Chattanooga Pulse

Written by Alex Teach
Wednesday, 29 October 2008 19:00
Finding beauty in a simple, small bullet

I sat down hard in the chair and reached up to pull the radio mic off my shoulder, dropping it on the desk in front of me. I logged into the network, and while Windows loaded, I reached below the buttons of my shirt and pulled the hidden zipper down and slipped the uniform shirt off, draping it around the back of my chair. I was finally able to pull the Velcro straps off my armor off with a sharp rip, and the instant relief was countered by the corpse-like smell it had concealed. There has never been any comparable sensation in going from the hot tightly-wrapped confines of Kevlar to the release of pressure and sensation of cool air on once hidden skin…better than the shock of cold beer on a sweltering day, or a blast of heat from a car’s dashboard vents on a cold day.