During the time I was a first lieutenant at Seymour Johnson Air Force Base in North Carolina, the junior officers challenged the senior officers to see who would donate the most blood.

After trying several times to locate a vein in my left arm, the technician applied a Band-Aid, and then inserted a needle into my right arm, drawing blood this time, and then put a Band-Aid on that arm as well.

As I left the collection facility, I passed a colonel. Noting my two bandages, he looked at me and shook his head, saying, "I knew you young guys would find some way to cheat."