Thud with Whistle

It's oh so hot, full gear walking.

Open area, surrounded by large cement "bunkers".

Early morning, sun is just barely rising.

Coming off shift, walking to dining facility for quick hot meal.

Suddenly you head a deep thud sound, followed by a long whistle.

Reminded of the anvils road runner dropped off cliffs onto wiley coyote.

You want to chuckle over silly cartoon.

Only you're in a war zone, and mortars are being launched.

Can't tell direction where there coming from, or headed to.

Do you do what some train, drop to the ground, lay flat, put your hands to your helmet to hold it on should a blast occur.

But wait, what if this is the exact spot it's going to hit?

Do you do what others may say, run across wide open area in an attempt to reach a cement bunker?

But wait, what if along the run i'm actually running to it's random hit spot?

Horror, Terror, Fear want to overwhelm you, but you are trained for the quickest response.

You are trained, with dummy rounds or actual bombs precisely aimed to be safe.

However you know you're in a combat zone, a place they are randomly launching in, no time to aim, but everyone inside and all the buildings are their target.

You just drop down, in fear, praying to a god you may never have believed in before.

Please, protect me, protect my family back home, protect my fellow soldiers.

The thuds and whistles keep coming, suddenly you hear an explosion and it sounds distant.

Now is your chance, you jump up quick as you can & dodge straight into the cement bunkers.

A quick startle as you see 3 or 4 soldiers inside also, waiting out the attack.

Armored vehicles speed to the gate to sweep the outside perimeter as all guard posts become more vigilant.

Over the horizon the first hint of the suns blinding rays shine.

A known tactic, dawn or dusk are best times for attack.

It had been a few days since last attack & we'd let down our guard a little.

Luckily nobody was injured, all the incoming went to areas unoccupied at the time.

However, those who endured the mental aspect of war are injured forever.

A closing door, a car backfire, 4th of July fireworks, etc...

The hardest part is we did this everyday, unwavering, & when asked "if you could go back in time, would you still enlist" (knowing now what you do now)", my answer is always "without a second thought!"