Growing Up Green: Or How to Survive U.S. Army Basic Training and Live to Write About It

Meet Khalid Saleem—a young, African-American Muslim growing up in a mostly typical suburban family, who, in 1998 at the age of seventeen, makes a major decision that will affect the rest of his life in ways he could not even begin to imagine. Without consulting his parents, he joins the U.S. Army —the “Green,” as he calls it. And it turns out to be the best decision he could have possibly made. Here is Khalid’s unabashed, candid and humorous telling of his time in Basic Training where he learned, among other things, how to march, run, shoot, do push-ups, obey orders, work as a team and, above all, become a man. Khalid Saleem is a proud Screenwriting U alum, has earned a certificate from the UCLA Professional Program in Screenwriting, and has earned a Master of Fine Arts from Full Sail University. Khalid has a passion for comedy and writing children’s books, and is the author of The Circle. His dream is to help other vets find a platform to share their rich experiences to help the youth of the world.