I had a cavalcade of dreams last night. One stood out more strongly than the rest. I was in the military for over twenty years. Not infrequently, I find myself in the military again in dreams. It was so again last night.
In this one, I’d been selected for a new position. I was an E7 master sergeant, which is what I retired as. My predecessor, training me, was an E9 chief master sergeant. He was telling me that this position was a catapult to promotion if I do it right, and he thought I’d do it right. Hearing all that pleased me.
Then he gave me a black attaché case. “You’ll always be carrying this,” he said. “You are now the Russian nuke guy. That’s what everyone will start calling you.”
I’d had some idea of what I’d be stepping into even though it’d been a pretty close-hold process. They’d checked my security clearance and records, noted that I’d been on the Personnel Reliability Program because I’d controlled nukes. My top-secret clearance with all the tags of SI, SCI, TK and TQ that came with being associated with a covert intelligence program pleased them, too. Now I got why.
The Chief was explaining that I would be regularly briefed about anything and everything associated with Russia’s nuclear weapons. Locations, capabilities, changes, updates, whatever. Everything from personnel, process, and equipment. I’d be told everything, constantly. The idea was that I would be the national command authority’s primary go-to if any questions about Russia’s nukes came up.
Then he began taking me around offices, introducing me as ‘the new Russian nuke guy’, explaining that I was replacing him. Everyone shook my hand and welcomed me.
The dream ended while I was still in that process.
I have no idea what it all means but I found it weirdly reassuring, because I’d been selected. I was needed. That kind of thing feels validating, you know?
Michael Seidel, writer 
Yikes—and I thought you were a progressive Democrat. Sounds like a Russian bot wormed its way into your brain.
Do you really remember the details to that extent?
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Yes, it does sound like a bot made it into my head! LOL. I thought something similar when I mused over the dream this morning.
I’m honestly not certain if I really remember them to that degree or make it all up to fill in gaps? I don’t know. The dreams are usually sharp in my mind. I’ve been this way about dreaming and remembering them since my early childhood.
I guess I should note that for a long period, I actively pursued dreaming in my late teens and early twenties and kept dream journals. I finally stopped because entries became so involved and lengthy that I was taking hours to complete them.
Thanks for reading and commenting. Cheers
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Interesting! I rarely remember my dreams, though I sometimes wake up knowing I must write something down.
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Hi Michael. Were you intel? I was sat intel. I worked the satellite site on the other side of the intel unit in Berlin Germany. In most of the commands the satellite site was its standalone unit serving many other units including intel, but in Berlin they combined us. It was very interesting. Hugs. Scottie
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Hi Scottie, I was command and control, mostly working in command posts and operations centers. Thanks for your service and hope you’re feeling better. Hugs ‘n cheers, mon ami.
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Hi. Trying. But I am just so tired. I can’t understand what is going on with me. If I did not drag myself out of bed, I would stay there 24 hours a day. It can’t be the cold, it should have passed and most of the symptoms did. But the being tired remains. Oh well this too shall pass. … unless Gandalf says no. 🙄😛😋😀😁😏 Hugs. Scottie
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Oh BTW I worked in one of those in Stuttgart. The memory fades, but me and a few others were assigned to the DCIC in charge of the European command. As when I was transferred in I was the senior rank so I had a steep learning curve. But the other guys were wonderful. Plus after the Beirut bombing which I worked three days nonstop to get them back on our bird. I had to route their coms through a dozen countries and I worked with the full bird because he was the only one there left who understood the system and could access the encryption codes. So after that with the Admiral in charge backing me up all the way, I took a hell of a chance. I went to him and explained that my boyfriend had stupidly got caught in a pee test and could he help me … He looked at me and said. “How does Berlin sound to you, they need a couple good sat techs and you know … paperwork rarely follows after a transfer”. I thanked him, he pushed it through when the command tried to stop me leaving but wanted to let the boyfriend, and to our shock when we got to Berlin and reported in the top sergeant closed the door and looked at us … and said “I understand you guys are together”? We sheepishly nodded. “He said yes that was the Admiral’s instructions, well it is a weekend give me a few days to move people around and we will get you your own room”. Both me and my boyfriend were stunned. The unit was so cool towards us. It was a wonderful unit to work in. Until a ground pounder new commander took over. He was in infantry and mortars. He did not understand our mission. He made it very clear to me when my time was up I leave the Army or he would make sure I was driven out for being gay. My boyfriend had left a few months earlier and the plan was I was to join him, the new Company Commander killed that and I had to leave the Army. The day I left I saved the site as it went down and I was in civvies there saying goodbye. When it went down no one remembered the crypto which was on a separate system and had to be rebooted manually. I raced to do it, got us back on the bird. My warrant officer tried to reenlist me right there. I asked if he could protect me from the new CC. He admitted they couldn’t. I left. End of my Army career to the bigotry.
Michael you served far longer than me, I thank you for your service. Hugs. Scottie
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