The Sergeant’s Boots

Fort Bragg, North Carolina, summer of 1988. I was a sergeant and one of 500 soldiers signed up for one of the Army’s toughest tests: a six-month-long Special Forces Qualification Course to become a Green Beret. Most of the guys were infantry-men—macho, football-player types, with the kind of build you see on the cover of a fitness magazine. They were used to hoofing for miles with heavy field packs. I was chunky and out of shape. My background was military intelligence, where I basically sat at a desk all day and analyzed information. In high school, I was first string…on the chess team, if that helps you get the picture.

I wasn’t surprised when no one would give me the time