OEF Sergeant Major still worries about the tidy grass he left behind

THE PENTAGON, Washington DC - As Americans reflected on the 22nd anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks and the two-year anniversary of the nation’s withdrawal from Afghanistan, Marine Sgt. Maj. J.D. Buckler says of his many memories of the “Global War on Terror” era, one will always stand out.

“I saw a lot at war. I can’t tell you how many Lance Cpls I yelled at for having their hands in their pockets, or how many Gunnery Sgts I protected from DUIs because they had high PFT scores. But I will never forget that there’s some corner of a foreign field that’s forever America because I told Marines and Afghaniarians alike to stay off the doggone grass.”

Buckler paused, looking to the horizon.

“Some days I wonder if there’s a Taliban E9 over there, staring at that grass as he lovingly waters it with the blood of my old translator and thinking, ‘Do not worry, infidel. I have the watch’.”

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