When someone signs up for the military, that person knows that their experience is not coming of ease. When I signed up, I knew this as well. We all have watched movies that showed us how intense military training is. The training is thought to be reasonable to people that have experienced a battle. I never thought that after being in the military for seven years, I would never spend the night out of a building. After seven years in the military there was not one night were I did not sleep in the comforts of air conditioning, soft covers, and a nice fluffy pillow. This was amazing.

Not to fare into my services, my comrades and I were to play a war game. This war game was not set up fairly but this came to no surpice to me for it was expected that soldiers get put into bull shit positions while serving in the military. The game was split up between two teams. One team was of regular soldiers carrying small flash lights (this was my team) and the other team consisted of upper officers carrying precise lasers. As the tents were being set of for this two day one night event, we noticed clouds forming. We were to continue when it rained as long as lightning did not strike within five miles. Fortunately for me, there was a lightning storm and the game got canceled.

After basic training I unknowingly chose a job that deployed far less then other positions. I was put into the the test wing unit. On our first job we were to work on a Sampling Waveform Digitilizationaire which I knew but was not certified in. My officers scrambled to get me in and right before they did so my trainer volunteered himself to go ahead of me. This was a job were I would have definately stayed the night out.

There were many other close encounters but none are like the time were I was to be deployed to Baghdad, Iraq just as things were heating up over there in 2003. My assingment was to escort key personal from half way across the world to Baghdad. This was a 120 day expedition. I was prepared to go and was waiting on one key element. For such a mission one must get a confirmation from the general before they could go. I counted the day before I would get my call but I didnt. The exact number of days was 1273. I never got the call and never went. I do not know till this day why I did not go. I was releived at the time for I was able to take things easy at base, but it might have been a good experience for me.

If any of my superior officers knew I spent all that time in the military and did not spend one night out, they might have put me in a tent on a mountain and sprayed me down with a fire hose. If word got out that I had such an easy experience our military might feel they lost their edge. To protect it from such publicity we need to keep this story a secret. Top secret.