They’re in Iraq, patrolling “one of the most explosive stretches of highway on the planet.”

“Successful missions for me … bottom line is bringing everyone back into the wire, alive, with all of their fingers and toes attached, and everything working the same way it was when we left. If I can do that, it’s a successful mission for me. If I can find things, that’s like bonus. And that’s really what keeps us going. It’s like the ultimate Easter Egg Hunt, except you’re not getting candy or money out of it, it’s just the satisfaction of a good day’s work…

“My favorite part about being a Marine is just being with my fellow Marines…

“(I like) just being around them, being with them. Going out there every day with them. There have been a couple of times where they left the wire without me because of injury and it killed me, ate me up inside. I couldn’t stand it. But both times I sat there right in that radio room, listening to that mission. I have a wife and two kids back home, that’s back home. Out here I have nine young Marines who depend on me to not take them out there and get them killed.”

Lots to see at the link– pictures and explanation of a whole patrol. Read the whole thing.

A grudging congrats from this Georgia fan to those other Gators, too. Wow, very well played. Interesting and infuriating tidbit: I covered Chris Leak when he was playing high school ball in North Carolina. He was whooping my team then, too.

Update: Yeah, this was a pretty nice gig for McCain.