John Simpson

by Def Con One (lit)

  “That would let the bastards win then, wouldn’t it? You want them smiling as we walk out the front gate? You want them to put two more notches on their gun belt? Fuck ’em. We’ll fight, and what’s more, we’ll win.”

  After a couple more minutes, I was able to gather myself together, and I called the base legal office. I told the airman who answered the phone that we needed an attorney. An appointment was set up for the next morning at 1000 hours.

  That night as we lay in bed holding each other, I became emotional again. Todd didn’t say anything this time; he just held me. I knew things would work out, but the stress was finally just too much for me. My pride was now on the line along with everything else. I was determined that the Air Force wouldn’t take that.

  Chapter 12

  The next morning, I reported for duty at the squadron commander’s office and Todd reported in at the captain’s office. As I went by the base police desk area, the other guys looked at me funny and no one said a thing. This wasn’t my shift on duty so I wasn’t as familiar with these guys as I was with my own flight friends. Nevertheless, word was getting around quickly about what was happening.

  The clerk who was the comedian wasn’t around and so I just took my place at his desk and began to answer the phone and take messages. After a few minutes, the major came down from upstairs and walked up to the desk as I was hanging up the phone.

  “Good morning, Callahan. How are you doing?”

  “Good morning, sir. I’m hanging in. You would think I had something catchable by the way the guys out there just stared at me on my way in this morning. I guess word is spreading.”

  “Of course it is. Nothing juicer than a sex scandal, Callahan. You should know that. My usual clerk is on thirty-day leave, so you will handle all his normal duties. I’ll have some letters that need to be typed up later.”

  “Yes, sir, but I have to tell you that I have an appointment at base legal at 1000 hours. Will that be a problem, sir?”

  “No. Just let me know when you are going.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  I wanted to make the major happy that he chose me to take the duty station I had been assigned to rather than wasting away in the disciplinary barracks. I typed up all the letters he needed done before I went to the appointment with base legal. When it was time to go, I walked into his office and advised him I was leaving for my appointment and put a file folder into his in-basket before I left. Once again, as I walked by my former duty station, I got a glaring look from the current on-duty desk sergeant. Fuck ’em, I thought, and managed to smile to myself.

  Todd was already waiting for me when I got there and I smiled when I saw him. He smiled back but looked worried.

  “They said when you got here to go into the conference room and they would be right in,” he said.

  “Okay, let’s get this circus started.”

  Just after taking our seats, two Air Force lawyers walked in and sat down.

  “Okay, I’m Captain McKlosky, and this is Captain Brookhall. We have been assigned to your case as defense counsel. Now, we understand that you have hired a local attorney, is that right?”

  “Yes, we hired Judge Maxwell as lead defense counsel on this case. He requested that we secure Air Force representation as well, with him being lead counsel.”

  “Why did you feel that it was necessary to hire a civilian, Airman Callahan?”

  “We would just feel better having a civilian attorney who is familiar with the federal court system involved in this case. Frankly, I don’t trust the Air Force one bit, and feel better having an attorney who won’t hesitate to go into court if we need to.”

  “Well, just so you know, we are bound by the same level of confidentiality that a civilian attorney would be. So, anything you tell us, we can’t reveal without your permission. So, let’s get started. You both are accused of being gay. Are you?”

  I looked at Todd and then back to the attorneys. “Yes. We are a couple. We don’t hang out in bars, we don’t do anything to draw attention to ourselves, and we are very discreet. We have been unable to determine what the OSI has on us. Do you know?” I asked.

  “No, we don’t. The way this works is that we first interview you, see the charge, which we have, and then the case begins to unfold. OSI will eventually have to give us everything, but right now they are in the investigative phase and do not have to reveal anything other than the allegation for the time being. It may well be another four weeks before we see the details.”

  “Well, that’s just great. So in the meantime we have to sit around in a state of anxiety, suspended from our duties, facing the possibility of discharge, and put up with the dirty looks and whispers. Fuck.” Todd was not pleased.

  “I know it’s going to be rough on both of you, but there is no alternative unless you just want to admit that you are gay and let the Air Force discharge you. That would take about a week altogether.”

  “That is not an option,” I replied.

  “No way,” Todd added.

  “Very well, then. That’s all for now. We will talk with Judge Maxwell and coordinate the next steps. In the meantime, stay out of trouble. Where are you two working—the discharge barracks?”

  “No, sir. I’m my squadron commander’s clerk, and Todd is the squadron administrative officer’s clerk.”

  “You two are up for discharge, and yet your commander puts you both in sensitive positions of that caliber? Well, that’s the first time that has happened in all the time I’ve been here and handled these types of cases. There is no doubt in my mind that you both enjoy the respect of your commanding officers. This is a good thing.”

  “So, there have been other proceedings to discharge gay airmen?”

  “Dozens. This is fairly routine.”

  “Maybe for you and the Air Force. Okay. We’ll stay in touch,” I said.

  As we both walked back toward our respective offices, Todd began to let his anger out.

  “I just can’t fucking believe all this shit. We both love the Air Force, we both love our jobs, and we love each other. Everything was going along incredibly well, including having survived a firefight with Soviet commandos. Now, we’re witches being hunted in sixteenth-century Salem, Massachusetts, by a pair of grinning idiots who think we’re stupid. Life just fucking sucks, Bryce!”

  “Yeah, none of this is fair, but no one ever told us life was supposed to be fair. Okay. Worst-case scenario: They discharge us for being gay. We choose a city to start the rest of our lives together and go for it. Maybe I’m being naive, but I believe that as long as we have each other, we can overcome any obstacle in our way to happiness. We would also not have to worry about whether or not we can pull off our next duty assignment to the same base in Europe.”

  I left Todd at his building and continued on back to the base police headquarters building. The major was in a meeting, so I just went back to sorting the incoming mail. As I opened various envelopes and sorted which letter went where, I found a large envelope marked to the attention of the commanding officer of the 91st Security Police Squadron, eyes only. The return address on the envelope stated, “OSI, F.E. Warren Air Force Base, Cheyenne, Wyoming.”

  If the envelope had been facedown, I would have just opened it up and not even realized who it was from. Should I open the envelope? I almost broke out in a cold sweat trying to decide what to do. The phone rang, interrupting my decision, and I took care of the caller’s problem and then returned to my own.

  I decided to open the envelope and see what there was to see. Inside was a file folder marked, “Confidential, eyes only.” This meant that only the major was supposed to see inside the folder. As he was still in a meeting and no one was around, I took a peak. My blood ran cold as I read: “Investigative file on Airman Bryce Callahan and Sergeant Todd Claymore.”

  I had no intention of sitting there and reading the entire folder but I just had to find out who said what to start all of this. I quickly scanned down the report until I came to th
e part labeled “Allegation.”

  “This office was notified by a CI (confidential informant) that Callahan and Claymore were homosexually involved with each other and were carrying on a relationship in their off-base housing quarters. The CI reports that upon visiting the two at their home, he was about to knock on the door when he heard both airmen talking about being in love with each other and what Sergeant Claymore planned on doing to Airman Callahan that night in bed. The window to the right of the door was open and the CI was able to clearly hear the conversation. CI turned around and left the area without making his presence known. Additionally, CI is a security policeman assigned to the missile fields with the targets of this investigation and reports that both airmen were assigned to sleep in a camper vehicle on site during the recent special security procedures in the field. CI reports taking a walk late at night before he went to bed and after having approached the camper, reported to this office that he heard sounds of “love-making” coming from inside the camper. CI left the immediate area of the camper and returned to his own bunk.”

  I put the folder back into the envelope it came in and put it back on the desk. Just as I did that, the door to the major’s office opened, and a couple of officers left as the meeting had ended. I took this opportunity to dispose of the opened envelope.

  “Sir, this just came in the mail. I opened the envelope and then realized it’s marked your eyes only.” I gave the envelope to the major, who took it and put it on his desk and came back out to my desk.

  “Callahan, you get that legal stuff taken care of?”

  “Yes, sir. Sergeant Claymore and I now have Air Force counsel in addition to Judge Maxell, who we retained to represent us.”

  “Maxwell the local federal magistrate?”

  “Yes, sir. He agreed to represent us in this matter.”

  “Okay. That was probably a good move. You’ll find in my out-basket a couple of letters that need to be typed up, and the AWOL report is due out this afternoon. So, if you could take care of those two things before lunch, that would be great.”

  “Will do, sir.”

  Things ran pretty smoothly over the next couple of weeks and our anxiety levels began to drop somewhat. Todd was happy with his duties working for Captain Blackwell, and I was more than happy working for the major. The great mystery for us was trying to figure out who the rat was that had ran to the OSI and told tales. We narrowed it down to a couple of guys and we figured out one way to determine who it was.

  We decided to have a little party and invited four guys from our old flight to come and have dinner and beer while we watched a football game that everyone was anticipating. We put the word out to the guys and waited to see what their reactions would be. Would they come?

  Unfortunately, the ploy did not work. None of the guys accepted the invitation for fear of being suspected of being gay just for hanging out with us. I was disappointed that a simple approach to the problem didn’t work. We decided we would more than likely not find out who it was unless we had to face a court-martial. Then the Air Force had to present our accuser to us in court. But fate intervenes in the end….

  About a week later, another envelope came in from the OSI, and once again, I opened it. This time the report dealt with Airman Clyde Barksdale, who was a member of one of the security teams who were on site while we were in the field, but not directly on our team.

  The report was to notify the major that Barksdale had been arrested by the Cheyenne Police for “indecent exposure” to an eighty-four-year-old woman. OSI conducted a preliminary investigation and confirmed the report of the incident with the elderly woman, who stated that Barksdale approached her in her own backyard at her house and dropped his trousers. She screamed and Barksdale ran. The Cheyenne Police picked him up within seven minutes of getting the call. He was positively identified by the victim.

  The report went on to say that Barksdale’s arrest could complicate another OSI investigation as he was the CI on a 39-12 discharge case that was in progress. A 39-12 discharge was a discharge for being gay. It was this son of a bitch who had ratted out Todd and me. This self-righteous jerk, who just had to out us to OSI, was himself a pervert who exposed himself in public to little old ladies. Usually with those guys, their conduct was ongoing when they were arrested for the first time. There could be countless victims in the Cheyenne area.

  I smiled to myself and put away the file. This would be a serious blow to the Air Force’s case against Todd and me. In fact, I didn’t know how they could proceed with the case if he was their only witness to anything. This time, I simply placed the envelope, resealed, into the major’s inbox. If I was questioned about it, I would simply say that I had once again just opened the envelope without paying attention to who it was from. I couldn’t wait to tell Todd.

  I picked up the phone and dialed his office.

  “Captain Blackman’s office, Sergeant Claymore speaking. May I help you, sir?”

  “Todd, Bryce. Can you talk?”

  “Yeah, what’s up?”

  “You can relax a bit. The Air Force just stubbed its toe on our case and it will almost surely guarantee that the case will be dropped.”

  “How? What happened? Are you sure? Tell me!”

  Before I could answer, the major returned, walking down the hallway toward his office and my desk. “Well, that’s all I have for now. We’ll be sure to notify you if anything changes. Thank you.”

  I hung up. “Good afternoon, sir.”

  “Callahan. You look happy for a change; any particular reason?”

  “No, sir. Just enjoying my job working for you, sir.”

  “Callahan, you’re not a kiss-ass, so you’re up to something. I better keep an eye on you,” he said, walking into his office and chuckling.

  I quickly finished up the letters that had to be typed and took them into the major’s office. As I turned around to leave, he stopped me.

  “Callahan, I see you opened another OSI envelope. Another accident?”

  “Ah, yes, sir. Sorry, sir. I resealed the envelope once I realized where it came from, sir.”

  The major smiled as he leaned back in his chair. “You didn’t happen to read the contents of the file, did you?”

  “No, sir. I can honestly say I did not read the contents of that file, sir.” After all, I hadn’t read the contents, only two paragraphs.

  “Okay, good. ’Cause if you had read the contents, you might be in a good mood and smiling inexplicably.”

  “Oh. Maybe so, sir.”

  “You might also be planning on resuming your desk duties soon as well.”

  “Oh? That good, sir? That must be quite the envelope, sir.”

  “Well, Callahan, I certainly can’t discuss the contents of OSI reports with my clerk, but suffice it to say, I might miss you terribly were you to resume your old duties. You’ve been a fantastic clerk and you’ll be hard to replace, Bryce.”

  “Thank you, sir. I’m sure Sergeant Claymore will miss his working for the captain as well, sir.”

  “Yes, that is true. Carry on, Callahan.”

  I smiled and said, “Yes, sir.”

  That night Todd and I celebrated the only way we knew how to celebrate this type of good news. First, we closed all the windows in the house. Second, we pulled all the curtains and blinds so that no one could see into the house. And finally, we made love all night long and fell asleep two hours before the sun came up.

  That next afternoon, we had a meeting at the judge advocate general’s office on base. Present would be all three of our lawyers, the JAG, and an OSI agent. The purpose of the meeting was to dispose of the discharge proceedings or initiate a court-martial. We dressed in Class A dress blues, and reported as ordered at 1400 hours.

  When the JAG entered the conference room, we stood up and were told to be seated. Judge Maxell opened the meeting.

  “Colonel, it’s time we requested a look at the file on my clients’ behalf. We still do not know what the accusations are and who
is making them. Without this information, we cannot prepare for any future proceedings.”

  “Very well, Judge. Here’s the file.”

  We sat there in silence while Judge Maxwell and our two Air Force attorneys went over the contents of the Air Force’s case against us. After about five minutes, the judge looked up.

  “Thank you, Colonel. Do I take it that the only thing that the discharge is proposed upon is the word of one airman who alleges to hearing things and nothing else?”

  “That is correct, Judge.”

  “The OSI was unable to find any evidence of a homosexual relationship between my clients?”

  “That is correct, Judge. I have to tell you that I have never seen another case as weak as this one.”

  “Judge, we demand a court-martial.”

  “I don’t blame you one bit! I would also if I were in your shoes. Agent Martinez, does your office have any other evidence or information to indicate that these men are what you allege?”

  “No, sir, but given time, we feel confident that we can develop more evidence and even use the polygraph.”

  “You mean make up evidence!” I said before I could shut my mouth.

  The judge put his hand on my arm to restrain any further thinking out loud.

  “Sorry, Colonel. This whole thing has been stressful.”

  “Understood, airman. So, Agent Martinez, your entire case rests on the word of a man who has, since making these accusations, been himself arrested for a sex-related offense. Is that correct?”

  “Yes, sir, I’m afraid it is.”

  The colonel took back the case file from the judge and wrote on the inside cover of the file. “Gentlemen, this matter is dismissed. I cannot bring this matter forward based on such trivial nonsense as the OSI has presented in this matter. This doesn’t even begin to mention the fact that both of the accused were recently awarded honors and medals by the Air Force for bravery in action against the enemy! It seems to me that the OSI would be better utilized by investigating things other than the alleged sex lives of the men of this command. Sergeant Claymore and Airman Callahan, you are both restored to full duty with all attending clearances, responsibilities, and privileges. Report to your commanding officer for further orders. My office will contact the major’s office forthwith.”