It was unseasonably cold when I saw Master Sergeant Andrew Keene of the Georgia Army National Guard crouched like the host of "The Amazing Race" at the very center of Stone Mountain. An orange pylon marked the finish line for the NCOs (non-commissioned officers) in his charge that were hiking a course over the mountain with heavy packs that morning as they competed for NCO of the Year. He couldn't help but approve of my camouflage Converse high tops, the very ones I got at Buffalo Exchange for $13, and short of shouting "look at my shoes! look at my shoes!" to every NCO I passed on my way down, I settled for being pleased that footwear could induce such a sense of solidarity.