Soldiers in Heat: Training Session (12 page)

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. With 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.”

Kimberly’s excitement almost caused her to run
into the day room with her news. She calmed herself and ushered
everyone outside for formation. All she could think about was
texting Jonathan. She’d last heard from him the morning of the
hearing. He said he only had two percent left on his battery. It
was long dead by now.

“
This is so awesome!” McCoy
grabbed her arm and jumped up and down when Staff Sergeant Jackson
finished the final formation. “Please tell me you’re going to go
out with us. It’s cause for a celebration.”

“
Yes, it does.”

“
First things first, though. Let’s
go get a shower and out of these funky clothes.”

They headed into the female barracks. Kimberly
took her time showering to ensure she removed all the grim off her.
When she finished, she put on a summer dress and wedge sandals. It
was perfect for the ninety degree weather.

She rode in McCoy’s car off base. McCoy’s last
duty station was a few hours away. Instead of flying she drove.
Kimberly relaxed in the seat. It felt good to ride in a clean car
instead of the dirty cabs.

They decided to go by a steak house and meet
everyone else downtown later. The hostess seated them, and Kimberly
went to wash her hands.

A blonde was sitting with her back to Kimberly
when she returned.

“
Hey, Woodson. This is Jones.
She’s in the Airborne School. I’ve met her out a few times, and
she’s pretty cool. She’s here with some guys from her class and
came over to say hi,” McCoy said.

Jones looked Kimberly up and down. “I’ve seen
you somewhere.”

“
Airborne is across from Delta
Company. I’m sure it was just in passing.” Kimberly sat in her
chair. She felt uncomfortable sitting across from Jones. Her shirt
was tight, and it was unbuttoned enough to show the top of her
breasts.

Leave some to the imagination, why
don’t you.

“
No, I saw you at the hotel. You
were talking to my drill sergeant. Are you in the same class?” she
asked.

“
We were.”

“
Oh, that’s too bad. Are you into
white guys cause’ he’s sexy. I wouldn’t mind getting another taste
of that. I mean I wouldn’t date him or anything, but he’s good for
a lay.” She took a sip of her beer. “Looks like we’re being seated.
I’ll catch up with you later, McCoy. It was nice meeting you,
Woodson.”

The blood drained from her face.

“
Are you okay?” McCoy asked once
Jones was gone.

“
She just admitted to sleeping
with a drill sergeant.”

Their waitress headed in their
direction.

“
Yes, she’s a bit of a lush and
kind of slutty, but she’s fun to hang out with. Do you know what
you want to eat? I’m starving.”

That’s not the story Jonathan told.
Men
were liars. Charles taught her that lesson. She was pissed. “Yes,
I’ll have Vodka with a splash of cranberry and the T-bone
steak.”

Kimberly tuned out as McCoy gave the waitress
her order. How big of a fool could she have been? She slept with a
guy while in training. She should have known better.
Wasn’t it
my plan to sleep with him to relieve some stress? What the heck am
I so upset for?