The Ghost of Him |WWII Frerard AU|

-27-

As the end of May begins to creep around the corner, the final stages of our advanced training come into sight.  With weeks upon weeks of intense combat and weapons training under our belts, along with the strong mentality and physicality we need to survive, there's no doubt we're nearing the end of our days hiding in safety.  I hate to even think about it, but after all of our torturous weeks in training, we're ready.  We're ready for what's to come.  We're ready to face what the enemies are bringing to the table.

We're ready for a fight.

For our final fourteen days of training, everything is set to the maximum.  High-level obstacle courses complete with enemy dummies for us to attack.  Extreme hikes through the forest to up our endurance.  More intense survival tactics.  Anything you can possibly imagine, and I bet you we're doing it.  Advanced training is finally coming to an end, and we're going to finish stronger than ever.

It's been a little difficult to get to know this Joe Trohman guy, too, because he's not Tyler, nor will he ever be.  He rarely talks since he's always so busy trying to one-up everyone else in the company, but the few times I've overheard his conversations, he doesn't seem like a terrible guy.  Abrasive and determined, sure, but not terrible.  I'm just hoping that he manages to get along with everyone as we move further and further into our last days of training.

Of course, our last days won't be just generic combat preparation, though.  We aren't a regular division of the military.  No, we're Paratroopers, and our job is, quite possibly, ten times more terrifying than anything else I can imagine.

We have to practice how to jump out of airborne planes and safely parachute to the ground.

It's a week-long lesson, complete with extremely detailed and extensive information about jumping and landing tactics.  We spend an entire day in a verbal lesson, and then the next day, we work on jumping off of high boulders to perfect techniques.  We practice how to land without breaking our ankles.  We practice how to keep ourselves steady while we're airborne.  We practice anything and everything we can to make sure we're prepared for the worst, just in case.

And on the last day of our lesson, Sergeant Gioia takes us up in a small plane to get a feel for what it's really going to be like.

Thankfully, he doesn't take us very high up, but it's just enough for us to get an idea in our heads.  One by one, we step out of the plane and pull the parachute straps, gently falling down to the ground and tucking into a roll before we collide with the grass.  Saying I was absolutely petrified to actually do it for the first time is an understatement, but I think we all handled it pretty well, shockingly enough.  Even Brendon didn't scream as much as I thought he would.

Now, though, with our very last lesson out of the way, the time has come for us to graduate from inexperienced privates to first class privates.  We've completed our training, and because of that, I guess we get a special little badge to put on our uniforms.  I know it seems silly and simple, but wearing that badge makes me proud.  Maybe it's because we did it.  We survived the brutality of training, and we did it together.  All of Delta Company is wearing the same exact badge, the same exact pride, and I'm grateful for it.  We're closer as a family now than we've ever been before.

But of course, graduating to first class privates comes with its downsides.  We're officially on duty, waiting for a call to action, and that means we're a part of the war for real.  Sometimes I have to stop and wish it's only a nightmare, that we're still in training or even back home, but every time, I find myself even more disappointed than the last.  Constant fear of the uncertain future lives within me, and there's no stopping it.