The following picture is from a photo essay, <a href="http://blogs.denverpost.com/captured/2009/09/10/ian-fisher-american-soldier/" source="Denver Post">Ian Fisher : American Soldier</a> following a young American from his initial recruiting to deployment in Iraq and return to America. <img src="{att_link}soldier024.jpg" href="{att_link}soldier024.jpg" align="center" class="frame" caption="Child Soldiers" scale="50%"> The picture of the four recruits during basic training makes them look remarkably young, far less than the 18 years each of them must be. The two to the right---with Ian, the star of the essay, on the far right---really look like they dressed up in Daddy's war togs. To be honest, Ian's story is neither particularly inspirational nor particularly interesting as he bounces from girl to girl to girl, taking drugs, chain-smoking and soaking up counseling and demerits all the way. Though he ends up in a quickie marriage at the end, with a medal of some sort---and, honestly, who doesn't get a medal of some sort these days?---you're not left particularly hopeful that he's going to amount to much.