To Serve and Protect

He really should have discussed this with his parents. After all, the news had made things sound so horrible with the death of men and women in Iraq. His mom would have blown things out of proportion, sobbing and wailing at the mere thought of losing her eldest son. His dad would have just looked at him, bob his head in a soft nod, and go back to watching CNN. He should have discussed this, he really should. But what he should have done and what he was going to do were two different things.

The constant opening and closing of doors brought him back to reality. Though quiet, the long white hall was alive with unformed personnel moving in and out of offices. Two doors to his left, he could hear the Marines whoot and holler, three overly-built and sweat drenched men doing a style of pushup called ‘clappers’. He knew that wasn’t for him. The door to his direct left was closed, the office dark and cold. Of all the times he had been here, he had never once seen that office open. The Navy guys must really accelerate their lives if they never show up. The door to his right was open, but it too was quiet. He could see the soldiers inside sit in front of a television, beers in hand while the TV blared some sort of daytime soap. He was pretty sure that their commanding officers didn’t know they were drinking on the job. All of this led him to this office. It was bright, the walls a pale blue to accent all of the ‘Fly High’ posters that decorated the walls. Sure, it looked like an office, but it was strangely inviting.

He took his time, placing one foot in front of the other while gulping down the knot that had formed in his throat. This is what it must have felt like to meet someone famous, like Tom Hanks or Nathan Lane. His eyes swept across the room, landing on the man that sat behind a large oak desk. The man was uniformed as well, but the light blue almost blended in to the walls. He found that all he could do was stand there and stare at the man, his legs frozen in place. This was what he wanted, right? The man looked up then and offered him a smile, the inviting warmth back once more. Yes. This is exactly what he wanted. And he would stop at nothing to obtain his goal of being a member of the largest Air Force in the world.