Burden of Proof

by John G. Hemry

  * * *

  Captain's Mast, also known as Non-Judicial Punishment, also known as NJP in the initials-addicted military. The first Captain's Mast for Captains Hayes, meaning the first time the officers and crew would see him directly deal out discipline to those accused of relatively minor infractions against rules and regulations.

  Paul stood at attention against one bulkhead of the crew's mess, having locked a hand onto a nearby tie down both for safety and so he could keep his feet from drifting up into the middle of the proceedings. Next to him stood the ship's highest ranking enlisted sailor, Senior Chief Petty Officer Kowalski. Kowalski nodded in greeting. "Another fine day underway, Mr. Sinclair."

  "Underway's the only way." Paul gave the expected reply, only his tone betraying the expected irony in the statement. "How many have we got today, Sheriff?"

  On the other side of the compartment, Master-at-Arms First Class Ivan Sharpe stood next to the hatch, ready to usher in those sailors who would face the captain. He raised three fingers in response to Paul's question. "Slow day, sir."

  "Fine with me."

  Senior Chief Kowalski looked toward the hatch. "Everybody here?"

  Sharpe leaned out to confirm, then nodded. "All present and accounted for, Senior Chief."

  "In that case Petty Officer Sharpe, please notify the captain we are in readiness for Mast."

  "Will do, Senior Chief."

  Paul knew it would take a few minutes for Sharpe to reach the captain's cabin and then return with Captain Hayes. He wondered again how Hayes would handle the Mast cases, and whether he'd ask more questions of Paul than either of his two prior captains had done. Since Captain's Mast was non-judicial, it wasn't really a legal proceeding, but the rules for it were still set forth in legal guidance like the Judge Advocate General's Manual. Still, most Mast cases dealt with routine offenses, so captains rarely had to ask questions about procedures, and since no lawyers were present for Mast, they couldn't confuse the issues either.

  Sharpe arrived back at the hatch and leaned in to yell, "Attention on deck!" Paul and Senior Chief Kowalski stiffened to attention.

  Captain Hayes entered, his movements in freefall still a bit tentative, then looked at both Kowalski and Paul in acknowledgement of their presence. "At ease."

  Paul and the Senior Chief relaxed into parade rest, though with their hands locked onto tie-downs instead of clasped together behind them.

  Hayes looked toward Petty Officer Sharpe. "Bring in the first case."

  "Aye, aye, sir. Seaman Haggerty."

  A small procession entered the compartment. Seaman Haggerty, his uniform trim and neat, came to stand at attention directly before the captain. Ensign Diego, Haggerty's division officer, came next and took up a position along the bulkhead opposite Paul, followed by Chief Petty Officer Bidden.

  Hayes checked his charge sheet. "Seaman Haggerty. You are charged with violating Article 89 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice, Disrespect toward a Superior Commissioned Officer." He glanced toward Ensign Diego. "Are you the superior commissioned officer in question?"

  Randy Diego nodded nervously, but his voice came out firmly. "Yes, sir."

  "Tell me what happened, Mr. Diego."

  "Sir, we were putting together a work detail. I had orders from my department head to get some materiel stowed away safely that night. Chief Bidden and I called the division together and told them we'd be working past liberty call to make sure it was done. There was some grumbling, captain. I didn't mind that. But Seaman Haggerty came up and asked to be excused on account of a social engagement. I told him no, that everybody'd be working. At that point Seaman Haggerty turned away and said he couldn't believe he had to listen to orders from a, uh, 'snot-nosed kid'."

  Captain Hayes looked toward Chief Bidden. "Chief, did you hear that statement?"

  Bidden nodded. "Yes, sir. Loud and clear. I told Haggerty he'd better express regret for that statement and do it right then, but he had a head of steam up, I guess, and wouldn't."

  "I see." Hayes centered his gaze on Seaman Haggerty. "What do you have to say?"

  "Sir, I, uh, got a little worked up. I know I shouldn't have said what I did."

  "It's a little late to admit to that, Seaman Haggerty. Do you have anything else to say?"

  Haggerty looked momentarily desperate. "I . . . No, sir. I'm just real sorry. I'd take it back now in a heartbeat, Captain. I do want to apologize to Mr. Diego. Honest."

  Hayes looked back toward Randy Diego. "Ensign Diego, what kind of sailor is Seaman Haggerty?"

  "Captain, he's been a pretty good performer before this. I'd expected him to make petty officer third class soon. But I couldn't let this go by."

  Hayes nodded. "That's right. Chief, do you have anything to add?"

  Chief Bidden shook his head. "No, sir. Mr. Diego summed it up right. Haggerty's been a good sailor. He ain't talking, but I think he was looking forward to seeing a girl, and he let something other than his brain do the thinking that day."

  "I see." Hayes eyed Seaman Haggerty. "Do you understand the gravity of your offense, Seaman Haggerty?"

  "Yes, sir. Yes, sir, I do."

  "Ensign Diego talked about you possibly making third class soon. How happy would you be if someone junior to you then responded to your orders by insulting you?"

  "I wouldn't like it, Captain."

  Hayes frowned down at the charge sheet for a moment. "I'd be fully justified in throwing the book at you for this, but your division officer and chief both say you've been a good sailor and this incident was an aberration. Even then, though, I can't let it pass. Speaking so disrespectfully of an officer to his face cannot be tolerated." Hayes paused. "I'm going to order you to be fined half of one month's pay. And reduced in rate one paygrade." Haggerty flinched. "Suspended for six months." Haggerty brightened, then quailed again as Captain Hayes raised a hand in admonishment. "If you screw up again, you'll be a seaman apprentice, not a petty officer third class. Understood?"

  "Yes, sir. That won't be a problem, sir. I promise."

  "Good. Dismissed."

  Haggerty looked toward Petty Officer Sharpe in some confusion. Sharpe hooked a finger to tell him to leave. Ensign Diego and Chief Bidden followed.

  Paul nodded to himself. That wasn't an easy case, but Hayes seemed to find the right balance between discipline and mercy. Haggerty's going to miss that pay, so he didn't get off free, but he's got a chance to beat the rest of the penalty if he keeps his nose clean.

  Hayes shook his head and glanced at Senior Chief Kowalski. "Let's hope that got Haggerty's attention. Next case."

  Sharpe called out the next name. "Petty Officer Second Class Gadell."

  Gadell came in, standing at attention before Captain Hayes, as Lieutenant Silver and Chief Asher followed.

  Hayes looked at his charge sheet. "Petty Officer Gadell. You are charge with violating Article 134, Disorderly conduct, Drunkenness. Lieutenant Silver, what does this charge concern?"

  Instead of answering, Silver indicated Chief Asher. "The chief knows the details, Captain."

  Hayes frowned slightly and looked toward Chief Asher. "Well, Chief?"

  "Sir, Petty Officer Gadell, she came back from liberty three sheets to the wind, if you know what I mean. Came into the berthing compartment after taps, raising hell and making noise. Everybody told her to shut up, but she just kept it up. So's I had to get involved. But she wouldn't listen to me, either. We had to tie her in her bunk. It was real bad, and everybody in the division was real unhappy. If we let Gadell get away with that kind of thing, others would think they could, too. So we had to do something, sir."

  "Thank you, Chief. Petty Officer Gadell, what do you have to say?"

  Petty Officer Gadell bit her lip before replying. "Captain, the charge is true. I drank too much. Lost control, and did some stupid stuff."

  "You're not denying the charge at all? You aren't claiming any mitigating circumstances?"

  "No, Captain. No, sir. I did it. I'm real sorry
I did, but that's no excuse."

  Hayes nodded, his expression thoughtful now. "Lieutenant Silver, what's Petty Officer Gadell's record like?"

  Once again, Silver indicated Chief Asher instead of replying himself. Captain Hayes frowned a bit deeper this time.

  Chief Asher looked unhappy. "Captain, Petty Officer Gadell's a real good performer. This isn't like her. I wouldn't have brought charges except she did this in front of the whole division. I count on sailors like her to be real good examples."

  "And usually she's a good example?"

  "Yes, sir. Normally, Gadell's a real fine sailor."

  Hayes looked back at Gadell. "Alright, Petty Officer Gadell. Getting so drunk you couldn't control what you were doing wasn't very smart, was it?"

  "No, sir."

  "Are you going to do it again?"

  "No, sir!"

  "You've got two things in your favor. The first is that your chief says you're a good sailor and this isn't typical of you. The second is that you've accepted responsibility for what you did and didn't try to justify it. I can't let you off, because you do owe the rest of your division for causing all that disruption. But given your record and your attitude, I'm going to keep it light. Thirty days restriction to the ship. Don't let it happen again. Dismissed."

  Petty Officer Gadell couldn't mask her happy surprise before she left. As Lieutenant Silver began to follow her and Chief Asher out, Captain Hayes beckoned him over. Hayes spoke in a low voice, but Paul could still barely make it out. "Next time you have a sailor up here, Mr. Silver, make sure you familiarize yourself with that sailor's record."

  Silver, taken aback, nodded several times. "Yes, sir."

  Petty Officer Sharpe waited until Lieutenant Silver had left before calling in the last case. "Seaman Apprentice Alvarez!"

  Alvarez entered, her uniform looking good only relative to Alvarez's usual appearance, and stood before the captain. Lieutenant Sindh and Chief Turner took their positions opposite Paul, with Sindh giving Paul a brief eye contact that spoke volumes. Paul fought down a sour grin. Alvarez. She was at the first Captain's Mast I attended on this ship, and she's been pretty much a regular since then. I wonder what she did this time? A third person, Corpsman Second Class Kim, entered and stood near Chief Thomas.

  Captain Hayes consulted his charge sheet. "Seaman Alvarez. You are charged with violating Article 112a of the Uniform Code of Military Justice, Wrongful Use of Controlled Substances, and Article 115, Malingering. What's the story, Lieutenant Sindh?"

  Sindh nodded toward Alvarez. "Captain, as you know, the urinals on the ship are equipped with automatic drug testing monitors and identify anybody using them who has drugs in their systems. One such system notified us that Seaman Apprentice Alvarez popped positive for a synthetic drug known as Blue Sky which is on the list of controlled substances."

  "I see. What about the malingering charge?"

  "After she was confronted on the positive drug detection, Seaman Apprentice Alvarez declared herself to be in great pain, claiming someone must have spiked her food with a drug which was now causing severe reactions. She was taken to sick bay, thoroughly tested and placed under observation for twenty-four hours. The duty corpsman reported Seaman Apprentice Alvarez displayed no bodily stress indicators which would have been consistent with pain, nor did she show any other detectable signs of physical stress aside from her own declarations. Moreover, Seaman Apprentice Alvarez' descriptions of her suffering were not consistent. It was the duty corpsman's official assessment that Seaman Apprentice Alvarez had faked being ill."

  Hayes bent a stern face toward Alvarez. "What do you have to say to the charges?"

  Alvarez licked her lips and put a pleading expression on her face. "Captain, sir, it's not true. I don't know why that thing said I'd been using drugs, 'cause I don't. No, sir. That'd be unprofessional, sir. Those things malfunction, sir. I know that's true."

  Hayes looked toward Corpsman Kim. "What's your assessment?"

  Kim cleared his throat. "Captain, those automated testers do give false positives every once in a while. But as part of the tests I ran when Seaman Apprentice Alvarez said she was sick, I checked for drugs, of course. I got a clean positive on Blue Sky. There's no doubt it was in her system."

  Alvarez shook her head. "Sir, somebody must have put it in something. I don't even know what that Blue stuff is."

  Hayes' face stayed hard. "And what about the malingering charge? What do you say about that?"

  "Captain, sir, I was terrible sick. I couldn't do nothing but hurt. I don't care what them machines say. I know when I'm hurting. I wouldn't fake that, sir. I know the rest of the sailors in my division are counting on me, sir."

  Hayes looked back to Lieutenant Sindh. "What kind of sailor is Seaman Apprentice Alvarez?"

  Sindh let her eyes rest on Alvarez. "Captain, she's a frequent source of problems. She requires constant supervision, her work is substandard, and her attitude is usually borderline insubordinate. Alvarez is a detriment to my division."

  Hayes looked at Chief Thomas. "Chief?"

  Thomas inclined her head toward Lieutenant Sindh. "Captain, I agree with the lieutenant, except I think maybe she could've been a bit harsher in her assessment of Alvarez."

  The corners of Hayes' lips twitched upward in a momentary smile. "I see. I also see from Seaman Apprentice Alvarez' record that she's been a frequent visitor to Captain's Masts." He speared Alvarez with a look. "I don't need sailors like you on my ship. The first thing I'm going to do is reduce you in rate to Seaman Recruit, fine you one half of your pay for three months, and order you restricted to the ship for the next ninety days. The second thing I'm going to do is get you off this ship. Senior Chief Kowalski."

  Kowalski straightened to attention. "Yes, sir."

  "You will work with the executive officer to find a way to get Seaman Recruit Alvarez transferred off of this ship as soon as possible, with a recommendation she be separated from the Navy with an administrative discharge." Hayes pointed a rigid forefinger at Alvarez. "You listen to me. If you pull any other stunts onboard the Michaelson before I get rid of you, you'll be facing a court-martial and a bad conduct discharge. Is that clear?"

  Alvarez' mouth worked silently for a moment. "Y-yes, sir."

  "Dismissed."

  Alvarez turned and left. Lieutenant Sindh, grinning widely, followed. As Chief Turner left, she and Ivan Sharpe exchanged a high five. Sharpe saw Captain Hayes give him a stern look and quickly came back to attention, but still smiled. "That was the last one, Captain," Sharpe announced.

  "You saved the best for last, huh? Why is Alvarez still aboard this ship?"

  Sharpe looked at Senior Chief Kowalski, who shrugged. "Captain, if we were allowed to kill dirtballs, then Alvarez would've been stuffed into a launch tube a long time ago. But she's been able to convince people she could turn around."

  "People?"

  "Uh, your predecessors, sir."

  "I see. Senior Chief, I hate losing a sailor, even one with a bad reputation, as long as I have reason to believe that sailor can be brought around. Nothing about Alvarez made me believe she'd ever get her act together."

  "No, sir. God knows Lieutenant Sindh and Chief Thomas have tried, sir."

  "Well, they'll have one less distraction soon. Let me know how we can get rid of her, Senior Chief, and how soon. Dismissed." Hayes nodded again to Paul, then headed for the hatch.

  Sharpe yelled, "Attention on deck!" then grinned at Paul after the captain had left. "Oh, it's a beautiful day, sir."

  Senior Chief Kowalski smiled, too. "Alvarez hasn't left, yet. You keep an eye on her. I wouldn't mind booting her out with a bad conduct discharge."

  "Me, neither, Senior Chief. Ah, Mr. Sinclair, I've been waiting for this day. Begging your pardon, sir, but if you were a woman I'd kiss you."

  Paul laughed. "Then I'm glad I'm not." He left as well, heading for the wardroom in search of coffee. He found Mike Bristol and Lieutenant Sindh already there. "Well," Paul not
ed as he strapped into a chair, "Scott Silver appears to have accomplished the difficult task of looking worse than Randy Diego."

  Lieutenant Sindh smiled. "It's nice to see Lieutenant Silver accomplish something."

  Mike Bristol frowned in puzzlement, looking from Paul to Sindh. "What's wrong with Scott?"

  Sindh took a drink before replying. "He's an ass."

  "He seems like a great guy to me."

  "That's because you don't have to depend upon him to do anything."

  "Really?" Mike looked at Paul.

  "Yeah. You think Scott's a great guy?" Paul shook his head. "He acts nice enough, I guess, but he lets other people carry the load."

  "Huh." Mike Bristol scratched his head for a moment. "Most everybody likes him."

  Lieutenant Sindh grimaced. "I'm certain Commander Kwan loves him, as no doubt does his department head, Commander Destin. However, to my knowledge neither of those officers has suffered as a result of Lieutenant Silver's avoidance of responsibilities."

  "He's messed over both you guys?"

  "Frequently and with apparent lack of remorse."

  "Huh," Bristol repeated. "How come you guys haven't been complaining openly?"

  Paul shrugged. "You don't do that. Who wants to be Sam Yarrow?"

  "Why not? I mean, if the guy isn't doing his job, shouldn't someone know?"

  Sindh and Paul exchanged glances. Paul shook his head again. "It's hard, Mike. You're not supposed to bilge people."

  "Bilge?"

  "Uh, the bilge is where trash ends up on a seagoing ship. It's a general term for bad stuff."

  "It sounds like Scott's bilging you."

  "You could say that."

  Bristol scratched his head again. "I guess this is one of those fraternity of long-suffering line officers things, isn't it?"

  "Well, yeah."

  Lieutenant Sindh finished her coffee. "Consider, Mike. If the officers are running around dumping on each other, working relationships go to hell. The crew picks up on it, and problems such as insubordination become commonplace. Why respect an officer who isn't respected by his or her peers? In short order, you could have an actually hazardous situation on board, one in which accidents can occur due to ill-feelings and bad discipline."