There were always some little problems that occupied my mind:

“Is four magazines really enough or should I have packed a fifth one?”

“What happens when the machine gunner gets wounded and I have to take over? I never handled this weapon!”

“Soldier X’s knee looks really bad. There's some blood and he’s already limping. Shall I tell him to go back to safety and see a medic?”

“What am I doing here?” U.S. soldiers during a combat patrol in Tal Afar, Iraq, 2006. (Photo: US Army)

Thanks to these little insecurities, I never had much time to think about the real problems:

“What happens if the next artillery shell falls straight on my head? Will I feel anything?”

“Will I ever see my family/girlfriend/mother/etc. again?”

And, last but not least, the old classic:

“What the f**k am I doing here?”

There’ll be a point in time in every combat soldier's career when they have this thought.