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A US Army soldier attached to 2nd platoon, C troop, 1st Squadron (Airborne) ,91st U.S Cavalry Regiment, 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team operating under the NATO sponsored International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) patrols near Baraki Barak base in Logar Province, on October 13, 2012. NATO has insisted that there was no move towards a speedier withdrawal from Afghanistan despite recent setbacks, including deadly insider attacks, as the alliance prepared for its post-2014 role.
There are some stories soldiers don’t share when they return home, because of shame or anger, because they are afraid of what others may think of them, or sometimes just because no one asks.
Writer Kevin Sites has collected such stories in his new book “The Things They Cannot Say: Stories Soldiers Won’t Tell You About What They’ve Seen, Done or Failed to do in War.” The work profiles eleven soldiers and marines from various wars.
It provides readers with a very raw look at not only what happens on the front lines, but the challenges faced when veterans return home.