In this essay I had to write about the scariest experience of my life. I chose a minor skirmish I had in the Middle East while serving in the United States Air Force.

Tense Times In February of 2000 I was stationed in Kuwait as a senior airman in the United States Air Force. I was a member of a flight of paratroopers (also known as "pj's") assigned to help enforce the No-Fly zone in Southern Iraq. Life there was fairly uneventful; most of the days were spent sweating and placing bets on mid-eastern versions of cockfights with scorpions and camel spiders. While on duty we went though life-like …

…I opened my eyes and the two men were in a heated shouting match. I used this opportunity to reach up, grab one of the guns, and kick the legs out of the man holding it. With the same motion I jammed the rifle into the other man's groin and jumped up to my feet. After I radioed to the other teams I held the men down while we waited for help to show up.