Haunted by Battle, High Out of His Mind

A war photo a day #17

Eight years. Seven wars. More death and destruction than I care to recount. I’ve been covering armed conflict since 2005. Every battlefield has its stories … and its unforgettable images. Follow me through my career at war, one jarring, haunting or sublime photo a day until I run out.

In mid-2008 I blundered into Central Africa — Chad, specifically, chasing the explosive side effects of the Darfur genocide in Sudan. In the the border town of Abeche I met this young trooper of the Chadian army, high on some kind of opiate and begging for cigarettes.

It’s not uncommon in the developing world — Hell, in the developed world, too—for soldiers to get high before battle. Somalis with their khat. Afghans with their hash. Americans with their amphetamine “go pills.”

Chemical courage, some call it.

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