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(Monte Morin/Stars and Stripes)

Ramadi, Iraq, Jan. 16, 2006: Sgt. Lehmann Skinner, 38, of New Orleans, La., prepares to roll out on a convoy support mission. Riding in a handful of Humvee gun trucks and recovery vehicles, the 46th Engineer Battalion's convoy escort, or Tactical Movement Team, escorted vehicles throughout Iraq's western Anbar province. The job was one of the Fort Polk, La.-based battalion's riskiest details. Riding a convoy can get a person to imagine all kinds of scenarios. Some people call it nerves, and other people call it the butterflies. Skinner had his own name for it. He called it the Chicken Demon.

As the oldest and most combat-experienced member of the 46th Engineer Battalion's TMT escort, Skinner said he's counseled a few young soldiers who have confessed their fears.

Read the full story on Skinner here.

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