The Cadet Corporal

by Christopher Cummings

  It was hot by then, with the sun blazing down from a clear blue sky. But Graham was sweating with anxiety too. He had a big drink as he walked along with the others. They splashed across the shallow water and made their way through the belt of small trees. In the shade near 3 Platoon’s packs they found Lt McEwen.

  The first stand was a First Aid dilemma. They were being hunted by enemy patrols with dogs and helicopters. One member of the patrol had been badly wounded and they had to decide what to do, keeping in mind that the injured member knew the whole plan, plus a lot of other secret information. It was a discussion activity and was dominated by Gwen, with some stupid suggestion by Brooks and Dimbo. Graham tried to put in positive and sensible suggestions. Then he made himself useful in constructing an improvised stretcher.

  To his annoyance it was Gwen who took command when it came time to lift the stretcher, which had Dimbo on it.

  After that they were told to patrol along Dingo Creek. There was a pause and they looked at each other. Gwen spoke first, “We had better organize ourselves then.”

  But instead of nominating tasks she looked at Graham. He saw that the others were also looking at him. Aware that Lt McEwen was watching and taking notes he tried not to get flustered. ‘Seize the initiative you dummy!’ he told himself. He pointed at Gallagher. “You go first scout. Craney, you be a scout too.”

  To his relief no-one argued and he took the position of patrol commander, then got them moving. As they entered Dingo Creek he began to really sweat, remembering the patrol course two days earlier. ‘Oh I hope we don’t get a contact in here!’ he thought.

  They didn’t. First they met CUO Mitrovitch and Sgt Yeldham at a ‘minefield’. They had to discuss how to get across quickly and safely, and not leave any tracks. As they talked Graham noted that Yeldham looked really miserable. He was certainly touchy and bad-tempered and snapped angrily back at Costigan when he made a teasing comment about getting captured.

  Then it was on along the bed of Dingo Creek. Staff Sgt Bates met them and took their names, then told them to keep walking. That made Graham very anxious and he scanned the steep slopes and rubber vines, trying to have a workable plan ready. At the sharp bend to the right Sgt Gayney suddenly stepped out with her hands up.

  “I surrender,” she said.

  “Bang! Gotcha!” was Brookes’ response.

  Staff Sgt Bates pointed to some shade just around the bend. “OK, let’s sit and discuss what you would do in this situation.”

  That led to an animated argument over whether to shoot the prisoner or what else could be done. Graham was quite sure that shooting was wrong and said so heatedly.

  “You’re just a softie!” Brookes told him.

  Gwen and Gallagher supported Graham. They thought the prisoner could be left tied up where he would be found, or taken with them and used as a hostage. At the end Staff Sgt Bates said that either of those options was acceptable. That made Graham feel better. ‘Capt Conkey is very strong on morality,’ he told himself.

  Further on, at the bend where Peter’s group had set up their ‘camp’, they met CUO Masters. The problem was a deserted camp, with a map clearly visible in the hutchie.

  “It’s a trap,” Graham said. “Let’s just by-pass it.”

  “No. We need the map,” Gwen insisted.

  There was a short but tense discussion and Gwen’s plan was adopted. Graham still seemed to have command so he positioned a group up on the bank to the right, then sent the scouts to search. They duly found Sgt Grenfell and LCpl Telford hiding in ambush.

  “Good work,” CUO Masters said. “Now go up the bank there along the track to the Bunyip.”

  As Graham directed the scouts that way he realised Capt Conkey had been standing at the top of the bank watching. That got him all worried again. He became even more concerned when he noted that Capt Conkey was strolling along at the rear. CUO Grey met them and took their names, then told them to proceed.

  Graham’s fears were justified when they reached the more open areas of rubber vine on top of the flat tongue of land between Dingo Creek and the Bunyip. Three ‘enemy’ suddenly appeared and began ‘firing’ at them. After diving for cover Graham looked anxiously around, his eyes prickling as sweat trickled into them. ‘I have to do well,’ he told himself. ‘Be bold! Be aggressive!’ Then he got all worried lest it become a case of fools rush in. He shouted to get control, then decided a frontal attack was the best option. With that in mind he warned the flank people to watch and then began ‘pepper-potting’ the groups.

  Then it seemed to be easy. He just screamed orders and each group doubled forward ten paces in turn until they had over-run the ‘enemy’. On being told to stop by CUO Masters, Graham stood up, chest heaving and wiped the sweat from his face.

  “OK Cpl Kirk, you have been shot,” Capt Conkey said. “You become one of the last in the section.”

  ‘Does that mean I did well or very badly?’ Graham wondered.

  Capt Conkey did not nominate a new section commander so Gwen stepped up and took control. Nobody disputed this and they were directed on along the track through the rubber vines. To Graham’s relief Capt Conkey turned and went back, presumably to watch the second group of corporals.

  There was no incident in the rubber vines. They came out at the bank of the main river at the northern end of the island to find CUO McAlistair and Sgt Sherry sitting in the shade. The corporals were told they had come to a crocodile infested river and that the enemy search patrols were close and catching up The only way across was a narrow old footbridge but sitting at their end of the bridge cooking a meal was an enemy soldier. He had his rifle leaning on a tree. What were they to do?

  While they discussed this Graham stared off across the sand of the river bed, reliving the exercise of the previous night. In the distance he could see the dark pattern of the railway bridge. ‘It was certainly a good exercise,’ he mused. In his heart he knew it had become one of the most important incidents in his life.

  The exercise route sent them left along the river bank back to the mouth of the Canning opposite the other end of the island. Lt Maclaren and Lt Standish were waiting there and they had the problem of who they would leave behind if the only boat available to take them out to the submarine obviously could not carry them all safely. This was a secret ballot. After discussing it they voted on slips of paper. Graham decided he would leave Costigan behind.

  When they had finished Lt Maclaren pointed under the trees fifty paces up the Canning and said, “Go and wait there and have lunch, then fill out your Personal Qualities Reports. Also plan your skit or act for the campfire tonight.”

  “Aw sir! Do we have to?” Crane grumbled.

  “Yes, it is part of the section competition,” Lt Maclaren replied. “Now get going. When your section arrives take them back to camp.”

  As the group walked along the sandy bed of the Canning Graham thought, ‘Well, that is that. I hope I did well.’ As he sat down in the shade he wondered what else he could do to improve his chances of being promoted.

  CHAPTER 34

  CAMPFIRE

  Graham seated himself a few paces away from the other corporals and began to fill out the Personal Qualities Reports on his cadets. For some this was easy and he did it quickly. For a couple of others he had to pause and think hard. One of these was Halyday. Over the last few days Halyday had seemed to blossom and had done a very good job. Graham had to revise his earlier opinions of him, but was glad to do so.

  While he worked Graham also worried about what might be said about him in the reports that CUO Masters, CSM Cleland and Sgt Grenfell would be filling out. All he could do was hope that he had redeemed himself to some extent. As he thought back over the events of the week he had quite a few strong regrets. He was also aware that the camp was due to end the next day and that made him sad.

  ‘I am really starting to enjoy this,’ he thought. ‘I wish it could go on for another week.’

  The need to do a pee caused
him to stop work and look around. ‘Where can I go that won’t have cadets swarming around in it?’ he wondered. In the bush across the Canning was the obvious place. Placing the reports in his map pocket he stood up and trudged across the hundred metres of sand, splashing his way across the shallow flow of water. Two minutes later he was up among the trees near the junction of the two rivers and out of sight.

  While he was relieving himself Graham heard a vehicle approaching. It was driving slowly down the dirt track from up on the bank. As he finished and zipped up he saw the vehicle through the foliage. It was an army Land Rover and was heading for near where he was. A vehicle track led to a small clearing just back from the junction of the two rivers.

  Assuming the vehicle had nothing to do with him Graham started making his way back. He had only just emerged from the trees when the Land Rover pulled up ten metres behind him at the end of the track. A voice suddenly called to him.

  “Hoy! You there, cadet!”

  Graham turned to see a fat Officer of Cadets with piggy little eyes leaning out of the window of the vehicle. ‘Lt Cain, from St Michaels,’ he remembered, having seen the man at the promotion course in December.

  “Yes sir?”

  “Are you from Cairns?”

  “Yes sir,” Graham replied. ‘Dopey git!’ he thought, as he was still wearing his green shoulder slides.

  “Where is your OC?” Lt Cain asked, getting out of the vehicle.

  Graham pointed across the dry bed of the Canning. As he did several more people climbed out of the Land Rover. To Graham’s astonishment one was Cadet Carnes, also still wearing his green slides.

  “Take me to him,” Lt Cain ordered. He turned and snapped at Carnes,“Come on boy!”

  Followed by Lt Cain, Carnes and another OOC from St Michaels, Graham walked back across to where Lt Maclaren and Lt Standish were. On the way they had to splash through the shallow water and it gave Graham some sardonic amusement to hear Lt Cain muttering in distaste as he followed. He glanced back to watch and caught a glimpse of Carnes’ face. It was a stony mask and he had obviously been crying.

  ‘Poor bugger! I wonder what happened?’ he thought.

  To satisfy his curiosity Graham lingered to listen when Lt Cain met Lt Maclaren and Lt Standish. Lt Cain gestured to Carnes and said, “Found this fellah down at the railway bridge and brought him back.”

  Lt Maclaren looked surprised and said, “Oh yes? Thank you very much. What happened?”

  Lt Cain said, “We went back to look for some gear lost during last night’s exercise: hats, waterbottles, that sort of thing, you know. Anyway, as we drove down under the railway bridge we found this lad standing there. He looked very lost and did not seem to know where he was, so we brought him back.”

  Lt Maclaren looked at Carnes. “What were you doing Cadet Carnes? Why did you leave here without permission?”

  Carnes made no answer, just looked miserable. He stared off into space.

  Lt Cain shrugged. “He wouldn’t tell us either. Just stood there staring up at the bridge and muttering to himself. He’s got a screw loose if you ask me.”

  Lt Standish reacted to that. “There’s no need to talk like that in front of him!” she snapped.

  Lt Cain looked at her with a half-sneer on his lips. “Thank you for your gratitude at our efforts. Good afternoon.”

  At that he turned and began walking back towards his vehicle. The other OOC, a young 2nd Lieutenant, gave Lt Standish an embarrassed smile, then followed.

  “Thank you very much,” Lt Standish called.

  “God, he’s an arrogant pig that bastard!” Lt Maclaren muttered. Then he became aware of Graham’s presence. “That will be all Cpl Kirk. You can go.”

  “Yes sir,” Graham replied. He turned and walked away. As he did he heard Lt Standish ask, “Why did you go back to the bridge on your own Cadet Carnes?”

  “To look for my watch Miss,” Carnes replied.

  Graham did not hear any more but the answer puzzled him. ‘Which side of the river was he found on?’ he wondered. Then he shrugged, remembering that Carnes had also gone to the bridge with Peter.

  Pushing the incident from his mind Graham settled back to writing reports. Soon after that the second section of corporals arrived and Peter and Stephen came over to join him. As Peter sat down Graham told him about Carnes.

  “I saw him back there with Lt Standish,” Peter replied. “I wondered what he was doing there.”

  Stephen looked that way. “You mean he walked all the way back to the railway bridge on his own?” he asked.

  “Must have,” Graham replied. “It wouldn’t be hard. You can see it from just over there. All he would have needed to do was walk along the river bank.”

  “What a dipstick,” Stephen commented, siting down and taking out his reports and pen. Peter did likewise but sat looking thoughtful for a few minutes. Graham continued to write reports and was soon finished. The last one was on LCpl Franks and he wrote the comment: ‘Not recommended for promotion.’

  The first group of lance corporals arrived soon after. Talking and joking began. Roger joined Graham and bewailed his efforts on the exercise. That got Graham thinking. ‘Should I also write reports on the people who were in my section earlier I wonder?’

  Unsure of what to do he got up and walked back to Lt Maclaren to ask him. Lt Maclaren nodded and said, “Yes, if you have spare reports. Oh, and take Cadet Carnes back with you to Cpl Bronsky.”

  Carnes stood up and followed Graham. He still looked thoroughly miserable and sniffled several times. Graham looked at him and said, “Cheer up Cadet Carnes, it is nearly over. The camp ends tomorrow and you can go home then.”

  “Don’t want to go home,” Carnes muttered.

  “Well, you will be away from cadets anyway,” Graham commented.

  Carnes just shrugged. “Don’t care. Anyway, I’m not going back to my parents. I hate them!”

  “Where will you go?” Graham asked.

  For a few paces Carnes made no reply, just looked sulky. Then he cried, “I’m not going back to them! They don’t want me.”

  That shocked Graham and he tried to cheer him up. “Sorry you feel that way. Anyway, hang in there. It will be over soon.”

  “Yes it will be,” Carnes muttered then added something Graham could not hear. By then they were back with the others and Graham handed responsibility over to Peter. He told Carnes to sit nearby and not to wander away without permission again. Carnes grunted and slumped down on the sand, hiding his face as he did.

  With nothing to do Graham sat and talked to Roger. Mostly they discussed the expedition to Stannary Hills they were due to start on the following Monday. Roger was worried that one day’s rest might not be enough and canvassed the idea of cancelling or postponing it. Graham considered the idea, but he had another agenda altogether: Kirsty. He kept this secret however, knowing from experience how his friends would pour scorn on his romantic notions.

  The first section arrived and soon after that CSM Cleland. He collected Cpl Brooks and sent him back to the bivouac area to work for Lt Hamilton. As CSM Cleland went to leave, Graham called to him to settle a question that had been nagging at him.

  “Excuse me CSM, are that mob from Heatley likely to sneak up and raid us?”

  CSM Cleland shook his head. “I doubt it. They have gone upriver to the place where we were two nights ago and have their own unit platoon versus platoon exercise to do,” he replied. Then he added, “Why do you ask?”

  “Just worried in case they caught us by surprise sir,” Graham replied. CSM Cleland laughed then said, “You let Capt Conkey worry about the unit tactics Cpl Kirk. Now get on with your reports.” “Finished Sergeant Major,” Graham replied. “Good,” CSM Cleland replied. He walked off up the dry river bed.

  Graham returned to talking with Roger. Another section of 1 Platoon arrived and was led off by its section commander. Ten minutes later 4 Section, plus two from 5 Section arrived. Graham stood up and told them to f
ollow him. He led them back to their packs and told them to get their toilet gear and change of clothes ready for a shower. Already 1 Platoon was moving off under the command of the CSM.

  Sgt Gayney arrived to take charge, followed soon after by CUO Mitrovitch. That told Graham that the exercise was ending, the last sections having passed those stands. Ten minutes later CUO Masters and Sgt Grenfell walked in with the remainder of 2 Platoon. They were organized for a shower and then the whole platoon walked across the river carrying towels, clean clothes and toilet bags. As they puffed up the steep, dusty track to the top of the river bank Graham felt a great sense of sadness. The last exercise of the camp was over and they would be on their way home the next morning. All that really remained was the campfire and he wasn’t really looking forward to that. He knew every section was required to put on an act, this being marked as part of the section competition. What bothered him was that he had no idea what act the section could perform.

  Puzzling over this helped him push aside his other concern: what to do about Kirsty. He knew that he had to make some move tonight. ‘If I don’t I may as well kiss her goodbye,’ he thought. And what about the following week? He was really torn by the dilemma of having organized to go camping with his friends yet wanting to take Kirsty out. What really added a fine twist of anxiety to the decision was the nagging suspicion that she was not really the right girl for him anyway.

  Waiting on top of the bank was an army truck and Lt Hamilton. He loaded the platoon in, climbed in with them and told the driver to get going. Graham recognized the driver as the one who had been driving the first truck the night before. The truck drove up the dusty track past Black Knoll to the Canning Road, then up and over Bare Ridge. As they drove past Sandy Ridge Graham looked at the area and marvelled. It now seemed to have been a long time ago that they had first camped there.

  ‘It’s been a great camp,’ he thought, savouring the successes of the raid on the bridge. As the truck turned left on the highway he was able to see both the road and rail bridges. Screwing up his eyes against the glare and wind, he studied the distant river bank, trying to pick out the route his patrol had followed.