After Advanced Infantry Training (AIT), I was selected to attend the NCO Academy, a several-month training program in Fort Benning, Georgia. The idea was to train men to become leaders in infantry units. Upon graduation, we would be promoted to the rank of Sergeant E-5 and shipped to Vietnam. The training was done by black beret-wearing airborne Rangers stationed at Fort Benning. The training was focused on combat leadership and survival skills. Then my orders changed.
