Through bleary eyes the wall calendar and the paperwork on my desk alternated. The glint of morning sun through a hazy sky was sufficient to allow confirmation. Today was the day. Per the orders, fresh from command on my desk the ascension was complete.

One battlefield commision, and I was a lietenant.

An expedient need, and I was a captain.

Two deaths and a freak accident of heroism made me a major.

Lieutenant Colonel was actually a paperwork error that nobody felt like correcting.

After the mass attack and CentCom, eagles alit on my collar and epaulettes.

Now, three years into a war we can’t hope to win, command said I was to be the general. They were coming, and I was in charge. They wanted to kill us, and it fell to me to stop them.

The sky flashed suddenly orange, and the floor shook beneath my feet. For a brief moment I wished I was still one of the grunts now hurtling themselves towards the foe at our doorstep.

Another explosion reverberated through me, and that moment passed.