Mike Durant

Now, we were not allowed to rely on that.

We had to use the map and planning and time and speed and figure all that out.

I did it good enough to pass, is all I can say.

But everything else I was really good at.

And got through Green Platoon, got the beret put on by another fellow New Hampshire boy,

The coach, we call him, now general, retired daily.

Great American, just a great, been shot down seven times in Vietnam.

Holy shit.

Just, anyway, there's a special place in all our hearts who know him for him.

And he's still with us.

But anyhow, he put my beret on me, and now I'm feeling really good, right?

I'm a member.

I'm a card-carrying member of this organization.

And right out of the gate, the first training mission, we're going to Thailand with ST-6 all on one bird.

And they arrive, two fast boats on the aircraft.

We put two helicopters on the aircraft and fly over there for a training mission.

We had been given what we called relaxed grooming standards, meaning we could grow our hair long.

That doesn't happen all that often in the Army, right?

So I'm thinking, this really is a Tom Clancy book, you know?

And, you know, who are we fooling?