Redeployment

A soldier remembers shooting dogs in Iraq. The first time was when he saw a dog lapping up blood after a fight. He remembers getting on the medical airliner to come home and how confused everyone felt now that their time in the war was done. His thoughts shift frequently from images of hurt children he saw in the war; to when he got his own dog, Vicar; to a friend of his named Eicholtz.

The dogshooting was called “Operation Scooby” (3). When he gets back to America, the narrator feels naked after handing in his gun at Lejeune. Outside, his wife, Cheryl, waits with many other family members who are there to see the soldiers arrive home. He is nervous and kisses her because “I figured that was what I was supposed to do” (8). He has not driven in seven months, so he drives them home. When they arrive, Cheryl asks him how he is, which he knows means “How was it? Are you crazy now?” (8).

When he sees Vicar, the dog moves slowly. He has little tumors on his legs, common to Labradors, but he has more than usual. Vicar is also abnormally thin.