A change in mood

1 OCT
0530 we began Army PT. I can’t believe I stressed out about this. We stretched, did a few push-ups, sprints and a timed 1-mile run. Not a big deal at all. After that we got two EXCELLENT briefs. The first was on what to do if captured; how to react and the moral code of conduct. At the end, the Lt. Col. who gave the brief teared up, thanked us for our service and in "Hill Street Blues" fashion, told us to be careful out there. The second brief was on combat first aid. This brief contained dozens of pictures of battlefront injuries from bullets and IEDs. These pictures were extremely graphic and brought home the reality that each and everyone one of us is going off to war. After this brief there was a definite change in mood.