In the summer of 2007, one of the bloodiest periods during the entire war, US troops set out to stabilize the neighborhoods that they were living in. Facing ambushes, IED’s, rocket propelled grenades, snipers, ambushes and death squads, patrols usually consisted of several armored vehicles and tanks which would patrol the streets.

In Babhdad’s two most dangerous neighborhoods, Sadre City and Ghazaliyah, small groups of US soldiers were tasked with patrolling the dangerous streets at night…on foot. Under the cover of darkness and aided by night-vision goggles, the soldiers walked the streets searching for insurgents and suspicious activity. Sometimes we would pause and enter an Iraqi home, taking up surveillance on the rooftops, other times we just ran as fast as we could. By most accounts, this is the most dangerous job on planet earth.