The following is an excerpt from retired Special Forces Warrant Officer Jim “Smokey” West’s upcoming memoir.  Learn more about Jim by checking out his website, American Extension Fighting

The village consisted of an adobe, clay, and dirt shanties surrounding the town square. The square had some restaurants around it, all featuring five-star dirt floors. There was a little religious icon or saint in the center of square like every other village in Bolivia.  I was out to buy some soap and decided to take a seat at one of the restaurants to grab some food. I took antibiotics and Imodium three times a day just to ward off the claymore shits.

A little girl who looked like she was about five, but could have actually been ten due to malnutrition in this part of the world, walked by. She looked through the window at us and smiled. I waved to her. Then she lifted her dress, squatted, and brown water sprayed out of her ass all over the street.

I remember thinking that I was probably going to die in this place.