Learning to laugh — quietly

December 09, 2004

Have you ever heard of a tactical laugh?

Me neither.

It’s kind of like a golf clap, according to Lt. Ryan Reeves of Harrison. It’s still a laugh, just a little one.

You see, I’m a laugher.

And during a lull in last night’s raid on Adhamiya, I had an absolutely hilarious conversation with Sgt. Cory Pickard of Maumelle. He was talking about girls and it was pretty funny.

So I laughed.

And it was a good laugh, one that came from somewhere behind my belly button and launched out into the cool, dark Adhamiya night.

“Psst. Amy ... Amy.”

Was that my name I heard?

“Hey. Use your tactical laugh,” said Lt. Marcel Robicheaux of Hot Springs.

My tactical what?

“I was standing over there and I heard it echo,” Robicheaux said.

I started chuckling at the thought.

“That’s right. Use the giggle,” he said, joining my laughter.

Soldiers perfect their tactical laugh every year at annual training.

“It’s like when your buddy falls in the creek and you laugh quietly so the enemy can’t hear you,” Robicheaux explained. “But in the woods, even that travels for miles.”

I practiced my tactical laugh for a while. By the end of the night, we were all laughing out loud. The raid had gone off without a hitch.

No violence, no gunshots, just laughter.

Posted by Amy at December 9, 2004 03:33 PM