Anonymous: Submission Transcript

I chose to share my experience from infantryman's basic training, which I started at 17 years old. Our training ran from October to February, including a Christmas break. During this break, some soldiers and I were able to take a cab to the store. I saved the cab driver's number for future reference. After the break, I was phoneless, cheated on from my girlfriend, and decided to steal my phone from the drill sergeant's office. It was in a baggie that included my phone, charger, and wallet. After talking with some buddies, I asked the cab driver to buy us logs of dip (five cans each), which I sold for $20 per can, that led to making over $600. One day, the drill threatened us all with searching lockers due to one of us having an apple. Panicking, I asked the acting platoon sergeant to cover for me while I hid my phone and wallet. He marked me a present for PT (Physical Training) as I ran upstairs, hiding my baggie in the ceiling. Unfortunately, my phone and wallet fell to the bottom of the ceiling which led to me having to game plan on how to get it out. I tied 550 cord to a metal hanger and lifted it into the ceiling space and eventually fished out my now broken phone and wallet filled with cash and put it back in his office. I learned simply from the fear of getting in trouble. I eventually finished my career to the best of my ability and did not make any more risky choices.