The Value of Shared Experiences

I've started reading through Stephen Ambrose's bestseller entitled, Band of Brothers, in which the story of E Company, 506th Regiment, 101st Airborne is told.  This caught my attention ... within their first six months together:

"The result of these shared experiences was a closeness unknown to all outsiders.  Comrades are closer than friends, closer than brothers.  Their relationship is different from that of loves.  Their trust in, and knowledge of, each other is total.  They got to know each other's life stories, what they did before they came into the Army, where and why they volunteered, what they like to eat and drink, what thier capabilities were.  On a night march they would hear a cough and know who it was, on a night maneuver they would see someone sneaking through the woods and know who it was from his silhouette."

I'm reminded of the value of shared experiences ... So true ...