The Storm

“That I hate snoopy reporters that pester me with questions. " I shut up. Henry continued. "They poked and prodded our grey matter. I was given the psyche evaluations of each of my team members and studied the strengths and weaknesses of each of my team. If I would be responsible for their well-being and safety, I needed to know the chinks in their armor and their responses under duress in a combat situation. I was to personally interview each of the team members and ask questions." "My questions were based upon the evaluations of the men that I had been handed. The men were eager and ready to fight. We were all young, with me being the oldest. They called me 'The Old Man,' but with respect. I guess the brass thought that, with me being supposedly the oldest, that I had more combat experience, that I should lead the team. Boy, did I have them fooled! I had no idea what I was doin' or what we were to be steppin' into, that is, not yet." Henry continued, "After a few tough weeks the sessions ended, and we came back under Captain Bledsoe’s leadership once again. I never saw the other 20 men of The Dirty Thirty group again. Not ever. I do not know of their missions or whatever became of them, but I knew that they would be in country with us. But I never heard of their deployment or location. Dead now, as far as I know, but I never cared to research it. No one at that time knew where we would be or what the missions were but a select few in command. Hell, I didn’t know anything other than our designated daily tasks. Captain Bledsoe directed us to a new facility on the base, and we Captains walked there with our appointed 10 men. We all

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