The blur of salutes, counter-salutes, and greetings all molded together for Dan.  His mind tended to wander whenever his actions devolved into routine or procedure, and his thoughts turned once again to his family for a moment.  As CPT Hinckley dismissed himself and Kat, he gave his superior officer a former salute before turning smartly to face his three new squad members.<br/><br/>Their energy was infectious, and Thompson felt the boredom and tedium of the whole process fading as he grinned back at Itchie and the others.  "It's good to meet you three.  I'm Dan... Dan Thompson.  I guess I don't really have a nickname, per se.  Comes with being a farm boy, I think."  He paused to let Kat introduce herself as well, his gaze wandering around the tent before they got moving once again.  There were a couple questions he wanted to ask, but he decided to let those wait until they were done getting settled.<br/><br/>Dan listened quietly to SSGT Boothe as he explained the procedure of getting settled and checked in, then watched him leave as he listend to Jessup and Eddie.  As they explained why the SSGT was so anti-social, a faint frown came over his face, and he nodded slightly.  "I know the feeling..." he muttered, sighing a bit.<br/><br/>As they get their fireteam assignments, he flashes his leader a brief grin, nodding in acknowledgement.  Once dismissed, he picks up his duffel bag and follows Kat into the barracks.  He made quick work of organizing and putting away his personal effects before walking back outside to join the two sergeants.  He leaned against the tent pole and looked at SGT Henderson.  "Forgive me for asking, but... just how many men did you lose in that ambush?  I still see a lot of empty cots in there."  A part of him still felt the dull ache of seeing the emptied cots after a mission went bad and a good person died.<br/><br/>