New Soldiers

A lone soldier wanders through back streets and alleyways in a rural Iraqi town.  This area is suspected to hold many evil men who want nothing more than to cause pain and suffering to others, regardless of who they are.  This soldier carries the markings of the US Army forces, yet is not armed nor does he have an escort within view.  Calmly he travels through all the hidden areas that even most locals would decline to visit.

One arab man notices this soldier and instantly swings a weapon to his shoulder with the full intent of using it against this invader once his curiosity gets satisfied.  This is something he has never seen or heard of, no mention of an American so stupid has ever come his way.  His curiosity is coupled with uneasiness too.  Why would this person be traveling like this?  There is no sense.  His decision is to get rid of him from now, quickly.

A few quick snaps come from nearby and bullets bounce right around the soldier.  Calmly he turns toward the sound to get the coordinates of the person shooting at him.  He makes no effort to hide or protect himself from the gunfire, and somehow the enemy misses each time.

The arabic man cannot believe how terrible his aim has been today.  Each time he was certain that the soldier he was firing at would drop to the ground in pain before even having an idea of what happened.  Yet after three bursts the soldier is still unhurt, and incredibly has no intension of either returning fire or hiding himself!  This man knows that he must get closer, quickly, before the man can run.

Another man joins the rebel and they race toward where the soldier was last seen, they must reach him before he can get away.  The second man turns the corner and comes face to face with the American soldier, raises his weapon and fires directly into the soldier's chest.  The first arab joins him and fires his weapon also, aiming for the head.

Both men fall into slow motion, their minds begin to race beyond ability as they try to understand why this soldier is still standing.  Apparently all rounds passed directly through him and ended at a wall in the background.

The soldier slowly rises up into the air, no movement or emotions showing on his face.  When he gets about 20 feet high he stops and simply hovers right there without saying a word or making any motions.  Suddenly many other US soldiers arrive from different directions, fully armed and weapons pointed at the arabs.  When one arab lifts his gun, the soldiers fire in unison and both men fall to the ground, dead before touching the dirt below.

The soldiers look skyward and give a thumbs-up in thanks, then turn and break up again, heading back in the directions they came from.  The skyward soldier falls slowly back toward the ground and disappears before ever reaching it. 

Thousands of miles away a US Army Private stands up from his seat, removes his headgear, then looks to those around him and gives a thumbs-up as he heads for the rest room and a short break before going back to Iraq to help his fellow men.