I hadn't been in Iraq that long, maybe 60 days. My assignment: gunner for a troop transport vehicle known as an MRAP.
我沒有在伊拉克待過那么長時(shí)間,也許有60天。我的任務(wù)是:擔(dān)任一種部隊(duì)運(yùn)輸工具地雷防護(hù)車的炮手。
There were 30 or so troops in the platoon, and our mission this evening was a reconnaissance patrol taking us to the edge of our battle space,
這個(gè)排大概有30名士兵,我們今晚的任務(wù)是去戰(zhàn)場的邊緣偵察巡邏,
the dividing line between the areas of responsibility for military units.
那是軍事單位職責(zé)區(qū)域之間的分界線。
That was where the bad guys tended to collect, much in the same manner that the space between tiles in a bathroom collects mold and grime.
那里是壞家伙們經(jīng)常聚集的地方,就像浴室瓷磚之間的空間會(huì)積聚霉菌和污垢一樣。
For this assignment, we were the Mr. Clean. The plan: look around, talk to the locals, try to winkle out some actionable intelligence, and then start kicking the hornets' nest.
執(zhí)行這個(gè)任務(wù)時(shí),我們就是清廉先生。計(jì)劃是:環(huán)顧四周,與當(dāng)?shù)厝私徽劊O(shè)法找出一些可以采取行動(dòng)的情報(bào),然后開始捅馬蜂窩。
Depending on where we went, this was either super successful (quite a few of the locals actually hated the insurgency) or a total bust.
根據(jù)去的地方的不同,我們的行動(dòng)可能會(huì)非常成功(實(shí)際上相當(dāng)多的當(dāng)?shù)厝擞憛挶﹣y),或者是徹底的失敗。
The village had only one road in. Just like so many other stories in Iraq, bad things happen when you are at the far end of your leash, late at night, on the only ingress/egress route.
這個(gè)村子只有一條進(jìn)入的道路。就像在伊拉克發(fā)生的很多故事一樣,在深夜的時(shí)候,在唯一的進(jìn)出路線上,當(dāng)你完全走投無路時(shí),不好的事情就會(huì)發(fā)生。
As we mounted up to head back to camp, I heard some of my buddies muttering, "Ugh, we are getting hit tonight." I tried (and failed) to play it cool.
當(dāng)我們上車要返回營地的時(shí)候,我聽到我的一些伙伴低語道,“啊,我們今晚要遭殃了。”我試圖表現(xiàn)的鎮(zhèn)靜一點(diǎn)(但是失敗了)。
We're getting hit? I was excited and nervous. These guys had been here longer than I had and clearly knew what was up, but they seemed strangely unconcerned by it.
我們要遭殃了?我感到既激動(dòng)又緊張。這些家伙在這呆的時(shí)間比我長,他們清楚地知道要發(fā)生什么,但是奇怪的是,他們對此似乎漠不關(guān)心。

"Getting hit" was spoken of in the same tones as "It's gonna rain" or "We're gonna be late."
“遭殃”說出來的語調(diào)跟“天要下雨了”或“我們要遲到了”一樣。
An inconvenience, but not the end of the world. For a green kid on my first deployment, "getting hit" was a pretty big deal!
一次麻煩,但不是世界末日。對于第一次參加任務(wù)的新手來說,“遭殃”是個(gè)很大的事情!
I hopped into my turret, checked my machine gun, secured all my other gear, and settled in.
我跳進(jìn)了我的炮塔,檢查了我的機(jī)關(guān)槍,系好所有其他的裝備,安頓下來。
It turns out the grunts were only half right. About one mile out of the village, our lead vehicle slammed to a stop.
事實(shí)證明他們說的話只對了一半。在這個(gè)村子外約一公里的地方,我們的領(lǐng)頭車輛砰的一聲停了下來。
It missed running over a pressure-detonated IED (think of a mousetrap wired with three artillery shells) by mere feet.
那輛車差一點(diǎn)就壓到一個(gè)由壓力引爆的簡易爆炸裝置(想象一個(gè)裝有三枚炮彈的捕鼠器)。
The platoon sergeant prepared to call for the explosive ordnance disposal unit to come remove the bomb, but the platoon leader cut him off.
副排長準(zhǔn)備打電話給械彈處理小組,讓他們過來拆除炸彈,但是排長阻止了他。
The leader had had enough. Too many IEDs, too many broken vehicles, too many broken men.
排長受夠了。太多的爆炸裝置,太多的車輛受損,太多的人員受傷。
He issued a new order: Dismount a squad, to be led by the leader, to take cover and watch the site.
他下達(dá)了一個(gè)新的指令:讓一個(gè)小隊(duì)下車,由隊(duì)長帶領(lǐng),掩護(hù)并觀察現(xiàn)場。
He then ordered the vehicles pushed back half a mile and hidden in a ditch beside the road with the engines and lights off.
后來他下令讓車輛往回退半英里,藏在路邊的溝渠中,關(guān)閉發(fā)動(dòng)機(jī)和燈光。
We were to wait and see whether anyone came to collect the IED.
我們等著看是否有人過來取爆炸裝置。
After we pulled back, my vehicle was positioned in a depression with just the turret peeking out at ground level.
我們將車輛退回后,我的車停在一個(gè)低洼的地方,只有炮塔在地面上探出頭來。
We shut everything down and settled in for a long night.
我們把所有的東西都關(guān)閉了,準(zhǔn)備好度過一個(gè)漫長的夜晚。