So there I was, a fairly familiar platoon leader, having spent the last eight months training with my platoon from individual skills and Expert Infantry Badge testing through our Mission Readiness Exercise at the National Training Center. It was early-2011, and in a little over a month we would board flights for Afghanistan, headed for a remote outpost in the northern part of Kunar province. We were ready. Our leadership was a cohesive team. The soldiers knew their jobs. I was a bit nervous about how I would perform in combat, but I was confident that my training would see me through successfully.