I served my country but not in camo. Jeans, sneakers, and polo shirts with an acronym on the back. I lived 20 mins from the Pentagon when 9/11 happened. I worked that disaster all the way through to Katrina. Who knows what I had been exposed to in the nearly 10 years I did disaster response and recovery.

I had to medically retire at 55. My body finally crashed. It tanked in May of this year. I fear I will be dead before they figure out what's wrong with me. It took too long for the military to get their day. Us civilians will never have that at all.