It’s just before midnight on Sunday and, after four days without a shower, I’m crammed into a Ferris wheel pod, grinding my way up several stories above the tree line. We’re just high enough that I can’t see people on the ground anymore, but in the darkness I can still see lighters touch glass...

“It’s like your entire body is being punched at the same time,” Marine Corp. Keith Richardson offered, looking up after a thoughtful pause, and a big sip from a can of Monster Energy Drink. “ The Humvee fills up with smoke and debris. And you get this nasty metallic taste in your mouth. Kinda...