At times I sit and wonder if the rest of the world knows what the life of an infantry soldier is like or even care to know. The road we have chosen is an arduous one with many added pressures to endure and difficult decisions to make. We are fathers, brothers, uncles, cousins and friends, we have life goal and dreams but we put our lives on hold and proudly serve. Many may not understand why we keep doing it but we have two answers and they are simpler that you think, it’s for the guy on either side of us. It is not for the oil, the president, or even our commanders it is for the friends we fight alongside. The friends we share our dreams with, share our life stories with, share a meal and sleep alongside, the friends whose family we know well yet have never met, the friends whom we would willingly fight to the last breath for. The other is so you don’t have to do it, so you don’t have to make those difficult choices like leaving your family to put yourself in harms way or choosing to continue to fight even though victory seems a distant and at times an unattainable dream. So the next time you see an infantry soldier and feel compelled to say something; you need not ask him why he does it, just stop shake his hand and say thank you thanks for a job well done.