Family

Sean’s parents were waiting for him back home. He was an only child which meant leaving them behind was not easy, to put it lightly. He is the only family they have and being thousands of miles away from them is not easy. But he understood his duties and so did they. And even miles away, his parents were his strength.

Receiving Mail

The mailman found Sean sitting on a bench with an untouched plate of food in front of him. He passed him a letter and patted his shoulder on his way out. Sean took the letter and put it inside his pocket. He got up and went back to his tent knowing he needed to be alone when he opens it.

Writing A Letter

Diffusing bombs was tricky but writing letters home was a whole other level of difficulty that Sean didn’t like to experience. When he put the pen to the paper it opened up emotions inside of him that he had kept locked away. It made him softer, more vulnerable. But at the same time, he would often find himself re-reading his parent’s mud-stained letters, to remind himself to keep going.

On Duty

Sean decided to save the letter for the night. He didn’t want to start his day feeling emotional and longing for home. It was time to be on duty, it was his turn to go out patrolling today with his team. He quickly loaded up his gear and packed his backpack, ready to leave for the day. 

Patrolling

Sean and his team were going patrol the area which was about 20 miles from their basecamp. He rushed outside and hopped onto one of the jeeps ready to take off for the day. Each jeep carried a group of five soldiers and a driver. Once everyone was on board, they were ready to head out.

Reaching

The jeep pulled up leaving behind a cloud of sand. The soldiers got out of the jeep and marched to their assigned areas, their boots crushing the rubble beneath it, and shoulders loaded with backpacks and rifles. The sun was shining brightly at the top of their heads, Sean could feel sweat dripping down his back already.