Silences of Glum

Camp Leatherneck is a big transient hotel of some sort.  People here have came and went.   Some people don’t make it back to the states.  I hate the instance when the dead need to return government issue goods.  When this has to happen, there is this unspoken silence filled with sadness and glum when teammates came to Supply to return gear for a fallen Sailor killed by an Improvised Explosive Device (IED).  Clearly, we are close like family and the entire unit has to suffer the consequences of this loss.  It is hard physically and mentally.  Physically, being that there is one less team member and the rest of the team must pick up the slack for an ongoing mission that doesn’t seem to slow down.  Mentally, being that there was a slight possibly that it could’ve been them that stepped on that bomb.  Some of us is thanking the Lord that they didn't die.  The rest of us is wishing that they did.