I was a student at Eastern Oklahoma State University in Wilburton, Okla. in 1989 when I joined the Army National Guard 445th Military Police Company. The unit was based a short drive away, at the Armory WPA building on Polk Street in McAlester about 30 minutes from my home. A month later, I arrived at my temporary home for the next 17 weeks, Fort McClellan, in Anniston, Ala. where I would attend boot camp and Military Police school. Once on base, the soldiers were transported in cattle cars to our barracks where we were greeted by screaming drill sergeants. It was a turbulent but necessary beginning to four months of psychological and resiliency training, a common misery that would bond us for years to come.
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