At the six-week point, the curriculum had advanced from classroom study to field survival. She was concerned about being able to make it through the upcoming rigorous training that faced her. She had excelled in the classroom curriculum and for that, she was very proud of herself. The number of tests that were taken during the course was exhausting but she came out with a pretty high average. Close to the top five percentile of her class. The issue was that about twelve percent of her class had not advanced past the six-week mark. They were not able to earn enough points to proceed to the hardest part of the training.

This is where they are now. The instructors had given them a three-day weekend to cut loose and unwind. (within reason) Starting on Monday they were going to be removed from civilization as they knew it for an undetermined amount of time.

SERE training.

She did not know what to expect but whatever faced her she'd go at it head-on. The class that now numbered eleven was to be ready for any possible situation. Or so they thought. What they neglected to tell them was that they would be basically kidnapped from their bunks, blindfolded, and put into a situation that was beyond their control. And told to survive. But first, they had a short instructional week in the field. U.S. Marines along with Air Force personnel gave them an intense, in-depth course on everything that would ensure their survival if they were ever caught and became prisoners of war. They were taught how to deal with frigid cold, extreme heat, pouring rain, and just about any other weather anomaly that could be in their way. They were also taught how to never give away any information that would disgrace the country that they defended. Then they were given the details on what the enemy would do to them and their mind, bodies, and souls in the way of torture. But what they never realized was that they had been being observed right from the start by the instructors who played the heavies. They were aptly named OPFOR.

One by one they were taken from their evasion spots, each was interrogated as if they were the enemy. When they came to they could tell that they were drugged. Where they were was not what they expected. They were denied food and basic human needs. Kate was the second to last to be captured and the only reason that she was caught was that she needed to forage for food. She was on the ground when they surrounded her. If it was not for the fact that she was starving she'd never have left her hide high up in the tree line that she called home. No one ever looks up so she took advantage of this. She watched them as they searched for her. She could tell just by their hand signals and body movements that they were really getting pissed off because they could not find her. But when they did find her they made an example of her and hung her from a pole and tied her to it like a side of meat after drugging her.

The days bled from one into the next. She had lost track of what day it actually was from being in this three-by-three-foot hole for so long.

When they were all caught, they were lined up in formation according to rank. Then they were to be stripped of everything that gave them protection from the environment they were in. Gone would be their survival gear, what little food they had, and what they were wearing.

When they all stood there not moving the commander gave them an ultimatum.

"If you don't remove your uniforms now, I will have someone do it for you. There's no room for modesty here, you are a prisoner of war. You are just a piece of meat. So there is no reason to be shy."

The women, all modesty aside, refused his order on its merit alone. This was beyond anything that they had expected. Two of the men join their plight and before they knew it they were being stripped down to nothing. To make an example of them the OPFOR commander made them stand out there naked for four hours in the hot blistering sun getting sunburned in places that never had seen the sun.

They were given plastic ponchos to cover themselves with and black combat boots to wear on their feet. Then they were tortured relentlessly.

OPFOR went for the men first. Kate knew who would follow after they were done with the men. They would take the women next trying to get the men to realize that they were going to do nasty things to them. But the men never broke. It became out of hand when one of the men had injured himself while he was being captured. He had a gash on his thigh that when from his knee almost to his groin. He must have fallen and sliced it open because she can't think of any other way as to how this had happened. But the opposing force looked at it as a weakness and exploited it. They made them stand in the mud while it was pouring rain. The commander who was a callous son of a bitch took a container of salt and walked over to the captain who had sliced his leg open.

"What is your mission?" He asks.

The captain just stood there not saying a word.

"I see the cat has your tongue. Well, we'll fix that real fast." Two men behind the captain grabbed both his arms and push him forward towards the commander and held him steady. The commander takes the container of salt, pours some in the palm of his hand, and roughly places it in the open wound. The captain tries very hard not to scream but in the end, the pain is just too much.

Their group consists of three women and eight men. Kate knows that speaking out would be considered an act of weakness on her part so she keeps quiet. But apparently, the other women don't see it as a weakness. Glenda made the mistake of opening her mouth while standing in formation.

"He doesn't know anything. None of us do! Can't you see that?" She shouted out.

The commander drops the container of salt in the mud and walks over to Glenda.

"I'm sorry did you say something?"

When Glenda kept quiet the commander backhanded her across the face and she fell to the mud. Stunned she gets back up and into formation keeping her eyes focused straight ahead. Seeing her as an easy target he backhands her again. This time she stays in the mud.

"Since nobody wants to answer my question about what your mission is, you will all stay here until I see fit. The first person who breaks formation by sitting, moving, or resting while at attention will be the person who causes everyone to run around in a circle with a log held high over their heads."

It doesn't take long but one of the men passes out and hits the ground two hours later. The evil commander is out there in a heartbeat telling the prisoners where the logs are. He supervises them as they run around in circles with the logs over their heads. When it starts to rain even harder than yesterday he retreats to the cover of the outbuilding's awning. He watches as they run for four hours. The rain starts to ease and he walks out watching them run in circles. He gives the order for them to stop. But not to lower the logs to the ground. So they stand in a circle straining to keep the weight above their heads. After about twenty minutes of standing with the logs over the head and he instructs them to put them on the ground in the mud. After that, he tells them to line up single-file for chow. The cook who has a large pot that looks to contain gruel in his right hand and a spoon in the other, tells them to extend their hands forward. He takes the spoon and deposits the contents into their hands for them to eat. When he gets to Kate she can't believe it this is what she's been reduced to. This has gone beyond training and she will put an end to it. Somehow.

The next morning she awakes to gunfire being fired from every direction. She hits the floor taking cover knowing that a stray bullet could fly through the cheap tent she is in and kill anyone who was standing up. Five minutes later most of the firing has ceased. She cautiously gets up from the floor and looks around seeing black-clad uniformed soldiers hustling around the compound. She ventures outside her tent and sees one man waving his AR-15 at her to come to him. She complies with no problem.

"How many of you are here?" The man asks.

"The last time I knew we had eleven people here. Three women and eight men."

"Thank you for the information but I'm sorry to inform you that two of your comrades have been murdered."

"Murdered how? I thought this was a military-sanctioned survival training facility."

"It was that until the company that funds the camp went under and the commander who decided to fight back became a little twisted in his logic. We actually think he has gone quite insane. the staff here should never gone up against our Air Force Commandos. On the opposite side of the camp, there is a master sergeant with clothes and food for you. Then you're going to be transported back to Kadena Air Force Base. There you will see the commanding officer of 390th Intelligence Squadron. You will give a detailed report of the atrocities that have happened on this island. I'm sure that if you wanted to pursue it you could sue the company that ran this survival camp and win a large settlement. What happened here should have never happened to you or any of the other U.S service members here."

Kate later found out that Glenda and Bill the captain with the leg wound were the two people who were murdered. She wonders if this is going to be the end of her training. If the Air Force elects to send her to another SERE training she will politely turn it down. With what she just went through she could probably survive anything and come out smelling like a rose.

Xx

Rick has already decided that this war was going to make him a hero. He had already flown more missions in the A-10 than any other combat pilot. As it were he would begin his day with a briefing of what his mission was for that day. Two weeks ago when he was enjoying his time off after he downed the first enemy aircraft he thought about what he wanted to do after the war was over. If it was possible he would settle down with someone who had the same outlook on life as he did. He was an airman who defended his country until his death. Not many people in this country seem to support what he thinks but it is an honorable position at best.

The pilots in his squadron constantly ribbed him about his first kill. He would be the one to go into the history books and he should be proud of it. The day started out like any other day himself, Payback, and Foxhound were flying a reconnaissance mission. They were not supposed to be facing any enemy fire. But as always that changed the minute they left the runway.

"Payback this is Coyote. Is that what I think it is?"

"I think it is. Let's move in closer to see if it is."

What they were getting closer to was KARI. Kari was the Iraqi equivalent to a SAM. And by the time they realized what they were up against, it was too late to do anything about it.

Rick had fallen in behind Payback who was shielding him from any possible launch of a surface-to-air missile. Rick had learned from the intel he had that the system Iraq used was substandardly coded with Russian technology to launch their missiles. He knew that this was going to be a battle of wits. Payback had flown directly towards the missile emplacement that was hidden under an outcropping of boulders. It was mobile and ready to fire. The mobile unit carried one missile each and there were about ten of them set up beneath them. Within a second they were lit up by the radar system tracking them. Without fail the missiles locked onto their planes and a split second later the missiles left their launch site. Both Coyote and Payback went supersonic Foxhound came up behind them as well. They were trying to get away from the missiles that were coming after them. Then Rick had a thought. If he got ahead of them far enough and turned around he could decrease the distance it would take to arm the missiles and destroy them.

"Payback, Foxhound this is Coyote. Climb to 20,000 feet, bank hard left, and fly directly into the path of the missiles."

"You want us to do what?" Both pilots responded at the exact same time.

"It's easy so just listen. The missile system was built by the Russians and its sensors are substandard when it comes to tracking and taking out targets. Once we turn into the path of the warhead it gets all confused and doesn't know when to detonate. Once it runs out of solid fuel it has no way to stay in the air and it crashes back to the Earth."

"Okay. I'll try anything a first time." Payback replies.

All three pilots get enough elevation and distance before turning towards the missiles. This all happens in less than ten seconds and the missile that is coming directly at them is confused at best. It doesn't know who to target and they simply fly over it screwing with its radar system. They watch as the missiles run out of solid fuel and starts to lose altitude. They're sure that the Iraqis won't make the same mistake again.

When they return back to the base they learn of a Naval aviator who was not as lucky as they were. He was taken out by a SAM that was launched by an Iraqi mobile unit just like the one they beat outside of Baghdad. Only this pilot was not that lucky. His F/A 18 Hornet was struck by a SU-2 and although his plane was destroyed he was able to eject before he was hit. The search continues for Lieutenant Commander Scott Speicher. He was shot down on 1/17/91.

A/N: The Naval aviator who was shot down on 1/17/91 was as of this day never recovered. He was the first causality of the first Gulf war. Take a moment to think about him on the 11th of November when we as a country honor the men and women who have given us the ultimate sacrifice… their lives. They served to defend our rights!

A/N 2: I am a veteran first and foremost. It saddens me when I see people in my own country who can't seem to acknowledge any of the men and women for their service in any war that we as a country sent them to. I am a veteran and I am proud to have served my country.