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Still in its first semester as a school, Albuquerque's Bataan Military Academy gave members of its Seal team a chance to live out their dream - and possibly a glimpse of their futures. At Kirtland Air Force Base, during training with the Army Reserve's 877th Quartermaster Company, the Sea Cadets played the role of the bad guys, hiding in a crumbling building with only a sliver of moonlight by which to see. Will Bossong, with an unloaded M-16 rifle, tucked himself in a corner to surprise the enemy.

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Still in its first semester as a school, Albuquerque's Bataan Military Academy gave members of its SEAL team a chance to live out their dream - and possibly a glimpse of their futures.

At Kirtland Air Force Base, during training with the Army Reserve's 877th Quartermaster Company, the Sea Cadets played the role of the bad guys, hiding in a crumbling building with only a sliver of moonlight by which to see.

Will Bossong, with an unloaded M-16 rifle, tucked himself in a corner to surprise the enemy.

With the innocence of a 16-year-old, Bossong says, "I was just thinking about how to beat the Army guys," who streamed though the door yelling, "Bang! Bang! Bang!"

He realizes that if he pursues a military career, this would no longer be a game.

"We are at war. . . . I think about it all the time," he says.

If faced with the situation in real life, he wonders, "Am I going to react the right way or freeze up?"

The Sea Cadets' instructor, Spc. Frank Archbald, sees that the training "provides them some real-world experience."

"For us, it's just a normal military day," he says. "For them, it's exciting."

Young people like these who want to answer the call to duty will be our next generation of guardians. For them, this was a feel of what might be to come.