knowledge there hasn’t been any incidents of foreign contractors attacking a soldier on any kind of post, but it was something I thought about. All I had was knife and at least one them would go down with me. But I digress, I don’t won’t to say that there was any real threat in that situation. There wasn’t. It’s nothing like patrolling a hostile town or going door to door looking for insurgants. Things I’ve never done, it’s just my imagination asking what if this were to happen, what would I do?

Mainly I just paced around the work site. I would sit down and then get up. Take a lap and then stand. Sit down, get up, take a lap, stand. I would stand there with my arms folded across my chest and my hat pulled down low, just above my eyes. I watched them work and let my mind wander. Stand and pace. Think. They must have thought I was the most anal and serious guard they’ve had yet. I just stared with arms folded, but really I was just lost in thought.

~Rolligun