读者文摘:紧张交战中回忆起父亲教诲的士兵(1)（在线收听）

I hadn't been in Iraq that long, maybe 60 days. My assignment: gunner for a troop transport vehicle known as an MRAP.

我没有在伊拉克待过那么长时间，也许有60天。我的任务是：担任一种部队运输工具地雷防护车的炮手。

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,

这个排大概有30名士兵，我们今晚的任务是去战场的边缘侦察巡逻，

the dividing line between the areas of responsibility for military units.

那是军事单位职责区域之间的分界线。

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.

那里是坏家伙们经常聚集的地方，就像浴室瓷砖之间的空间会积聚霉菌和污垢一样。

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.

执行这个任务时，我们就是清廉先生。计划是：环顾四周，与当地人交谈，设法找出一些可以采取行动的情报，然后开始捅马蜂窝。

Depending on where we went, this was either super successful (quite a few of the locals actually hated the insurgency) or a total bust.

根据去的地方的不同，我们的行动可能会非常成功（实际上相当多的当地人讨厌暴乱），或者是彻底的失败。

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.

这个村子只有一条进入的道路。就像在伊拉克发生的很多故事一样，在深夜的时候，在唯一的进出路线上，当你完全走投无路时，不好的事情就会发生。

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.

当我们上车要返回营地的时候，我听到我的一些伙伴低语道，“啊，我们今晚要遭殃了。”我试图表现的镇静一点（但是失败了）。

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.

我们要遭殃了？我感到既激动又紧张。这些家伙在这呆的时间比我长，他们清楚地知道要发生什么，但是奇怪的是，他们对此似乎漠不关心。

"Getting hit" was spoken of in the same tones as "It's gonna rain" or "We're gonna be late."

“遭殃”说出来的语调跟“天要下雨了”或“我们要迟到了”一样。

An inconvenience, but not the end of the world. For a green kid on my first deployment, "getting hit" was a pretty big deal!

一次麻烦，但不是世界末日。对于第一次参加任务的新手来说，“遭殃”是个很大的事情！

I hopped into my turret, checked my machine gun, secured all my other gear, and settled in.

我跳进了我的炮塔，检查了我的机关枪，系好所有其他的装备，安顿下来。

It turns out the grunts were only half right. About one mile out of the village, our lead vehicle slammed to a stop.

事实证明他们说的话只对了一半。在这个村子外约一公里的地方，我们的领头车辆砰的一声停了下来。

It missed running over a pressure-detonated IED (think of a mousetrap wired with three artillery shells) by mere feet.

那辆车差一点就压到一个由压力引爆的简易爆炸装置（想象一个装有三枚炮弹的捕鼠器）。

The platoon sergeant prepared to call for the explosive ordnance disposal unit to come remove the bomb, but the platoon leader cut him off.

副排长准备打电话给械弹处理小组，让他们过来拆除炸弹，但是排长阻止了他。

The leader had had enough. Too many IEDs, too many broken vehicles, too many broken men.

排长受够了。太多的爆炸装置，太多的车辆受损，太多的人员受伤。

He issued a new order: Dismount a squad, to be led by the leader, to take cover and watch the site.

他下达了一个新的指令：让一个小队下车，由队长带领，掩护并观察现场。

He then ordered the vehicles pushed back half a mile and hidden in a ditch beside the road with the engines and lights off.

后来他下令让车辆往回退半英里，藏在路边的沟渠中，关闭发动机和灯光。

We were to wait and see whether anyone came to collect the IED.

我们等着看是否有人过来取爆炸装置。

After we pulled back, my vehicle was positioned in a depression with just the turret peeking out at ground level.

我们将车辆退回后，我的车停在一个低洼的地方，只有炮塔在地面上探出头来。

We shut everything down and settled in for a long night.

我们把所有的东西都关闭了，准备好度过一个漫长的夜晚。