And for those soldiers whose jobs require them to leave base, there is no escape from the cruel realities of war in Iraq.

There's time enough for you to join the cruel realities of the world.

The girl was too vulnerable and had yet to be armored against the cruel reality of life.

Only now is he coming to grips with the cruel realities of a difficult problem.

"Such are the cruel realities of war," he observed reluctantly.

Isn't a beautiful dream better than a cruel reality?

Would he have to crush it someday with cruel reality?

The rest of the plot follows their coping with this cruel reality.

"The cruel reality is that we don't count for anything in this phase of world history."

She'd had no shelter against the cruel realities of life.