Oh-Three-Six-Nine

0369 is the United States Marine Corps designation for Infantry Unit Leader, a staff non-commissioned officer who assists commanders in the operations, logistics, and tactics in an infantry unit. The fighting around Combat Outpost Javelin has quieted and the Taliban are nowhere to be seen. The peace, however, only raises the anxiety of Platoon Sergeant James Warden who is also caught between the straining relationship of the Marines and their Afghan partner forces. Christopher Bast is a combat veteran of the United States Marine Corps having served as an 0311 Rifleman and Scout for the 1st Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion out of Camp Pendleton, California. He deployed to Afghanistan in 2010, then again in 2011-12. He would leave the Marine Corps in 2013 with an honorable discharge at the rank of Corporal.