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We were commanded to stand Parade Rest until an officer came to the podium. When the Lieutenant entered the room the Sergeant barked out "Atten-HUT!" and we all snapped to attention. I knew both stances well already, and was the fastest one. The Lieutenant caught my eye before he began to speak.

Aside from his introduction, the most important words he spoke came after "Raise your right hand and repeat after me."

"I [state your name] Ronald Joseph Riehn do solemnly swear that i will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; and that I will obey the Orders of the President of the United States and the orders of the officers appointed over me according to the regulations and the Uniform Code of Military Justice. So help me God."

As permitted my last line varied slightly from the official oath, being "So help us all" rather than "So help me God". Difference in belief and all that. To each their own.

So now all you random Gaians who will read this will know the name I was given at birth, which is fine by me. I have dreams, some of which may or may not be fulfilled within the span of my enlistment in the U.S. Army.

I ask of you only one thing. If, for whatever reason, my name appears on the casualty lists thrown about with reckless abandon by the media, do not weep for my loss. Do not mourn the passing of 'another soldier'. I ask that you instead stand up and protest the news media of America... Not that I intend to go die.

Sgt. Rafael Peralta is a name few if any of you know. He was a soldier, and a true hero. Nominated for the Congressional Medal of Honor.

A name many will know, however, is attributed to his image wearing a t-shirt that says "like a senator, I resign". An image that was paraded around the media for weeks like he was some kind of hero. A man who saved his comrade's lives at the expense of his own passes into the dark unknown by the United States of America... and yet a treasonous coward who refuses to fulfill the obligations of the contract he signed, a similar one to that which I have recently signed, is hailed as a 'hero to the troops, showing just how much they don't want to be there.'

I may not want to be there, but 9/11 happened loooong after I wanted to be a soldier. Worry if you must, pray if you want, but don't cry for me if you don't know me. I am a member of the US Army, I will earn the right to that membership and in doing so I shall be a Soldier. Hate me, love me, be my friend or be my enemy - I say before you all... "Yea, even as I stand in the Shadow of the Valley of Death... I fear no man." I do not fear death, but I do not ask for it. I fully intend to survive, but that doesn't mean I can be prepared and capable of accepting what may happen. Hell - I might not even get sent to the sandbox.

Please, leave comments. Whether good or bad I would like to know what you think. Do not target others because of their views - each is allowed their own opinion.

To Gaia... I won't be seeing much of you after the 24th (leave for basic). Consider this an early salutations.