*radio chatter*

The command came, hold your fire
And if I ever meet that man I’ll ask him, why we were put on standby, while the scenario got dire?
Peace-keeper with no teeth, can inforce no peace and just becomes an eyewitness to grief
Number of times I wished to leave…

Couldn't believe that we were here for nothing more than the lip service
Nothing more than the empire servants, trigger finger oh so nervous

Number of times I almost let the bullets go, the footage shows
The day approached to the checkpoint, with hands raised the civilian closed
Vincedin shooter he went home, awaiting an inquest who's to know
If the punishment could be worse, in his own thoughts when he's all alone

And I wish he could've been here, when we really needed a shooter
We stood by and watched as the town we protected was pillaged, raped and looted

We were hamstrung, the commands come from HQ
And blood on their hands is the last thing they wanna report
To the politicians that they answer to

So what am I supposed to do?
Why am I here, dyin' of fear?

That the faces staring up at me will continue to appear
And the dreams that wake me up in fits and sweats, and all the counsellor has said
Won’t let me forget about Shreve rent it say yet
-----

Overnight trucks in convoy, butte red cross on the side and the back
Escorted by two gene officers on the off chance they’d be attacked

On a private contract, roads are a gauntlet, trouble none yet reported

Guards get little commission as we ride the soldier and reach the border
Now he’s got medical supplies for a refugee camp, humanitarian mission
Held up a week at customs, took over a month to ship from Switzerland

He knows nobody would be listening, and as the burials start increasing
So he keeps the frustration under rapped as seen that it’s self-defeating
And though he joined up to make a difference, good intentions can turn out vicious
As they helplessly provide aid for cancer disbanded militias

They got caches of illegal arms, hidden away in the country-side
Former colonial rules ensure they get yet more clandestine supply

Seening won’t as broken down to their former selves
Till their not so afraid of death ‘cause they’ve already seen hell

The danger pay is good but every cent that he gets is earnt
And he’s alive, but burnin out, driving through the scorched dirt

Then all in all, it’s worth it even if it’s for the little victories
Standing by as a witness to the dark rumblings of history
-----
We left home as heroes
With photo ops and press releases, a handshake from the minister
And a speech of freedom shining
Peters of democracy, the monitors of freedom’s fair elections
Midwifes to assist the birth of a distant fledgling nation

As we taxied out of Williamstown, you could smell the nerves in the Hercules
Excitement and uncertainty, prestigious posting overseas

We deployed through the provinces, out project voter education
To dispel fears of retribution well to local staff and a Thai policeman

Campaign worked and ten months later
The battle was held and turned out greater than expected
The result unknown, then the call came through on the satellite phone

Projectiles thrown in some locations, mobs attacking holding stations
HQ called evacuation and ordered our withdrawal

We sheltered in the compound while militias torched the town
The glow of burning buildings as night fell, had tensions running high

The flow of refugees and a praiser wife (?) to the protection of our presence
Automatic gunfire rang out premeditated menace

And calls for backup to Canberra were met with silence and indecision
Domestic interventions outside the mandate of this mission
And at dawn the order came, for all essential personnel
At 0900 the choppers would come to fly us out of hell

Now how can I meet the eye?
Of this man that I’ve worked beside
And tell him that I’m free to leave today while he is sure to die

I wanna hide, don’t understand how these people can be abandoned
And I wonder, if the minister will be there to meet us when we land