Soldiers in Heat: Training Session

by Joanna A. Haze

  “I have a suggestion,” Jonathan said, putting his phone away. “How about if Zimmerman stays out and provides coverage from the window as we enter. This way, it takes out the cadre in the first room and stops Zimmerman from getting taken out each time she steps in the doorway. No offense, Zimmerman, but you don’t move out the fatal funnel fast enough to not get shot.”

  “You sound like Woodson,” Zimmerman replied with a laugh.

  “She sent a text, and it gave me the idea. She wished us luck.”

  When it was their turn to go through again, they completed the mission as if they’d done it a thousand times, and with zero casualties.

  “You guys look like an entirely different group. Good job,” Captain Brown said.

  Staff Sergeant Isome gave them thumbs up.

  For the rest of the day, they ran more missions. Each person in their squad had to take a turn being a leader. It turned out to be a long tiresome day.

  By the end of the night, Jonathan was exhausted. He slid into his sleeping bag and closed his eyes. As time passed, sounds of snoring echoed around the camp. Even exhaustion did little to take his mind off Kimberly. He wished she was nearby so he could look at her. Jonathan wondered if she was having as a hard time as him sleeping. Hours passed before he finally drifted off.

  Chapter Nineteen

  “Carlson, get up. You have a call.” One of the female HHC Candidates stood on the side of her bunk.

  “I just got off overnight duty for Charge of Quarters. I’m supposed to be resting for the day.” Kimberly pulled her cover over her head to block out the sunlight.

  “Staff Sergeant Jackson sent me to get you.”

  Kimberly sighed. She’d been awake for over twenty-four hours. She and another male were selected to answer the phones during the night for their detail. This was after waking up, completing physical training, and going through a full day at HHC. Though the CQ office had a bed in it for rest, neither one of them got to use it. Right at lights out, all the deployed soldiers began calling and needed to be transferred to their significant other. With the difference in time zones, day time in the Middle East was night time in the States.

  She slid out the bed, pulled her hair up in a bun, and put on her gym shoes. It was mandatory to sleep in the physical fitness uniform. There was no need to get dressed. She slow dragged out the door and around the building to Staff Sergeant Jackson’s office.

  “You wanted to see me, Staff Sergeant?” Kimberly poked her head in the door.

  “Yes, come in and shut the door.”

  She closed the door and took a seat in front of his desk.

  “What is the deal with you and your husband?”

  “Excuse me, Staff Sergeant?” He confused her with his line of questioning.

  “Apparently, your husband has been calling all throughout the night. You weren’t answering your phone, so he demanded we make sure you were not with Harvey. The student on duty didn’t know what to do. She called me.” He leaned closer to her. “I ask again—what is the issue with you and your husband?”

  “We’re legally separated, and he won’t sign the divorce papers.”

  “Why is he calling here?”

  “Staff Sergeant, you’d have to ask him that.” Kimberly didn’t know if it was lack of sleep or the situation with Charles, but she no longer cared with keeping up with military customs and courtesies. It didn’t help that the person speaking to her was the same rank as her. “I can’t presume to know what a delusional, lying, cheating son of a bitch does. Am I going to get reprimanded or something? Get it over with, so I can go back to sleep. I’ve been accused of sleeping with an idiot, and no one wants to listen. Why bother asking me questions?”

  Staff Sergeant Jackson’s eyes lowered, giving her a stern look, and then his mouth curled up into a smile. “If I wasn’t the one who put you on CQ duty, then I’d be inclined to say you’re right. Being I know for a fact you were on duty and not screwing around, I’m leaning more toward agreeing with you on your husband being delusional.”

  Kimberly didn’t know how to respond.

  “Another thing, if you’re legally separated, what difference does it make if you’re not answering your phone? I don’t answer for my ex either.”

  “I didn’t think there was a law saying I had to. He never says anything positive. This school is hard enough. I stopped taking his calls weeks ago,” she said.

  “Captain Brown tells me you’re one of the better candidates he’s had. I read over you file, and none of the reasons for you being here makes any sense. Your soon-to-be-ex husband sees you in a hotel lobby with another candidate. The reason for him being there are questionable alone. The Battalion Commander making a decision without speaking to you or the other candidate is an issue for me. I have no problem being a witness for you at the hearing. Your husband calling here rubs me the wrong way. Go get some sleep.”

  Kimberly returned to the female bay, sent Jonathan a text saying she missed him, and got some much needed rest. Hours later, her growling stomach woke her. It was past lunch time and too early for dinner. She got an MRE from Staff Sergeant Jackson and took it to the dayroom. It wasn’t the best of meals, but it served its purpose.

  Compared to the dayroom at Delta Company this one was a cramped space. It was a small section inside the male barracks. She took a seat on one of the mix matched couches. Two candidates, who couldn’t do details for medical reasons, sat on the other couch reading magazines.

  “I’m sorry about not saying anything,” Harvey said, standing in doorway.

  He was covered in grass and dust from landscaping the battalion grounds.

  She chewed the piece of cheese and crackers she put in her mouth before speaking. “I’m the one who should apologize. My husband caused all this.”

  “If I would have spoken up, maybe it would have turned out differently.”

  “I doubt it. The Battalion Commander already wrote us off the moment our names were mentioned. At least, that’s what it feels like. Haven’t you noticed the other candidate here for disciplinary action is black? From overhearing everyone talk about it, it’s the norm. The others have medical condition or couldn’t pass a certain portion of the class.”

  He looked around. “You think he’s singling people out?”

  “I don’t know for sure but…” she shrugged her shoulders, “it sure seems that way. I’m not going down without a fight though.”

  “The hearing’s tomorrow. I’ll be sure to speak up then. I can’t believe my speaking to you got us into this.” He shook his head.

  “If not you, it would have been a hotel employee because they were black. All my husband saw was me talking to a black man and lost it. If you were white, it would have been exactly what it was. Two people holding a conversation.”

  “I can’t imagine what would’ve happened if he saw you talking to white boy.” He joked.

  She cut her eyes at him.

  “I better get back outside and finish up. I only came in to fill my Camel Pak with some ice water.”

  She finished eating and went back to the female bay. Thoughts of Jonathan raced through her mind. She’d wished him luck but would rather be there with him. After seven weeks of class, she’d never thought she wouldn’t have made it to the end. Once they passed the field, everything else was downhill. The only thing left class work and preparing for graduation.

  Jonathan’s words from the hotel room came back to her: “In it for the long haul.”

  With the military nothing was guaranteed. She could be sent anywhere. The only reason she and her husband were stationed together was because they were married.

  Funny, she and Jonathan had only known each other for seven weeks, yet it felt like she knew more about him than a man she been with for years. Jonathan was an open book with her, and she could tell him anything. Outside of the hotel stays, they spent many nights talking outside their rooms, in the hallway. One time, while helping each other getting their gear straight for the f
ield, he had asked her about her goals.

  Kimberly was taken aback by his question. Charles never seemed to care about anything unless it was about him. Jonathan showed interest in her goals for the military and after she retired. She wanted to set up a program to teach teens business skills while they were still in school. It would be more than an after-school program.

  One of his talks was what she craved. She looked at her cellphone. Ten missed calls from Charles and six text messages. She deleted the voicemails and texts without reading them but stopped when she saw one from Jonathan.

  I miss you and can’t wait to hold you.

  She put away her phone and went to bed. Thoughts of the hearing plagued her dreams.

  ________

  Since 0700 hours, she’d gone over her case with Captain Fink, her military-appointed student counsel. He apologized for not contacting her the day before but said he had been in touch with Captain Brown, who was willing to speak on her behalf. Captain Brown had given him a list of other candidates he needed to speak with besides Harvey.

  The fact she and her husband were legally separated and divorce paperwork filed was a plus. Without them living together, there was no adultery to be committed. It didn’t stop her from having bubble guts though.

  When she entered the hearing room, which was a class room, she fought hard to calm her nerves. The tables where positioned in a U shape with one chair facing them. There were three board members and a counsel for OCS. All of them wore frowns on their face. This wasn’t a board of her peers. They were high-ranking white males.

  She resisted the urge to vomit.

  The OCS counsel started with an opening statement. “I intend to prove that Candidates Woodson and Harvey set out on a rendezvous which was only halted due to Sergeant First Class Woodson, Candidate Woodson’s spouse, interceding.”

  She felt like she was in an episode of Law and Order. Her counsel spoke and called the situation, “A case of misconceived perception.”

  When both counsels were done, she was called to the hot seat. She stood up, straightened her uniform and marched to the chair—the one facing them.

  “Candidate Woodson, what was your reasoning in going to the hotel?” the opposing counsel asked.

  His bleach blond hair and light eyes reminded her of a bully in any eighties movie. He looked down his nose at her as if she were lesser than the scum caked in the crevices of his boots.

  “I was going to get some rest after completing the seven mile road march, sir.”

  “What were you doing in the lobby?”

  “I was waiting to check in, and then Harvey walked in, sir.”

  “He just happened to walk in. Out of all the hotels, he just happened to be at that one?”

  She didn’t like the way he spoke. His words were condescending.

  “I guess he found a deal on Priceline like I did, sir.”

  He moved closer and got in her face. “It was a rhetorical question, candidate.”

  “My apologies, sir.” It seemed as if someone lit a small fire under the chair. The longer she sat there, the hotter it got. Her undershirt was sure to have rings of sweat on it. Sitting at the position of attention, her back perfectly straight and hands flat on her lap, didn’t make things better. It wasn’t a comfortable way to sit.

  “Please read the passage in the OCS Student Handbook. I’ve underlined for you.” He handed her the pamphlet.

  “No two candidates of the opposite sex are to be alone at any time,” she read.

  “As a noncommissioned officer, I’m sure you can understand what you just read.”

  “Yes, sir, but Candidate Harvey and I weren’t alone. We were in a hotel lobby with other guests and the hotel personal.” She knew where he was going as soon as she saw the handbook. Her counsel had prepared her.

  He glared at her. “Your witness.”

  Captain Fink stood and walked around to the open area where she sat as the opposing counsel took his seat. “Candidate Woodson, you already addressed why you were at the hotel so I won’t cover it again. I have one question for you. At the day in question, what was your relationship to Candidate Harvey?”

  “I was his squad leader, sir.”

  “I see, and what was it you two were discussing when your legally separated from ex-husband walked in?”

  “Candidate Harvey wanted to apologize for his behavior from the previous day. While in training, he didn’t conduct himself as a leader and threw a sort of temper tantrum, sir.”

  “Apologizing for his behavior. Not planning a rendezvous.” He smiled at the board members. “That is all I have for this witness.”

  Kimberly was allowed to step down. Captain Brown was called into the room next.

  Captain Fink addressed him, “Sir, what has been the conduct of Candidate Woodson while in the course?”

  “I’d take twenty more like her. She’s a hard worker and motivates others. A few weeks ago, she hurt herself and pretended like she didn’t. I could tell she was hurt bad, but she sucked it up and kept going. From my own personal observation, I haven’t seen anything that would indicate a relationship between Candidate Woodson and Candidate Harvey. Honestly, I don’t think she cared for him very much, but she did tolerate him.” Captain Brown sat in the chair more relaxed than she had been.

  “In your opinion, should she have been removed from the class?”

  “No. In my opinion, Sergeant First Class Woodson should be reprimanded for bringing a frivolous charge. He set out to have her removed from the course in retaliation for their separation.” Captain Brown made eye contact with each board member as he spoke.

  To Kimberly’s surprise, Craig and Zimmerman were called in as witnesses as well. They both spoke highly of her and verified there was no relationship between her and Harvey. Craig added had it not been for Kimberly’s husband showing up, then she probably would have shown up to eat dinner with others in the platoon.

  Staff Sergeant Jackson spoke about her husband’s behavior since she’s been at HHC. “In my opinion, the man is gunning for her with both barrels open. He calls my office and makes a complaint every time she doesn’t answer his call. I explained how HHC works, but he hears nothing of it. He needs to get a psychiatric evaluation, if you ask me.”

  The opposing counsel gave his closing statement which was the same as his opening statement. Captain Fink advised them to follow the evidence.

  “This concludes the hearing, and you will have our decision soon,” the head of the board said.

  They cleared out and left the building. Harvey looked at her, shrugged his shoulders, and headed back to HHC. His fate was on the line, but the opposing counsel didn’t grill him.

  “Where you seen at the hotel with Candidate Woodson?” he asked.

  “Yes, sir. But…we…”

  He raised his hand silencing Harvey. “No further questions.”

  The counsel’s focus was on Kimberly, because her husband had been the one to file the complaint.

  Soon? How long would that be? From experience, Army soon was never fast.

  “No worries. If you weren’t going to win, the closing statement would have been more of a reprimand. I’ll expect you’ll hear something within the next forty-eight to seventy-two hours.” Captain Fink gave her a pat on the back and went his to his car, leaving her standing outside the building alone.

  Chapter Twenty

  Kimberly finished putting up the lawn mower in the shed and followed the others inside the main HHC trailer. She grabbed a cup of Gatorade and headed to the dayroom to rest until it was time for their final formation. It was the end of the week, three days had passed and she hadn’t heard a word about the board’s decision.

  “I’ll be going back to class when the next class starts,” McCoy said. She sat on the couch next to Kimberly.

  After her third day at HHC, Kimberly decided to give the people there a chance. She found out McCoy had actually started out in Delta Company but had gotten injured on the obstacle course. Wi
th OCS being so hectic, Kimberly didn’t notice McCoy because she was in a different platoon.

  “That’s great,” she said.

  McCoy hadn’t been in class long enough to mind starting over. Kimberly’s heart sank at the thought of redoing seven weeks.

  “Woodson,” a male candidate called out to her. “Staff Sergeant Jackson wants to see you in his office.”

  “Good luck,” McCoy said.

  In the world of HHC, getting called into the cadre’s office normally didn’t yield a good result. She knocked on Staff Sergeant Jackson’s office door.

  “Come in and close the door,” he said.

  She took a seat. Her body heated up as if the air-conditioner stopped worked. She wrung her hands together. Trepidation set in.

  “Are you going out with the rest of the candidates this weekend? It’s first Friday. They all hang out downtown.”

  She cocked her head to the side. “I didn’t plan on it.”

  “I think you should. It’s a good way to relieve some stress. You know, have a drink or two.”

  Relieving some stress? Things must not have gone her way.

  “It seems like you won’t be around here much longer,” he said.

  She couldn’t hide her disappointment. The class behind hers was three weeks behind. If she was going back, she had to at least hang around until they phased up. Leaving HHC soon meant she’d be starting over.

  “Effective immediately.” He paused and looked at her. “You are to be reinstated. You and Harvey. Captain Brown must really think highly of you. He suggested you go to Bravo Company. They’re going into their fifth week. You’ll be in class, but you’re not required to redo the areas in which you’ve already received a go.”

  “Wow. Thank you.”

  “If you want, you can hang around here until they reach they’re seventh week.” He held back a smile.

  “Go to class, or keep doing manual labor? I have a new respect for HHC, but no thank you. Class it is.”

  “I thought so. Go ahead and tell everyone to form up. I’ll let you off a little early today.”