Modern Combat and Ancient Indignities

In addition to Joe Carter’s lament this morning on the subject of women in combat, see (if you can, it’s behind a paywall) this piece by Iraq war veteran Ryan Smith in today’s Wall Street Journal .  His description of modern combat’s reality—-that the ancient indignities men must endure to fight the enemy have not changed much at all—-is not for the squeamish.  Here’s a bit of the less offensive stuff:

The invasion [of March 2003] was a blitzkrieg. The goal was to move as fast to Baghdad as possible. The column would not stop for a lance corporal, sergeant, lieutenant, or even a company commander to go to the restroom. Sometimes we spent over 48 hours on the move without exiting the [overcrowded amphibious assault] vehicles. We were forced to urinate in empty water bottles inches from our comrades.

Read the whole thing, but not while eating lunch.