“What location did you find for our training range?” Sgt. Psycho asked Mick as they walked out the West Gate.
“Once we go up that hill, you will be able to see all three shooting stations. Sparky and I staked out where to set up each shooting station.”
“What about any stray bullets going where we don’t want them to go?”
“The first two stations will have a natural backstop. We set up the third station to help sharpen our skills in close combat situations. We designed for pistol shooting at close range.”
A truck and other vehicles of soldiers passed. Psycho and Mick exchanged salutes with the soldiers.
Mick stopped and asked. “Since it’s just the two of us, I need to ask you an important question for my own peace of mind?”
Psycho paused before speaking. “As long as it stays just between the two of us.”
“How long have you been in country?”
“It’s almost two months.”
“And how many patrols have you been on?”
“I’m going to stop you right there. I know you have a lot more experience than me. To be honest, I’m just playing it all by what I think will work.”
Mick backed up. Anger could be seen in his facial expression. “What in God’s green earth makes you think you can lead C4 and keep us all alive?”
“I’ve inwardly always wanted to lead a bunch of soldiers. I know what I don’t know. That is why I am going to depend upon you and Sparky.”
“What’s going to happen when we disagree upon an action to take?”
“We’ll just have to work out a compromise.”
“There will be times in a firefight where we will not have time to discuss our differences.”
“Then you will have to teach me what to do beforehand.”
“So you want me to babysit you until it’s time for us to go home?”
“I don’t need a babysitter. I need someone who can help me learn how to keep us all alive while getting the job done at the same time.”
“What is in it for me?”
“You won’t have to deal with asshole officers and get the blame for when things go wrong.”
Mick looked to the ground and nodded. It wasn’t a perfect situation, but it was something he could live with.
Psycho and Mick continued on their walk.
Now Psycho changed the focus back to the reason for their walk. “My turn to ask you a question.”
“Shoot.”
“What do you think about this training course I’m having you and Sparky put together?”
“Well, no other squad has one. I am inclined to believe once they find out about it they will want to use ours.”
“Do you think we can leverage it to our advantage?”
“Like more than C4’s improved skills?”
Psycho caught the sideways glance that Mick shot him. Psycho continued, “I’ve had times where I’ve had a lot of time to read. After a couple of L’amore’s, I switched to reading self-help books and books about strategy.”
“I’d never thought you’d being an egghead.”
“I had a lot of time on my hands, so I read a lot,” Psycho stopped. He thought it best to change the subject, for he didn’t want to go into where he had a lot of time on his hands. “Where are we starting this little tour of yours?”
“At the top of that hill, you can see all three of my proposed shooting ranges and the terrain in-between.”
***
The morning sun shone through the front door of C4’s hooch. Psycho walked from the supply room to the front entrance. He slowly turned and faced his team. “Gear up, we are going to test the training course Mick and Sparky put together for us. I want everyone to gear up as if we were going on a three-day patrol.”
Mick approached Psycho and in a slow voice, “What are you talking about?”
“You said your training course is ready. Well, we are going to take C4 through it today.”
“The men haven’t had breakfast yet.”
“The men should be packing enough ration packs for them to carry for three days. They can eat after the first shooting station.”
“That’s five miles away. Besides, they are not prepared.”
“You’ve got to realize; Capt. Phillips could send us out on a multi-day patrol at any time. We need to be ready. If he did, none of us would know exactly what to expect. Would we?”
“That’s right, sir,” Mick said reluctantly.
It took more than an hour for everyone to gear up and assemble outside the hooch. During that time the men did the usual grumbling and murmurs any soldier would make about missing a hot breakfast at the mess hall.
“How good are you at reading maps?” Psycho asked Ruben.
“Uh, a little. Just what they taught us in boot camp.”
Psycho handed Ruben the hand-drawn map that Mick had given him the day before. “Good. Mick will help you. You will be walking point; leading us to the station labeled with the number one.”
Psycho then went about inspecting everyone and their gear. He stopped in front of Dave. “Have you been trained with radio procedures?”
“No, sir.”
“For today, you will be our medic and radioman.”
“Along with my other gear?”
“That’s right, soldier.”
“I’m the medic. I have enough to carry with surplus medical along with my rifle and ammo.”
“Okay, give the radio to Mick. If anyone gets hurt, you won’t have time to cover the radio and patch us up.”
“Sir,” Mick said.
“What is it?”
“I’m going to be busy helping Ruben with reading my map. He could get us way off the intended path.”
“Well, he is just going to have to learn the hard way.”
Psycho pointed C4 in the direction of the West gate in a single file. Ruben was in the lead with the map. Psycho had the men leave a space behind Ruben for himself. Then Mick carried the radio, followed by Dave, Shadow, Leroy, and Sparky.
Pham stood off to one side, looking like a lost puppy. “Want me where?” He asked.
“I want you to walk point with Ruben. Guide him in the use of the map.”
***
C4 arrived at the first shooting station. Psycho had everyone break out their rations. Everyone but Psycho and Mick took part in the chitchat while they ate.
Sparky began digging a hole.
“What are you doing?” Psycho asked.
“Digging a hole to bury our trash.”
“We are not leaving anything behind. We pack our trash back to base.”
The squad as a whole felt less happy with their Sergeant. The statement that they should pack their trash back to base dropped his popularity by several points.
Psycho pointed to a target that Mick had set out when they arrived. “Ruben, from where you are right now. I want you to fire ten rounds from your rifle. I’ll fire my ten rounds from right here. Now I was the rest of you to fire your ten rounds in the order from where you are sitting.”
Ruben hit the target three times out of ten. Psycho and Leroy hit the target nine times. Mick and Sparky hit the target eight times out of their ten. The rest did better than Ruben, but worse than Mick and Sparky.
Psycho didn’t say a word about their accuracy. He just instructed the squad to move on to the next station.
***
It was well after sunset when seven tired soldiers wandered into their hooch. Ruben and Shadow were the first two to collapse on their bunks. Psycho clapped his hands to get C4’s attention, then reminded them their day was not done. “No one gets to rest until all gear is stored away.”
Once everyone’s gear was stored Mick motioned to Psycho to meet him in back of the hooch. Psycho waited to hear what Mick had to say.
“With all respect, Sarge, if you put the men through that same training exercise, as you did today, you can expect to get shot in the back.”
Psycho did wait for Mick’s words to sink in. “I did what I did today to get them ready for when we do get an assignment and face the enemy.”
“There is a right way to do it and there is a wrong way to train the men.”
“Are you saying that what we did today is the wrong way?”
“I’m not saying everything you put us through was wrong, but not everyone can handle getting thrown into such rigid training.”
“My first time off base, I saw my sergeant and my new squad members killed in front of me. The only training I had was from boot camp. If it wasn’t for me taking charge, Capt. Phillips and I would be dead.”
“I understand you want to prepare us so we can survive. But throwing everything at us all at once will only make the men hate you.”
“I’m not in a popularity contest. I’m here to kill commies and keep you and everyone in that hooch alive.”
“What you want is good. I’m saying there could be a better way of getting the job done.”
Stress lines could be seen rising and falling on Psycho’s face. Inwardly he fought through a wide range of emotions, from pulling rank and ignoring Mick’s comments to storming off without saying a word. However, he had to accept Mick’s intentions were to help Psycho become a better squad leader. In turn help C4’s performance.
Finally, Psycho asked, “How could I have done it differently?”
“Take one aspect. Like how you want us to walk in formation. Tell us the benefit of that formation and have us practice to and from chow and march around the back. Like the first time you had Sparky, Dave and me walk to the mess hall.”
“I would prefer the men to become better at shooting.”
“Now Sarge, you had us shooting from awkward positions. I do agree they need practice in all sorts of positions, but there is a better rifle out there than the M16s.”
“What are they and why don’t we have them?”
“We need the CAR 15s. I’ve only seen the Special Ops guys using them.”
Psycho nodded, followed by a long silence. “Okay, in the morning, after breakfast, have the men clean all their weapons. Afterwards, take the men on a few practice marches. I’m going to see what I can do about getting us CAR 15s.”
“I’ve only seen the Special Ops guys carrying them.”
“Let me see what I can do.”
“While you are at it, see if you can get us a couple of shotguns.”
“Why a shotgun?”
“They are great for jungle fighting. Besides, you don’t have to be as accurate like when using a rifle because of the dispersal pattern.”
“I’ve got a special source. I will approach them saying we’re special. Our operation requires getting the job done without losing one man.”
“That’s not how the brass see it. They will consider us acceptable losses.”
“I don’t see C4 as having any accessible losses.” Psycho stood up. “I’m going to call it a day. I’ve got some hard convincing to do tomorrow.”
