by Modou Fye
Jaden knocked on his door.
“Enter!”
Jaden closed the door behind him at the request of the captain. He noticed that a Bible lay on the captain’s desk. The captain motioned for him to take a seat.
“Lieutenant Ramiel, I hear that you aren’t getting along with some of your fellow lieutenants,” the Captain said.
“Obviously not! Why else would I be in your office, sir?” the Lieutenant quipped.
“What exactly is the problem between you and, well, most of the other lieutenants in the platoon?”
“Oh, that’s easy, sir. Simply put, I’m black and educated and they are white, ignorant Southern fucks who still believe in that ludicrous “The South shall rise again” bullshit!” he explained. He then threw in a disclaimer. “Though I use Southern in broad and general terms, I don’t mean to insinuate that all white Southern folk are racist. Two of my buddies are white Southerners.”
“Is it true that you wished Lieutenant Johnson dead?”
“Yeah,” the Lieutenant said nonchalantly.
“Is it true that you said that you’d take out his wife’s guts and feed him her fetus?”
“Almost verbatim, sir” he said, even more disinterestedly.
“Did you really mean what you said?” Captain Martin asked, looking at the lieutenant incredulously.
“Are you thinking that it might have been something I said in the heat of the moment?” Jaden inquired.
“Yes. Oftentimes people say things without really thinking them through, especially when emotions begin to run high.”
Jaden then lied. “To allay any doubts you might have, please let me make it perfectly clear that I did mean everything that I said.”
The Captain looked aghast. He had been expecting Jaden to feel contrite, or at least deny it.
“Sir,” the Lieutenant continued, “if Johnson were to drop dead and his wife lose the baby, and maybe even die herself as a direct result of a broken heart because Johnson found himself navigating his way to hell, I’d go back to my quarters, watch TV then go to bed at my usual time and wake up feeling refreshed and rejuvenated like any other day.”
“Jesus Christ!” the Captain exclaimed. “Are you insane?” He was having difficulty accepting that what he heard was, in fact, coming out of the lieutenant’s mouth. “Do you realize what you’re saying? This could be grounds for a medical dismissal from the Service. I could refer you to Mental Health for this,” Captain Martin said, still struggling to accept that Jaden had just so cavalierly uttered such horrid words.
“Insane? No! Ruthlessly practical? Perhaps. Sir, let me put it to you this way; it’s no secret that Johnson is racist, neither is it a secret that most of his buddies are as well. They are just more tactful and discrete about it, or so they believe. Johnson being what he is, and mind you I realize that there need not necessarily be any correlation in what I’m about to say, nonetheless, there’s a very, very good chance that one who socializes with such a person so much so as to fall in love and marry him is probably just as bad, if not worse; i.e. his wife. As such, it also stands to reason that any children they may have would probably be instilled with the same irrational hate. So, as far as I’m concerned, if they were all to die, it would be a good thing for humanity. So my wish is actually very humane as it is actually in the interest of the greater good,” he said derisively. “I realize that there are many nuances that could be argued and we could argue back and forth about this but my stance is such. Why should I feel any remorse or regret when Johnson would have no qualms about lynching a black man?” Jaden asked. “I’m an eye for an eye type of guy. Would you have killed or aborted Hitler, Stalin, etcetera, as babies if you knew what they’d grow up to do?”
“But behaving or being like him makes you no better than he is,” argued the Captain.
“It may not make me any better than he is but it does make me smart. And that’s what counts.”
“What do you mean?”
“Sir, I’m not Jesus. I don’t believe in turning the other cheek. Regardless of what you may believe about Christ, I contend that it was such naiveté and an irrational belief in the good nature of men that got him killed. Given the Bible on your table, you would probably argue that such is how it was meant to be, I know. My point, however, is if people would kill he whom is believed to be the Son of God, or God himself in the flesh, what hope do regular folks have against the hearts of depraved men? Now, on the other hand, when you are just as willing to kill someone as he is to kill you, and you associate with like-minded individuals, i.e., an eye for an eye, believe you me that though people might wish you harm they’d think twice before acting. As long as one foolishly insists on being Christ-like, they will always get nailed, no pun intended. And believe me when I say that no God will come to your rescue. Not that I believe in any of it – no offense, I’m assuming that you’re a believer given the Bible and all – but for argument’s sake, if God really did tell the Israelites to literally dash babies against walls, do you really believe that He actually cares about anyone? It’s a dog-eat-dog world. So, no!” Jaden declared emphatically, “I don’t regret any of what I said and meant every word of it.” All but the fetus bit. That really is depraved and sick, he then thought to himself.
“My God! You really do mean what you say, don’t you?” said the Captain, not sure if he agreed with Jaden’s line of reasoning or not.
“Of course I do,” the Lieutenant falsely asserted, still thinking about Johnson’s wife’s fetus.
“But God does care. Don’t you see how he punished the Israelites with the Holocaust for killing Jesus?” the Captain said.
It was now Jaden who couldn’t quite believe what was just said. Good God! Are people really this simple? he thought. He also wondered why the conversation was beginning to focus on God. He wasn’t here for a sermon. However, because he was too engrossed in the conversation, he rebutted. “Sir, I’m not sure as to the accuracy of your statement but even if that were the case, it only serves to drive home my point.”
“How so?’
“Without turning this into a theological discussion, let me say this; given what you just said about punishment, I don’t believe that God would at all mind my actions simply based on the following rationale: Let’s say that you’re right about the punishment bit, though I doubt it, let’s just say that you are, tell me how this sounds; the Egyptians enslave the Jews, the Jews are freed by God, He then tells them to kill babies, sheep, cattle, etcetera, and take over the lands of others; then Jesus comes along and, unlike the Judaic God, is far from a blood-thirsty psychopath ordering the slaughter of even chickens and ducks – an exaggeration but you get my point, it being that this old God did command even the killing of livestock, which, to my knowledge, have no concept of sin – now back to Christ; so Christ comes along and is then killed by the Pharisees, whose sentiments about Christ, by the way, did not represent the entire Jewish nation.
“Then, as part of an act of retribution, God has Hitler kill a great many Jews for the sins of their fathers two thousand years ago; sounds like retribution against an entire people for the sins of a few. As far as I know, somewhere in the Bible, I believe it states that God visits his vengeance onto the third and fourth generations; not the one millionth generation – again an exaggeration but you get my point. Does that make any sense to you? If that’s how it really is, that’s pretty sadistic and uncaring to me. To that end, one can’t help but wonder if God really cares. If He does, you can’t help but conclude that He is either seriously bi-polar, or suffers from the worst form of schizophrenia. Or, perhaps He’s just an ass. They say the fruit doesn’t fall far from the tree so how could God fault me for my actions?”
“Valid argument,” agreed the Captain. “An extreme and disturbing one but, rationally, I get it. However,” he continued, “you can’t go around threatening to kill folks, especially pregnant women. It just isn’t the way that differences are settled. You have to communicate.”
Jaden couldn’t help but laugh. “Sir, communicating with inbred racist shits is more impossible an undertaking than communicating with a rock.”
“This is one Army and we are all on the same side, Lieutenant Ramiel. How the heck are any of your fellow soldiers going to trust you in a situation where they are expecting you to watch their backs?”
“Sir, that’s something you should be telling Johnson and his loser friends.”
“I understand. Though unacceptable, racism is a reality that many people have to deal with. I’ll have a word with Johnson and his friends.”
“Good luck with that, sir. When I inferred that a rock is more intelligent, that’s the god awful truth.”
“You’re right. Talking to such people probably will not change them overnight, if ever, but I will address this as being completely unacceptable and that there will be dire consequences if any such talk or behavior is perpetrated any further. Regardless of people’s personal beliefs, everyone will, at the very least, afford all others the respect and professionalism that is fostered in this organization and demanded by the uniform. Nothing less!” the Captain declared.
“So would it have been in a perfect world, sir,” the Lieutenant said.
“The fact still remains. You can’t threaten to kill people, Lieutenant. You have to find another way of dealing with issues, one that does not allude to killing or any other implications thereof.”
“Sir, liken me unto a mirror. I will gladly be your reflection.”
“What do you mean?”
“I’ll be to you as you are to me. If you’re kindly so shall I be to you, and if you’re anything else, the same goes. Unlike my buddies, who keep telling me that I have to learn how to play the game, rather than be passive I prefer to react, and if I can predict your move, I’ll never fail to strike preemptively. If Johnson and his buddies don’t say the wrong things around me then you need not worry about me escalating anything. I will not carry myself in a manner unbecoming of an officer, or a decent human for that matter, if unprovoked,” he said with a wry smile. “And one more thing if I may,” he added.
“What’s that?”
“There’s no need to address Johnson or any of his friends.”
“Why not?” the Captain asked curiously.
“Take my word for it, there isn’t a need. Believing me to be psychotic, and maybe I am, I’m certain that they’ll be more mindful of how they conduct themselves… at least around me.”
The captain was inclined to believe him; there was something in the lieutenant’s voice that gave him the distinct impression that there was a lot more to the young man than met the eye. He couldn’t quite place the sentiment but thought that there was something about the lieutenant’s presence that invoked what he could only interpret as trepidation in others.
“There’s something very different about you, Lieutenant,” the Captain said, furrowing his brow.
“And what might that be, sir?”
“I don’t know. But for whatever reason, I don’t think that I’d want to get on your bad side,” he said, looking at Jaden as though trying to discern something in his eyes.
Okay, this is getting really, really freakishly weird, thought Jaden. You’re the third person that has made comments to that effect. “I just have a very low tolerance for stupid crap, sir. That’s all it is,” was the Lieutenant’s answer.
“Johnson will have to join the next class, that’s if the doctors can figure out what’s wrong and fix him up in time. He’s been pale, incoherent and edgy ever since whatever befell the poor SOB happened. He demands that his wife be with him all the time, a nurse tends to him 24/7, and at night he does let anyone turn the light off,” the Captain informed Jaden.
Jaden was not sympathetic. “The son of a bitch makes a pact with evil and then, when Lucifer or Beelzebub actually shows up, the bastard freaks and suffers from nyctophobia! Tough shit, sir!”
Lieutenant Johnson indeed had every reason to be fearful. His collapse was not predicated upon a medical condition. Unbeknownst to Jaden, after he had threatened the lieutenant’s family, Johnson had gone pale when an otherworldly being appeared before him and slowly drained his life essence. The being had appeared to Johnson in the likeness of a woman robed as an Egyptian warrior princess, who might have belonged to the age of the Pharaohs. She stood perhaps between nine and ten feet tall; though humanoid in appearance, it was obviously an entity far greater.
While Jaden had knelt beside Johnson, the latter’s eyes had been rolled back into his head by the entity; she becoming his singular focus within his head. While Johnson was lying upon the ground, the being had then violently ripped his soul forth from his body and floated it before her. “I kill you not, for still has my father made my hand. But know this, filthy creature, if harm were to come by thy hand to he who kneels beside thee, behold that which I shall do to those you hold dear,” she had said, before showing him a very graphic image of Jaden’s threat.
12
Graduation
Following several months of rigorous training in the scorching heat, time had finally counted down to the very last day of training. The lieutenants couldn’t be happier to be back from their ten-day long field exercise.
Jaden had never been nor felt as unclean as he did now after having spent ten consecutive days in the woods under sweltering temperatures and suffocating heat, with the only water available being that for quenching one’s thirst. Though abundant were the baby wipes he had taken with him, they hadn’t done much good by way of making him feel any better about his personal hygiene.
This final day was the day they all had looked forward to; the day in which duty station assignments were to be announced. Because the lieutenants were ever so eager to discover their assignments, that topic had been the subject of discussion among the lot from the moment they had awoken, which had been so terribly early in the morning that they had gone about fetching their belongings using flashlights and the glow of the moon. Assignments were all anyone could talk about as they broke down their encampments, donned their gear and embarked on the twenty-mile hike back to garrison.
ABOUT 2:00 in the afternoon, the entire battalion finally made its way back to the grounds of Building 76. It was a relief to be back. Because the rucksacks had quick-release mechanisms attached to them, when the command had been issued to drop their loads, there was a loud thud as all of the lieutenants, in near perfect synchronization, simultaneously pulled on the quick-release straps, relieved at discarding the 60-pound loads they had had to bear. As though that were not an unbearable load in itself, they also wore a body armor vest, which not only held 12-pound Kevlar plate inserts in both the front and back sleeves but also attached to the vest was a load-bearing apparatus containing an array of additional equipment, including seven full 30-round, 5.56 mm-round magazines; two, probably now empty, one-quart canteen bottles; a two-quart canteen bottle, a compass and other miscellaneous items. Upon their head rested a Kevlar helmet with a night-vision device attached to it, and to top it off they had also marched with their M4 rifles.
Fortunately for the lieutenants, they didn’t have long to wait before the battalion commander, trailed by each platoon’s instructor, came out of Building 76 with a few pieces of paper in hand, ready to put an end to the great anticipation. The entire battalion of lieutenants then burst into cheers.
Lieutenant Colonel Stevens wasn’t much for formalities so he hadn’t given the platoon instructors a chance to call their respective platoons to attention before addressing the troops.
“Gentlemen,” bellowed the Battalion Commander, “this is a day I’m sure you’ve been waiting for since day one; to be done with all of your training and find out what your duty stations are. I’m tempted to keep you in suspense yet a while longer but that would be cruel and unusual punishment after these last ten days,” he joked. “You did a spectacular job out there. I’m sure you’re all looking forward to the next couple of days off for a little bit of R&R prior to the g
raduation ceremony, huh!”
Once again the entire battalion of lieutenants erupted into a cheer.
“After the spectacular job that you did out there, wherever you end up there aren’t any questions in my mind that you will all be assets to your respective gaining commands. Mission accomplished, men! Job well done! Your entire mission, from day one, the day you all first reported here, has been a hell of a success. The training has been rigorous yet you have all persevered and executed your roles exceptionally well! Excellent job, men! Now, I will not keep you in suspense any longer. I’ll hand the lists off to your instructors and they’ll announce your duty stations. Again, you’ve accomplished one hell of an undertaking. It isn’t everyone that can be an infantryman.”
After handing off the lists to the instructors, he headed back to headquarters.
Names and corresponding duty stations were read off and Jaden discovered that he’d be reporting to Mannheim, Germany. “At least I didn’t get screwed this time around,” he remarked after hearing the news; Germany had been his very first choice for an assignment.
After the battalion had been dismissed, some of the lieutenants remained and chatted amongst themselves.
Unaware to Jaden, his assignment had spread among the others as though proclaimed over a PA system. It garnered lots of interest from curious minds, including Captain Martin. Infantry assignments were generally associated with Army posts such as Fort Drum, Fort Benning, Fort Bragg, Hawaii with the 25th Infantry Division, and other similar units and installations that had large contingents of infantrymen. No one had ever heard of an infantry unit in Mannheim, Germany. Several lieutenants approached him, curious regarding his assignment, wanting to know more about what, apparently, was a mystery unit to everyone. Jaden couldn’t quite understand what was so fascinating. Some even believed that there must have been an error with regards to his assignment. And when Captain Martin, a 16-year veteran who made it a point to do his homework and always have himself assigned strictly to infantry units, said that he had never heard of an infantry unit in Mannheim, Jaden, too, wondered if there had been a mistake.