The year is 2016. Joseph, a survivor of 9/11 follows his father's footsteps and enlisted in the military. Not long after, he along with two of his friends were deployed to Iraq among the ranks of some of the best American fighting men: the US Army...
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11.30 hours
April 20th, 2016
Hunter Army Airfield, Georgia, United States of America
Sgt. Joseph Mueller - US Army Rangers
Name's Joe Miller. Joseph Mueller, actually, but my friends call me with the simpler form. Born at Houston, Texas, in May 10th, 1995. My dad is a US veteran and was born from my German-American grandparents who migrated in the 1950's, while my mom descended from Civil War veterans. I've been a huge gun-nut since the age of 7, thanks to my dad who trained me as a gun-slinging red-blooded American patriot. Stereotypical American guy who would never say no to a weekend out hunting, camping or such, but is equally happy about a multiplayer all-nighter with my buddies.
That's about it for my past life. I'm in the Army now. 75th US Army Rangers Regiment. Some of the best fighting men and women the US military has at their disposal.
Rangers lead the way.
Hoo-ah!
It was midday... the sun was right above our heads. The searing heat and the weight of our equipment made me want to get on the plane as soon as possible. Soldiers were marching towards the two dozen C-130 Hercules transports that were about to take them halfway across the world, to fight for our great nation.
I took one last look back to the portion of my homeland around me before I depart to foreign land. There was a bunch of outbuildings and some aircraft. Mostly helicopters but also some fighter jets. Around the airfield were the green grass and the treeline. Ah... the sights that I will not be seeing for as long as my deployment. I thought of my family... of my dad... whom I have to thank for teaching me all the skills to fight and survive. Aside from his tours in Iraq, Somalia and Afghanistan, he has always been an outdoorsman. He knew how to put a .308 straight through the lungs or spine of a deer while compensating for the wind and gravity, or how to fight off and disarm criminal thugs with your bare hands... along with some others. A real survivalist. Boy... a lot of the skills he taught me will be put to the test...
Then I proceeded. Lugging up all the load and withstanding the heat, I walked up to an officer, who was ticking off names from a bunch of lists on a table in front of him.
"Name?" he asked in a flat tone.
"Mueller. Joseph Mueller. Or Miller would do just fine," I replied.
"Got it... Rank?"
"Sergeant."
"Sergeant Joseph Mueller..." he said as he ticked off my name, "Transport number 14. With the rest of the guys for the 75th."
I nodded, as I proceeded towards the transport. I walked up the ramp door. There was already a lot of soldiers onboard, about half of the seats were occupied. I took a random seat and stowed much of my equipment underneath. I was a bit tired from the trip, so I placed my helmet on the seat on my right, and rested my head down as I took a catnap...
