Subject soldier transportation by earliest available military transport.
…
Hunh. So, I got to go BACK to Mcclellan, again. You’d think with the dozens of training bases we had floating around, I’d be going somewhere else at some point. Don’t care, at least I’ll get to spend time training with Sensei Kim again in my off hours.
And, I did. Unfortunately, the ‘off hours’ were far fewer than I’d hoped. OCS wasn’t as hard as enlisted basic, and sure as hell wasn’t as hard as Infantry AIT – but it was, however, one of the harder things I had to do in my life.
I had to be NICE to people.
Chapter 22: Back to school again.
Okay, so it wasn’t exactly “be nice to people” – but rather than tell someone what was expected, and give them shit if they didn’t deliver either results or an explanation as to why the results were not achieved, now I had to “convince.” “Persuade.”
To me, it read more like, “Beg, plead, cajole, bribe, wheedle.”
I did *NOT* like it.
That doesn’t mean I wasn’t good at it. Remember when I first met Lieutenant Sergeant-Suck-My-Cock-For-A-Better-Evaluation? Yeah. I can play that game, and I can play it well – ESPECIALLY when I know what the result is likely to be.
Not to mention, at this point, I *did* see it for what it was – not much more than a stupid game that some officers played because they felt like bigger people for doing it.
I was fortunate that for two classes – General Conduct, and Warrior Ethos – I had Colonel Haskins again. I won’t say he was a rebel, but… he knew how to, “play the game.” His comments seemed to hit the other students and they just took them at face value; I couldn’t get his comment from my AELS course out of my head: … this one is THINKING, too.
Haskins didn’t want people to blindly do whatever he told them, he also didn’t want them to question every single thing – he wanted you to use your head for more than hat-rack.
I did, and he nearly ripped my head off for doing it.
We were in a General Conduct class and the topic of “shall” vs. “want” came up. In a nutshell, the general gist was if you tell a subordinate that they “shall” do something, that’s a command. On the other hand, “I want you all to do” something was indicative of a desire, but not a formal command. In my head, I turned it into “You will” vs. “I wish”. If I wish something, who gives a damn. If I tell someone that they WILL do something, that’s clearly a command.
“Sir, ‘want’ sounds like you’re expressing a sentiment awfully close to a command, what’s the difference?”
Colonel Haskins stared at me. “Cadet, are you questioning me?” I wasn’t ‘lieutenant’ here – I was just another officer candidate – a ‘cadet’.
“Not at all sir, I’m unclear and would like clarification.”
“Are you suggesting that my words were somehow NOT clear, Cadet?!?”
“No sir, I didn’t understand them.”
“Clearly, you didn’t, Cadet. Three days’ extra duty.” Fuck. Extra duty was bullshit; we weren’t allowed to leave the base anyway so it wasn’t like we could go anywhere to do something we wanted; the extra duty was the slap that said you not only were stupid, you were REALLY stupid.
I learned – the hard way, in this case – that there was no value in thinking, here. This class was about shut up and do what I tell you. That hurt, after he’d practically sung my praises in Advanced Enlisted Leadership School but when I thought about it, it was probably my own fault. THIS class, for me anyway, wasn’t about leadership; it was about checking off the box that said I’d completed officer candidate school.
There were a few other people in my training platoon that were also prior enlisted like I was – called ‘Mustangs.’ There were no OCS candidates from the streets here; everyone except me was from the arkscrapers.
Most of the enlisted had one or two decorations, usually goofy stuff like Complimentary Conduct Medals (CCM, which we called “Can’t Catch Me” medals, awarded for 3 years of no naughty conduct – that you had been caught doing, anyway) and marksmanship awards. Some, like me, had NCO professional development ribbons (showing you’d done the class) and Overseas Service Ribbons (showing you’d deployed). A couple even had Purple Hearts (for being wounded in combat), one guy even had a commendation medal (for heroism or meritorious service). All of them had National Defense Service medals, but everyone gets those by virtue of the fact that you’re in uniform during a particular timeframe. Big deal.
Yeah, the BIG deal.. was when one of the Mustangs recognized me. Stupid shit saluted me, thanked me for my actions, and did so – in front of the platoon commander, Captain Kirkut. The Platoon XO, Lieutenant Sekulich, probably would have laughed and asked what the hell he was doing – but Captain K? Oh hell no.
I got dragged into Kirkut’s office and had to explain.
“Wolf, what the fuck do you think you’re doing, collecting salutes from other cadets?”
“Sir, I did not do anything; the other recruit chose to salute me.”
“You are a RECRUIT, Wolf. You don’t salute each other.”
“As you say, sir.”
He wasn’t buying it, and apparently didn’t know about the story. Hey, it’s possible. We’ve got several million people in uniform at any given time, and some are deployed and don’t follow the news at home. I was, if you don’t remember, the only person to have ever been awarded, simultaneously, the Medal of Honor, the Distinguished Service Cross, and the Silver Star (although that last one was a bullshit bribe).
He might legitimately have not been stupid, since we don’t wear medals or ribbons in anything except mess dress and Service Uniforms – never in our dark gray combat uniforms. Damn near everyone else I’d encountered however, including Colonel Haskins, had made mention of it.
“You’re goddamn right as I say. You are on shaky ground, recruit. I expect that you will not be demanding salutes from anyone else for the remainder of your time here in OCS.”
“Yes sir.” Better not to bait him; I didn’t need the hassle. I had already been given that fucking commission and there wasn’t much I could do about it. More games to play, I guess… And the other cadet got his ass chewed for saluting another cadet, but that was it.
There was one case where my history came out, and blatantly so. Warrior Ethos was where they tried to teach a half and half mix of “kick the other guy’s ass” and “we need to be responsible and aware of our actions and engage in war in a sensitive and understanding way.” What the fuck?
Lieutenant Sekulich was the instructor. He was a good guy, and I’m pretty sure he wasn’t jerking me around.
“Class, when engaging in war, it’s important to recognize that sometimes, nonlethal options are best employed first, to negate collateral damage. At the same time, when nonlethal options are not producing the kind of compliance that we need to see from our enemy, we sometimes have to use lethal options instead. Who can identify typical nonlethal options in combat?”
“Beanbag rounds!” “Stun Batons!” “Rubber Bullets!”
“Good answers, all correct. We don’t normally use them in the AOR, but it’s entirely possible that you may also need to employ augmented water streams, capsaicin rounds (ie Pepper spray in powder format), tear gas, Active Denial System (ADS), or even Long-Range Acoustic Devices (LRAD).”
“ADS is intended to cause burns that are not permanently wounding – although if played across someone’s eyes, it could have much more long-lasting effects. That’s not the same as ‘lethal’ however, so, the UN permits us to use it. It’s intended for high-intensity conflict, where something like the PHASR rifle would be used for lower-intensity conflict with fewer enemy combatants.”
“Sir, I thought LRAD was only for police, and even then, not really used in the arkscrapers any more?” asked one cadet.
“That’s true, but we do still maintain supplies of the LRAD devices – they’re heavier, however, and are typically used
only on ground vehicles.” The cadets in class nodded, apparently believing this was an acceptable method of waging war.
Then, one of the mustangs – NOT ME! – spoke up. “Sir, what about the lethal weapon options? Sometimes nonlethal options just don’t do what we need.”
“Good point, cadet. What are the standard antipersonnel lethal weapons you can expect to have your troops employ, class?”
“M34!” “Grenades!” “Sidearms!”
“Yes, those and a few more. Technically the AT8 is intended for anti-armored vehicle use, however, it can be used effectively against small pockets of enemy combatants, provided of course that you haven’t had any success using nonlethal weapons. There’s one that most of you are forgetting, though. Cadet Wolf, perhaps you can tell the class about one; I know you’re familiar with it.”
This ass had to know I had a religious waiver to carry Rage – and yeah, I had it with me. I unsheathed it and tapped it on the desk. “Bladed weapons, sir – perhaps even like this one, although this is of religious significance to me.” See? I can play the game.
“Very correct, cadet. There was an engagement not too long ago where the crucial soldier who saved an entire platoon did so by first using his fighting knife, since it was the only weapon left available to him. Can any of you tell me more? This individual was highly decorated as a result.”
Oh fuck. Please tell me this guy wasn’t going to put me on the spot again.
“Cadet Wolf? Perhaps you can tell the class.”
Son of a bitch.
“It was a platoon sergeant, sir. He’d shot his M20 empty, and his rifle was disabled from enemy small arms.”
“Oh come now, Cadet, surely you can tell us more than that. Who was he?” He smirked.
“Sir, I really would rather not answer the question.”
“I addressed the question to you, now answer it, Cadet.” What an asshole.
“It was me, sir.” The classroom laughed, evidently thinking I was joking.
“Laugh all you want, kids, but he’s telling you the truth, and that knife he's tapping on the desk has likely taken more lives than any weapon any of you have carried. Cadet Wolf actually outranks me; I’m what you might call a “pipeline” instructor – I learned fast, and graduated – like all of you will – and then did my AIT in Logistics, and then was reassigned back to OCS to teach others since I learned so well. I was only promoted to Lieutenant in August of last year, Cadet Wolf was awarded a battlefield commission in… May, sometime, wasn’t it, Cadet?”
“Yes sir. 15 May.” I really didn’t want to go there, especially since Kirkut had already shit all over me for acting like it. “However, I never completed OCS prior to that sir, which is why I am required to attend it, now, and my rank is officially ‘Cadet’ for the duration of this course, sir, and I am not entitled to the privileges of rank while I am here, either, sir.”
“It’s not often I get to order around people who’re senior to me, Lieutenant. Maybe we’ll have some fun with that sometime, while you’re here!” Yeah, not on your fucking life, asshole. “Like, for example, does anyone know what Lieutenant Wolf was awarded?”
The muttering in the classroom was not sounding anything at all like a healthy discussion to me. One cadet put her hand up. “Yes, Cadet?”
“Sir, Lieutenant Wolf was awarded the three highest decorations for courage and valor in combat that the United States officers.”
“Very good, Cadet! So as you can see, our leaders think very highly of Lieutenant Wolf. We should all strive to conduct ourselves in a way that reflects well upon ourselves our unit, and our country.”
That smarmy little pissant harassed me non-stop through the rest of the course – and it was almost like Captain Kirkut was pushing him that path, too.
I hated the rest of OCS. It sucked. What they DIDN’T know was… I couldn’t fail. I already HAD my commission, and they couldn’t yank it away because it had been confirmed, and short of assraping the Base Commander’s wife, in front of him, on video tape, with three witnesses and a signed confession in advance… I was already done.
I didn’t know at the time that I could have simply had my career stonewalled – but, fortunately, I was “playing the game” and made it through.
I also don’t want to talk about it anymore. Fucking pussies.
Then, it got worse.
13 JAN 2096
In Re:Lieutenant James Wolf
S/N 20690401142857
Pursuant to general orders of the Commander, and commanding officer recommendation, subject soldier is ordered to attend Army Logistics Management Training, Advanced Training Division of Logistics Command, Fort Mcclellan, GA. Course start date 30 Jan 2136.
Subject soldier transportation by earliest available military transport.
…
Great. Now I have to get FORMAL training on how to record, track, and report on shitwipe usage. Yes, Form 1, aka, Toilet Paper – among other things.
And, just like OCS, I also don’t want to talk about it. Why? Because after I got done with that massive headache, I had the great fortune (I trust you can hear, smell, and TASTE the sarcasm in that statement), I was moved to another regiment – this time, someone must really have hated me, because it wasn’t even a line infantry regiment.
I got posted to Fort Knox, to the 101st Sustainment Division.
Let me make this clearer for you: Remember our pre-deployment workup to the whole Balkans ‘vacation’? Yeah. THAT Fort Knox. Units at Fort Knox didn’t deploy – they supplied, trained, and watched everyone else deploy.
Despite the craziness that happened on my deployment to Bosnia-Herzegovina-Croatia, I would still far prefer to be doing that, rather than wasting away as a logistics officer. Hell, this didn’t even make any sense to me – I wasn’t even really DOING anything logistics-oriented; I was just reading reports, reviewing reports, checking the math, and eventually, signing off on reports.
Why wasn’t I doing this all with my Implant? Why was I doing this stuff manually? What was the fucking point? I was wasted in this job, watching Privates and Corporals COUNT shit – including toilet paper – and it was killing me.
Turns out that we did have automation for this stuff, but as a new logistics officer, I was expected to do it ‘the hard way’ in order to understand how much better things were, with automation. That was for the tracking and counting, anyway – the reports, however, we could digitally review, but we still had to sign off on hardcopy reports, initial salient points within each report, and the provide the final report to the orderly room for “filing.” God, I hated that part of the military.
The one thing that surprised me was the equipment return. Granted, we were dealing with last-minute needs, and special gear that came back to us because it didn’t make sense to buy it for every soldier – and instead, we retained it at Knox and issued to troops that were deploying, and collected it back from them when they returned. That stuff, I was responsible for – but again, this is where the surprise came, for me: If we signed out, say, fifty sets of independent, direct-powered night vision devices… and only 20 came back? Standing Order Procedure was to document that 30 were lost due to combat.
That’s INSANE! Each of those devices took a pitch-black dark scene and made it look like it was complete daylight. They could be used to defeat even our “damn near invisible” stealth on ships, tanks, and some aircraft. They required no additional power – whether from an M34, or from a battery pack on your back. They were self-contained units and the Army’s cost, per set, was nearly a quarter of a million dollars!
(That example, by the way, wasn’t just an example. The very first time I had to sign for a major equipment collection, a battalion – about 1900 troops in that case – had taken fifty NVDs, and returned only 20. My first major, official act as a “supply officer” was to write off nearly eight million dollars’ worth of equipment!)
I got a whole goddamn year of that shit. Every day, bored out of my gourd. I couldn’t eve
n find a decent dojo in the area to get out and do some training; the best I could do was to keep up what I’d known by training on my own at the base rec center.
It wasn’t all bad, though, and I did get a bit of a leg up. I was 28 years old (I think?), I had led a platoon in combat, I had won some major awards, so, this wasn’t entirely unexpected:
18 JUN 2096
In Re:Lieutenant James Wolf
S/N 20690401142857
Pursuant to general orders of the Commander, and commanding officer recommendation, subject soldier is promoted from O1 to O2 rank, effective immediately.
Subject soldier to take command of Headquarters Company, 103rd Sustainment regiment, 2nd Battalion.
…
That wasn’t the best part, though – that came about three months later.
Rage & Fury Page 22