What's Next?

Posted on 04 Mar 2018 @ 5:16am by Edward Bauer

223 words; about a 1 minute read

I've found myself asking repeatedly what's next? As a marine, the path is quite clear. What's next is what the marine is told is next, regardless of rank. It doesn't matter if you're a private or a General; there is always someone higher than you, telling you what to do and where to go. Now, I have no Senior Officer, no direction, no clear path to the next destination. For the short-term, I know my place is at the meal line serving young cadets as they break from their frantic lives, if only they really understood the definition of the word. High tempo is not quantified by exams, but rather by bullets, by that one moment when you see your friend get shot and you have to decide whether you will step out into the crossfire and pull him to safety, or just let him die.

There are no lunch breaks in war, no pep talks, no reassurances. There's you, your section and a hailstorm of fire. Even then, in all the chaos you know what's next. Take a building, assault an enemy entrenchment, disable a tank. Even in that storm, you have a clear objective.

Maybe I left too early? Maybe I should've stayed. Maybe this civilian thing ain't all it's cracked up to be.

Who am I kidding?

I'm definitely done......

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