Michael Yon documents the constant danger our troops face:
The point man often misses the bomb and is not hit. The casualty might be the fifth man, or the fifteenth. One casualty in 4-4 Cav was the 35th troop in the sequence. In this war, every man, or woman, is on point. One step from the "cleared" path might as well be a hundred miles off. During firefights you go for cover. Before I was here, a Soldier fell off a path and was killed. The person who triggers the bombs is not always the one who is hit. The triggers are often at a distance from the charges. Or, as happens many times on every mission, you are standing there and someone walks by going forward or back, and to pass by they step must off to the side and in that moment you both can go.
The Dish 