The Thayer Method makes a lot of sense to me... in war you are going to be thrown into situations with no map and no plan, and you are going to have to figure it the fuck out. So teaching you to try on your own first, and then get direction when you need it, makes a lot of sense to me. Survival 101: Figure this shit out now! :-)

Thanks for the rundown. That was EXACTLY the kind of insight I was looking for into your experience. Gonna be amazing... what a personal journey!

Oh... and my brother-in-law WAS 101st Airborne paratrooper. Now he's a chef.

When I was in Kosovo I was a civilian contractor who made souvenirs for the PX stores on all the military bases. So I wasn't military, but I had a military ID (that was basically a get-out-of-jail-free card) and could come and go from all the bases in the area, as I wished. We basically made all the souvenirs there... t-shirts, coffee mugs, patches, engraved Zippos and pocket knives, etc.

I got stuck in an artillery situation once. Driving along some road in Bosnia (probably), and there are some weird noises outside the truck, but the stereo is up and we are just driving along... when I notice these POOFS of dirt and smoke on the hill in front of us... and I slow a bit... more POOFS here and there, and I see the roof of a building collapse. So I come to a stop, roll down the windows, and listen.

There is artillery firing somewhere, but I can't see it. And they are bombarding the hill in front of me. Which are small BOOMs followed by big POOFs of dirt and smoke.

Not knowing what else to do, I park and watch. Eventually the shelling stops, so I start driving again.

Never did see anybody military around...