It sounds like you have a lot of research to do to learn the rules of hunting. Being a combat veteran does not necessarily prepare you to be a hunter other than knowing how to shoot a rifle. The more you learn before you take your hunter education course the better off you will be. The hunter education course is not a class on how to hunt, it is just the beginning of becoming a hunter. If you know any hunters it would be in your best interests to contact them and see if you can pick their brain and learn as much as you can about deer hunting. For example, to you know how to field dress a deer after you ill one and how to handle it after that.? Hunting deer is so much more than taking a rifle and going out into the woods and killing a deer. Good luck.