In The Stars To Hold Our Destiny

To be medics

Then they eventually taught us how to be medics, with a lot of practice on mannequins because they were the closest to inured humans.

They forced us army crawl through mud, then army crawl over to a lifeless mannequin and attempt to save it.

Drill Sergeants surrounded me as I approached the fake bleeding mannequin, saying, "Don't let him bleed out." "Put some weight on it." "You are in charge of his life."

Mannequins with simply trunks and heads were also provided. Mannequins with fake rubber bones coming out of their legs were on display. There were also newborn mannequins and mannequins with fake blood squirting out of them.

After that, I had to take a test in order to become an official army medic. A medic Drill Sergeant would yell out various medical forms that I had to complete for certain things, and thankfully Justin and I, along with a few other guys, passed the class.

They obliged us to form a clump and take a picture for those who had passed the class. Justin and I were capable of saving the lives of 50 mannequins.

We formed our lines as the Drill Sargent screamed, "Medics, you were ordered to come up with a company cheer. You had a week to complete this task. This is what we refer to as a time limit! Some of you may have already missed the deadline. Now, because you failed to come up with a company cheer, I've taken the initiative and came up with one for you to learn."

I felt it was ridiculous that he came up with this weird cheer to say after he did it, and I wanted to say it out loud, but I chose to keep my mouth shut.

The company cheer was to be recited in its entirety whenever the company was called to attention from that day forward, which happened at least a million times daily. There are no exceptions.

To make matters worse, it became traditional after a while for the guidon bearer, which was me, to perform the robot throughout the refrain.

While I was brushing my teeth and getting ready for bed, David approached me.

"Hey man," I say with a smile.

David gives me a threatening look and then begins to beat me up, punching me in the face. Even though he knows you can't fight another soldier, he continues to beat me up as I try to protect myself by avoiding his attacks.

The fight is broken up by a Drill Sergeant, who is yelling at David while David tries to beat me up.

David, I guess, had a mental illness that no one knew about, so he returned home and did not complete his training.

Avoid joining the army at all costs.

I was in military cars, military helicopters, military tanks, and military jets when we arrived in Iraq.

When you stepped outside the wire for the first time, you were wide awake. You were expecting to be shot at any second.

Even if you were in a remote location where you couldn't see anyone for miles, you knew there was a haji hiding who had been waiting all day to shoot you.

Then a radio voice said, "Attention on the net, attention on the net," over the walkie-talkie, "Troops have established contact. Victor-Sierra 782, 674 is the current location. Stay updated out for the SALUTE report.

"We are ten minutes out, in route to TIC. Over. First and foremost, increase it," someone in the car with me said.

Someone remarked, "We have soldiers in contact."

"All right, It's all about getting us in there," the man added.

"There are at least 17 to 20 people. Attacking in a coordinated manner. Make a request for immediate assistance. We're under heavy fire in the vicinity of- "

That's where we were: on a battleground, with guns shooting at you, explosives exploding a few feet away or right next to you, people shouting, and army cars on fire.

A man approaches me while I try not to die. "What do we have?"

"Over there, we have two people that are injured!" I stated.

"All right, go bring those two back here. He responded, "I'll get the QRF."

"Okay," I said with a nod, "Copy."

As he walked away, he shouted, "Move it!"

I felt like I was going to die right there as I got in the car to go rescue those people because all I could hear were guns firing and terrifying me.

We stepped out of the car, and I immediately began to freak out; my heart was pounding and felt as if it was about to burst out of my chest, and I felt imprisoned and overwhelmed.

"Hey!" Justin said as he attempted to calm me down. "Look at me and take a deep breath. Everything will be Okay; you can get through this."

I was trying to breathe while tears streamed down my face, and I realized I was having a panic attack. I've never had a panic attack before, and the only reason I know I'm having one now is that Julie used to get one practically every day before school started.

"You're doing a great job, Travis. I am proud of you. Pay attention to your breathing. Keep your focus on the present." Justin remarked.

I wasn't ready to go get those injured men, but I knew I had to, so Justin, myself, and this other guy proceeded to get those men and help them.

I was terrified because there were guns and they were shooting near to you to get those men that are injured.

We finally took cover behind an army car as I sat next to him to see that his thigh was fully open the cut was as big as my hand.

"Hurry put some pressure on it." As he was placing his hand on it, I shouted to him trying to help him.

He shouted in my face, "Get away from me!"

I got up and left him since he was wasting my time, and I went with Justin to help the other people who were wounded while I fought to stay alive.

Then, behind a hill, there was a man shouting medic, and Justin and I rushed over to discover his arm was severely cut in the stomach.

I was trying to stay calm while attempting to calm him down since both he (the injured man) and I were freaking out.

In the dust, I could see the man's face as Justin and I applied medical cloth to his wound. His eyes were wild and heartbroken as tears streamed down his cheeks, and I could see him wondering whether he was going to die.

"Hey! Look at me! Hey!" "I got you, you'll be alright," I said as we met eyes. I shouted it loud enough for this man to hear me above the helicopters and guns shooting.

We had to put him on a gurney and put him in a helicopter because the wound was so large and we had no time to do surgery in the middle of the battle field, and I knew he wouldn't make it.

All I could remember is me being too scared to move.