A squad of American soldiers is stationed in Iraq. When an explosive device is found by the road, their job is to guard it and make sure it doesn't go off until an expert can arrive and disarm it properly. Their job is a boring one, so a young private named Benjamin gets a clever idea. He catches a poisonous snake, names him Nate, and trains Nate to be a ""guard snake."" When they are called in to guard a bomb, Nate is released near the weapon and his presence is enough to drive off any passers …