Chapter 1: Life as a Marine

Reporting to work Monday morning, Bret found that there was a slight argument over what his assignment was to be. Having never been promoted, Bret was still a private. After his performance in the games The Base Commander wanted Bret to be the DI in charge of Tae Kwan Do and unarmed combat. The DI Commander said that position stated it must be filled with a Sergeant or Gunny. Corporals were not allowed to attend DI school but could be a martial arts instructor. To make matters worse, Bret wasn't even a lance corporal, just a private first class.

Because of Bret finishing third in the Barrett821A competition, they decided to send him to sniper school (FB1). At the end of which, he could be promoted to Lance Corporal. Then, technically, could be made a martial arts instructor. The school was at Marine Corp Base, Hawaii, and lasted ten weeks. Bret thought that this was terrific. Since school didn't start till the following Monday, Bret was assigned general duties around the base. Saying goodbye to the 'family, ' Bret was flown to Hawaii on Friday.

This being Bret's first time flying he was excited. Some airlines will upgrade servicemen if needed to receive the correct weight balance on the airplane. Bret was one such serviceman upgraded to 1st class. Bret was enjoying the flight, when one of the attendants recognized him from the Marine Games. Knowing the Captain was a fan of the Marine Games, the attendant informed him Bret was on board. The Captain entered the cabin and introduced himself to Bret.

After talking for some time the Captain ask Bret if he would like to see the cockpit. Bret said he would really enjoy that. Bret was escorted to the flight deck and introduced to the other flight crew. Bret spent the remainder of the flight on the flight deck and even was allowed to watch the plane land from there. This was a really enjoyable experience for Bret.

Monday morning it was back to life in the real Marines. The morning run was only for five miles but it felt good to Bret, anyway. The instructors were surprised to see a private first class, but once they read his file there were no problems. Since marksmanship is only ten percent of being a sniper, most of Bret's training was in classrooms. Just as he'd done during Basic, Bret soaked up the training like a sponge. Patience is an important part of being a sniper. You might have to lay in one place, for days. Since Bret had been alone most of his life, letting his mind entertain him while lying in one place was a piece of cake.

Live missions were an important part of training. One Saturday during a fairly steady downpour Bret was lying in some heavy underbrush about fifteen meters from the opponent's outer perimeter. It had taken him Thursday and Friday to get to this position. While observing the observation post Bret noticed a large snake moving toward the Marines in the foxhole. Hoping to take advantage, Bret prepared to move. When the snake slithered into the foxhole the two sentries became very preoccupied!

Using their distraction, Bret was able to move thirty-five meters across open ground, to an excellent observation point. Two hours later, both the primary and a secondary target came into view. Both targets were positive laser kills. When the alarm was sounded, all sentries and search personnel were focused outside the perimeter. Because his position was only about a nine square foot area of grass inside a three hundred square foot open area, no one looked down at their feet for Bret. During the late afternoon, approximately twenty Marines walked within five feet of Bret.

When night fell, Bret waited another eight hours until three in the morning. Then he slowly made his way out of the area. From three until six, he was able to crawl about one hundred fifty meters. Spending Sunday watching, now from outside the perimeter, Bret was amused at the frustration of the opponents. By early Tuesday morning Bret was able to reach his extraction point and call for the helicopter. No one was ever able to figure out how Bret accomplished the mission.

As in his other training, Bret was considered one of the best when the course was completed. Once training was completed, he was promoted to Lance Corporal. Bret's flight back to the mainland was uneventful with Bret reading the entire trip. He was met at the Airport by Ann. There was no news just that everyone missed him.

After lying around playing with the twins all Sunday, Bret reported to base Monday morning a new Lance Corporal ready to work. The DI Commander was still not happy but decided to take a wait and see approach. After helping and learning from Mike Miyagi for nine years, training Marine recruits was nothing complicated. Since few recruits knew anything about Bret, except he was only a Lance Corporal, few took his instruction seriously. This was to their detriment. Those that took Bret seriously, found him to be an amazing instructor. By the end of their martial arts training Bret's recruits were by far the top of the class, a fact noticed by the DI Commander. By the end of the second class of recruits the other instructors were looking to Bret for instruction. Bret's unassuming manner and the definite results made it so none of the instructors were jealous of Bret. After talking to Bret several instructors signed up for a refresher course at Mike's dojo.