英语小故事第130期：Your Country Thanks You

Jordan Wolf signed up for the Army as soon as he graduated from high school. After Jordan took various aptitude tests, the recruiter said that Jordan scored high in electronics. He would receive a stateside assignment in a computer lab, where he would learn to program software and repair electronic hardware. Also, Jordan would receive a $10,000 cash bonus.

He attended eight weeks of basic training at Ft. Benning, Georgia. While in training, he talked to his new buddies about how he was going to be in a computer lab stateside after basic training. His buddies were amazed, as all of them were going straight to Iraq. They all graduated from basic training on a Friday and spent the weekend getting drunk in nearby Columbus.

On Monday morning, the drill sergeant told all of them that their next duty station was Iraq. Jordan told the drill sergeant that there must have been a mistake. “The Army doesn’t make mistakes, soldier!” the drill sergeant barked at him. “Now pack your gear. You’ll be in Baghdad in two days.”

Jordan wrote letters to his congressman and senators while he was in Iraq. He couldn’t believe that the recruiter had lied to him like that. Meanwhile, for almost 18 months he went out on daily missions looking for the bad guys. One day, his vehicle got blown up by a handmade bomb. He got shrapnel in his left eye and was permanently blinded. The Army gave him a glass eye, declared him unfit for duty, and discharged him.

After enrolling at Troy University, Jordan got a letter from the Pentagon. Maybe it's a commendation, he thought as he opened the letter. Since he hadn’t completed his three-year commitment to the Army, the letter said, he must return all of his cash bonus, plus interest.