Disclaimer
A Note on Fictional License:
The characters, events, and situations depicted in this novel are entirely fictional. Any resemblance to real persons, living or deceased, or to actual events, is purely coincidental. While the author drew inspiration from personal experiences during military service, this work is fiction — and should be read as such.
Military procedures, protocols, and terminology have been adapted for narrative purposes and are not intended as an accurate representation of United States Army standards. Readers with military experience may notice departures from regulation and custom; these are deliberate creative choices made in service of the story.
Certain behaviors portrayed in this novel — including romantic interactions between instructors and trainees, and physical contact between soldiers in a training environment — are strictly prohibited under U.S. Army policy. They are not condoned by the Army or any of its branches. These situations have been dramatized for storytelling purposes only and should not be interpreted as a reflection of military reality. The regulations governing these standards — including Army Regulation 600-20 (Army Command Policy) — are available for those who wish to research them further.
A note on names: in the Army, soldiers are addressed by their last name, regardless of rank. In this novel, some characters are referred to by their first name because that is how they were introduced and how they live in the story. Changing them would have created confusion rather than clarity. This is a storytelling choice, not a factual claim.
This book is a story. It is not a manual, a documentary, or an endorsement of any conduct described within it.
Thank you for reading.
