Mark Winter:  

Military From boot camp to my only duty assignment, what can I say. I liked boot camp so much that I got to go through it twice (no, it was not by choice either). I joined the army in July 1991 so that I could get money to finish my college education. I picked a powerful weapon system to work on. How powerful you ask? Let's just say that one round could take out a football stadium. From my advanced graduating class, I was the only person sent overseas. I got to go to Germany for what was supposed to be for less than two years, but ended up being almost 3 years. I renlisted for 2 more years, with the intention of going to Officer Candidate School (OCS). It was a good plan until I read the regulations for myself. I decided then and there that I would finish my active duty obligation and go back to school. And for those of you who didn't believe me when I said I was going back to school, I got my degree on May 13, 1998. Germany was a unique experience in itself. I met a German family through the Christmas visitation program between the military and local communities. I developed a strong friendship with this family, with whom I still correspond with to this day. I met both of their fathers who were P.O.W's during World War II. There were no bad feelings from them what so ever. One of them took me on a tour of Nuermburg during my return trip to Germany. I will never forget my first encounter with a German civilian. My roommate and I wanted to take a trolly downtown. Once we figured out that there were no free trollies, we traded our German curranc...Expand for more