• “Some people think we’re digging foxholes and living with hardly any food or water. Other people, they really don’t seem to get that it is pretty hard; you’re giving up a lot. You’re saying goodbye to your truck … Sitting down and watching TV doesn’t exist anymore.”

— Squad Leader Nicholas Theriault, 172nd Mountain Company, deploying to Afghanistan

• On people telling her to just turn off her phone and get a good night’s sleep: “That’s not an option for me. Your life changes for a year.”

— Erin Theriault, Nicholas Theriault’s wife

• “Sometimes you hear things that sort of irk you. Soldiers could die in Afghanistan and they’re focusing on Michael Jackson dying — that bothers me.”

— Loriann Bosse, Capt. Paul Bosse’s wife

• “Going to war, going to combat, isn’t always a bad experience. (Soldiers) get a true appreciation of how lucky they are and how fortunate they are here. … Living in a society that has good people but corruption that’s so persistent. Laws and rules allow us to make our way (in the United States). Some of these places, a lot of them are just trying to survive. I wish more people understood that.”

— Capt. Paul Bosse, 172nd Mountain Company, deploying to Afghanistan