Graduating from the Western New Jersey Military School for Naval Gentlemen

Upon arriving in New Jersey, at least 3 different people warned me about the New Jersey Devil, a winged creature of pre-revolutionary origin that supposedly stalks the Pine Barrens and makes sasquatch look like a tenderhearted hydroponic gardener.  And while the woods were thick with vegetation and trembling with deer ticks, what I found at Fort Dix was really a variety of discrete military experiences that will hopefully synthesize themselves into decisive action should something unpleasant happen. I can't say that I'm particularly expert, but I can theoretically shoot guns, read terrain, put on gas masks, apply tourniquets, and identify explosives.  And that's kind of cool. But mostly scary in its necessity.

Not really sure why some people are obsessed with having these things.   They are a pain to keep clean and American democracy is not that fragile.