M18s: Group Description

It is time to make an introduction to the group I will be spending the next two years with: the M18s. My first impression of them at Staging in Atlanta can be summarized in one word: serious. On average, we are an older group, 48 people total: 5 married couples (one couple in their 40’s, the rest in their 20’s), 3 others above the age of 30 (2 divorcees and one Korean college professor, age unknown), a few hold an MA as well as a BA, a few in their late 20’s with job experience, and the rest recent college graduates ranging from 22-25). When compared to the earlier M17 group (as we were later informed through gossip), we are indeed a toned down group. The sinister tales told were enough to make even Madonna in her prime years blush.

Amongst us we have: a West Point Academy graduate, an experience horseback rider instructor, a published author of four books on Asian geopolitics, a mandolin musician, a certified massage therapist, a former snowmaker at a Maine ski resort, and a former employee on the Gerald R. Ford state funeral planning committee.

And we haven’t lost one yet, although there was a close-call on a medical evacuation; it turned out to be just a nice two week vacation in Thailand, the bastard. The PC worldwide statistics on Early Terminations (ET) (due to medical evacuation, administrative separation, or personal reasons), on average, is four by the end of PST and 20% of the total group before the end of the 27 month time commitment. With eight and a half weeks in country and a week left of PST, our group still retains all original 48 members. Maybe being ‘serious’ has its advantages.