Laurent Bécue-Renard, Of Men and War, 2014. All rights reserved.In the Atlantic earlier this year, Robert H. Scales lamented that America had ‘gun trouble’. The richest country in the world was laming its own soldiers in the field with cheap, rudimentary rifle design, barely improved upon since the 1960s. “It doesn’t have to be this way”, he concludes. “A few dollars invested now will save the legions of brave infantrymen and –women for generations to come.” This is America’s answer to the lacerations inflicted by the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan: enthusiastic investment in armoury development.
What happens when you strip all the jingoism away?
“I remember my vehicle stopping, the figure running towards the tree line. I leveled my weapon, pulled the trigger”. As he turns to face the camera, the veteran’s voice drops to register his self-disgust. “Never found the weapon. Picked him up and a big chunk of brain fell on my boot. And he just kept looking at me. That’s why I don’t sleep.”
