The next summer, June of 1990, Williams goes to Light Armored Vehicle School in California with Sgt. Moss, PFC Poole, and Lance Corporal Dougherty. The full-time Marines don’t like the reservists, but Sgt. Moss uses his rank to get his friends lighter duties. Williams becomes close friends with Dougherty, who helps him during a long march, and, after Williams is injured, changes his bandages every day for two weeks. Williams also becomes close to Moss, who makes Williams his right-hand man, and whose laid-back attitude earns him the respect of the soldiers serving with him.

At night, Edsar and Frye entertain the others—all except Corporal Chin—with mock Kung Fu movies. Poole stays to himself. Williams thinks Poole is too busy being black to be a good Marine. During one weekend pass, Poole abandons the men in his unit to go off with other black Marines. 

Williams studies hard to beat Corporal Chin, the only Asian-American in the unit. When Williams is promoted, Moss trains him on the promotion ceremony. As the end of LAV school nears, they celebrate in San Diego while on weekend pass. After Williams gets a tattoo, Hunter wanders off because the others won’t go to Tijuana with him, and when he doesn’t report the next day, Moss sends a search party to find him.