ion. He goes on to explain that there is a platoon of about 20 to 30 enemy troops 7 miles east and that they are armored with light infantry weapons. The enemy is bunked down in a field surrounded by a levy on three sides sort of like a horseshoe. Our mission is to infiltrate this platoon and bring back any useful documentation or POW's that may survive. After the briefing I return to my squad and they are all but ready to explode with anxiety.
             I explain to them the task we are faced with and prepare to do battle. In our tent, under a dim, glowing red light, we go over the plan for the 10th time. We will fall into formation at 0530 in full battle dress uniform. We are light Infantry, so our weapons are on a small scale, but we are trained to make the most of them. We have no radioman. What we are going into needs to be fast and direct infiltration. The rest of the night is unbearable, as I lay awake and think of things that could go wrong. What if the mission is a disaster? What will my troops and commander think of me? I have played this scenario over a thousand times, and I'm sure that I can pull this off. I have trained 4 years for this moment. I'm a strong and courageous man, I fear no one or no thing, I'm stubborn and determined, and I will see that this mission is a success. I finally close my eyes and drift off to sleep. Just as I'm starting to dream of my family back home, I feel a tap on my shoulder.
             It's Mike; he is a Private First Class, and in my squad. He is worried about the mission and wants to talk to me before formation. As I glance over at my watch, I see that formation is in about an hour. I tell him to get his uniform on and we can go get some coffee, and talk about what it is that concerns him. Forty-Five minutes later, we are on our way to the tent to make sure everyone is getting ready. Our talk seemed to do the trick, as he is now ready to go into battle. Everyone is ready and ...