Welcome to FOB Haiku: War Poems from Inside the Wire

Sherpatude No. 26: "Humor is a combat multiplier ..." Armed with deadpan snark and poker-faced patriotism—and rooted in the coffee-black soil and plain-spoken voice of the American Midwest—journalist-turned-poet Randy Brown (sometimes writing as "Charlie Sherpa") reveals behind-the-scenes stories of U.S. soldier-citizenship. From Boot Camp to Bagram, Afghanistan. And back home again.

Here’s a taste of "FOB Haiku":
Three Cups of Chai-ku
1.
I had hoped, I guess,
for something more like Starbucks,
not yellow water.
2.
We build our nations
one tea party at a time.
They serve, we protect.
3.
No one here can lead
this endless talk of action.
"Que shura, shura."