I think we may have been on a Sea Stallion—something like that, I’m probably messing it up. Don’t bother correcting me, because I can’t check my email. But it was quite an experience. We went through passes where you could see mountains rising above us on both sides. It was loud as all get out, and the occasional gusts of engine exhaust were almost as hot as Oman. We flew with the back open all the way, and a guy kept an eye out for trouble—I’m assuming—back there. Sometimes he would sit down and let his legs dangle over the edge, and seeing him silhouetted against the desert and mountainous terrain was a little like a movie. There were two American flags pinned up inside on either side of the copter near the back, and at the absolute back a Marine banner: “Mess with the Best. Die Like the Rest.”