Meanwhile, an actual soldier...

[Orogun01]

 

And yes, like everything else in the news, it's worth being cynical about.

Meh, cynicism hurts the cynic more than anyone. Its your life so...whatever.

[213374U]

Does the attempt deserve contempt and outright cynicism? "Oh yes, he saved lives, but he did it in a stupid manner that could have gone wrong."

I don't know if this is aimed at me, but I'm going to assume it was. There was neither cynicism nor contempt in my original comment -- I was simply reflecting on how big a role luck plays in making or breaking paragons. Much bigger than skill, physical condition and equipment, that's for sure.

 

The article itself was pretty sketchy on the details of the actual situation, but from what can be gleaned, the kids weren't under direct fire ("there was a chance they could be caught in the crossfire"), and they weren't running around in fear either, but rather, paralyzed by terror. If you've ever fired a machinegun -even a "light" 7.62 one- you know the last thing you do when on the business end of one is run around. Unless you feel like becoming the next Rodger Young. But maybe I'm just a coward.

[lord of flies]

One soldier did a nice thing, all war crimes committed by Coalition forces in Iraq and Afghanistan disappear.