I heard how dry and hot the desert was, but it didn't set in just how brutal the conditions were until I traveled to Afghanistan for my first tour overseas. The heat suffocated me, and I felt as though I was breathing in the sand with every breath. The first day, I sweated through my uniform within the first hour and reminded myself to drink as much water as possible to avoid dehydration. Even with the air conditioning turned on in our makeshift tin shelters, the temperature still read eighty degrees.

The desert went on for miles and miles, far past my eye could see. I never thought I'd miss the sight of grass and trees, but I did. Luckily, I had Spence and Hudson by my side. We endured together, as always. I never imagined the camaraderie we shared was possible. We relied on each other more than anyone else and entrusted our lives to each other's protection.

We didn't know a whole heck of a lot about our first mission when we landed, but it soon became clear what it entailed. There was a group of Taliban rebels taking down soldiers delivering emergency supplies on the ground to other military bases, and civilians caught in the middle suffered fatal consequences.

Three humvees in the past month alone were attacked as they planned to deliver food, medicine, and clean water. Our goal was to hunt those motherfuckers down and show them not to fuck with America.

First, we needed intel of who these bastards were, where they were coming from, and the kind of weaponry they carried. With the help of several intelligence agencies, we found out the specific Taliban group consisted of twenty to twenty-five men from a local village. They had automatic weapons and kept a post of men who rotated shifts as they held a lookout for American planes, helicopters, and foot soldiers.

We had a few locals on our side, but the majority of those in the area were Taliban. Once the few and far between Arab men joined our side, we had to provide them protection. If their village or the Taliban ever found out they teamed up with the Americans, they and their families would be slaughtered without question. We had trouble communicating with them at first, as their English was broken. But with the help of an interpreter, working together became easier and easier every day.

Sama, the interpreter, grew up in a village not too far away. She was a badass who intimidated most of the men on base. She helped ease the tensions many times, too. When you bring two cultures together, there's bound to be a few disagreements. It also didn't help that some of the men referred to the Iraqi soldiers as "camel fuckers." As I said, it wasn't easy at first. While the days and weeks passed, though, we taught each other bits and pieces of our own cultures. Soon, the Iraqis on our side became obsessed with American movies, and we became enthralled with the local cuisine. I’d never had hummus before, but once I tasted it, I couldn't get enough.

During a morning briefing, our captain told us we were about to see some serious action. The plan was simple: a decoy plane, flown and controlled offsite, would distract the Taliban group we sought so a humvee could get through to bring the emergency supplies the local civilian villages desperately needed. Most supplies traveled through the Pakistan border. Unfortunately, we couldn't always trust those at the border not to tip off members of the Taliban. While the decoy plane drew out the terrorists, we'd hone in on them and take down as many of those fuckers as we could.

We spent the rest of the day relaxing, as we knew our orders didn't begin until the following morning. Many of us liked to kick a soccer ball around to waste time. Others sat in a circle and played hand after hand of blackjack and poker. If we weren't working out, telling stories, or playing games, we didn't have much else to occupy our time while we awaited orders. Spence, Hudson and I watched as the others sweated like pigs kicking the damn ball back and forth to each other. We'd just finished working out and now relaxed under the brutal sun. Even though our thermometer said it was well over one hundred degrees, we couldn't stand the idea of going to lie down in our cots. We already slept as much as we could; I was getting bored of sleeping. Sixteen year old me would be disappointed.

"Can you believe we're here?" Spence asked.

"I can't, man. Feels surreal," Hudson replied.

"Whatever happens, I'm happy to have you guys by my side."

"Oh, look! William's getting soft on us!" Hudson said as Spence chuckled.

"I may be an only child, but you two fuckers are my brothers."

"Who knew we'd be here together?" Spence asked.

"The big man upstairs did," Hudson said. "He brought us together, and he'll keep us together.”

We passed around a big jug of room temperature water and reminisced about training and all the hard work we'd put in to get here. It felt like the last supper, but I hoped we'd all make it out alive. I couldn't lose anyone else in my life; I really couldn't. Burying my dad was hard enough; I couldn't say goodbye to my brothers, too. I thought about what Hudson said about God bringing us together. While I was a man of country, I wasn't a man of church. But the more I thought about it, the more I wondered what the chances were of us being brought together, of us serving together. Maybe it was God, or perhaps it was fate. Either way, I knew if I had to be in the hot-ass desert, I was happy to be here with Spence and Hudson.

Adrenaline coursed through my veins that night. I couldn't sleep. None of us could. I heard my brothers toss and run on their cots for hours on end. This was it: what we'd trained for. This was why we were here. This was my chance to honor my father's memory and remove as much evil from the world as I possibly could. Did it bother me I wielded power to take someone's life? Not in the least bit, because I knew when they flew into the World Trade Center, killing hundreds and hundreds of people, they believed in their cause. And I believed in mine. For my country and my father, I would delight in killing as many terrorists as possible.

At oh-six-hundred, a knock pounded on our shelter as the Captain came in and said two simple yet captivating words, "Let's go."

We suited up. Hudson and Spence each sported a giddy grin to match mine. Everything we'd learned, everything we stood for, would be tested today. We packed the rest of our gear, most of which had already been put together in each of our multiple packs. I checked to make sure I had my bulletproof vest, ammo pouches, medical kit, grenades, canteen, ear plugs, night vision goggles, sunglasses, gloves, wet weather gear, helmet, and my M-4 rifle I'd named Sally. Don't ask me why.

To civilians, it would seem nearly impossible to carry the weight into battle, but for me, it was like any other day. We'd walked miles and miles with our gear in training to prepare us. I was ready. Although, I felt like I'd traveled into the pages of Tim O'Brien's masterpiece.

The decoy plane was set to land about twenty miles south of our base. My battalion would drive to the planned location in our military-grade convoys to meet the Taliban once they arrived to shoot the plane. Electricity in the air surged through my veins as we drove to Location X. A few men's faces glowed a bright shade of green, but the majority of us wore smirks of revenge across our faces. In a pocket, I carried a photograph of my dad. As the Captain announced we were less than five miles away, I pulled out the picture and stared intently into my father's eyes. I missed him like hell, and I still felt as though a piece of my soul was ripped away that day. I carried the burden of grief everywhere I went. But I'd never forgotten how much I loved my father and how much he loved me. It was this love that helped me carry on. My love for my father would help me through this.

The convoys stopped, and we all lurched forward. Our Captain reported to us through our earpieces and ordered us to go outside and fall into position. In a half hour, the decoy plane would arrive and draw out the Taliban forces just in time for us to surprise them and ruin their day.

When we emptied the convoy, my battalion picked ideal divets in the earth to post up and wait for the rat fuckers to come out of hiding. That was the hardest part: waiting for time to pass. My heart pounded forcibly against my chest, and nervousness coursed through my veins. Sweat soaked my body already, despite darkness blanketing the sky. During the night, Afghanistan dropped well below comfortable temperatures. Sometimes, the relief was much-needed, and others, I froze my ass off.

We still had about twenty minutes until we expected to see the Taliban. The stillness in the air calmed me for a little while, but I knew we were only in the eye of the storm. In fact, the quiet morphed into an intensity we all simultaneously felt. I imagined all the scenes of every war movie I ever watched. None of them prepared me for this moment, though. Soon, I'd face life or death. Soon, everything would change.

"You ready for this?" I asked Spence and Huddy, a nickname he despised, but I used it all the same.

They both nodded and smiled broadly. "Let's get 'er done, bro," Hudson said.

"Time to kill some terrorist fucks!" Spence agreed.

Then, shots rang out. My brothers and I looked around to the source of the gunfire.

"It's an ambush!" Our Captain called out. "Come back to the convoys now!"

While most people would fall into hysteria, calm washed over me. I knew what I had to do, even if all hell had broken loose. Spence, Hudson and I had each other's backs as we rose and shot several bullets toward the fighters encroaching our group.

"Fuck you!" Spence yelled.

Somehow, the Taliban knew we'd be here. They tried to kill us, as they killed so many Americans before us.

Spence, Hudson and I made our way back to the convoy. Spence, a couple of paces ahead of us, led the way. A handful of seconds passed, and then an explosion erupted around us all. I saw Spence fly through the air like a toy, and shock rippled through my body. A motherfucking IED. Then, it all went black.