For weeks after 9/11 you could smell the dust and pulverised concrete in New York, and the National Guard came in, so there was a military presence on the streets. It was intense. Overwhelming. Heartbreaking.

Mark Boal (born 1973) is an American journalist screenwriter and film producer. The phrase has been used among military members for decades. He wrote an essay in Rolling Stone about US troops killing Afghan civilians.

Mark Boal (born 1973) is an American journalist screenwriter and film producer. He won Academy Awards for Best Original Screenplay and Best Picture for The Hurt Locker (2009).