Chapter 9: Boot Camp

Reminder: Darren Brimble is who bought the land and built the houses where Barb/Nick and Maggie/Ricky currently live.

At 20:00 Sgt. Hulzen releases his new flock back to their barracks for the night with the warning that they will begin again at 07:00. Reveille at 06:30 with rollcall thirty minutes later. The twenty-two men in Darren’s squad trudge back to the barracks and fall heavily into their bunks.

“What happened to you guys?” asks Darren of Steve in continuation of their earlier exchange.

Steve is laying flat on his back with his hands cupped behind his head. His eyes are closed.

“Patrick’s brother thought it would be funny to send us on a wild goose chase. There is a gate behind the hotel to the base, but it is not for regular use, and it took over twenty minutes to get to it. When we finally got there, guards drew their weapons on us and we had to run all the way back to the front gate. By the time we arrived we were told the check-in window had closed. We talked our way in, but every stop we had to make we were fucked with – either forced to wait a very long time, or told they were out of whatever and we’d have to come back. It was a coordinated delay that I bet they do with someone from every class.”

“That sucks,” says Darren.

“Yeah. What about you? How did you get in?”

Darren rolls onto his back and says, “I couldn’t sleep. Was up before six so I got ready and walked over. When I got to the front gate some douche asked if I owned a fucking watch over a mike. I sat on the ground until the gates opened and then fell inline with the cars as everyone was checked in.”

“At least we all made it,” says Steve.

Before Darren can reply Sgt. Hulzen’s right-hand-man, private Zires, bursts into the room carrying a heavy iron triangle. He has an equally heavy wand that he is using to bang against the insides of the triangle. The sound is deafening in the small room.

“Get up, maggots,” he screams. “In front of your lockers, now!”

Any recruit slow to rise suffered a string of profanities and a prolonged serenade from the triangle. It felt like ages, but everyone was standing in front of their footlocker in well under a minute.

“At attention, dumb-asses,” yells Zires. “Did you not learn anything this afternoon. This is going to be a very long twelve weeks if you can’t get something so simple right.”

Zires makes a pass to the end of the room and then returns to the head of the line, smartly turns, and then stands at rigid attention. Showing off. It takes over five minutes for Sgt. Hulzen to make his entrance. Without any preamble Hulzen walks to Anderson’s footlocker and flips it open.

“What the fuck, Anderson, are you this kind of pig at home? Or does mommy fold and put away your clothes? Square this locker.”

Hulzen then steps to Darren’s footlocker, opens it, and peers inside before hooting. “Well, at least you tried. A really shitty effort, but an effort.”

“Zires!” Helzen yells.

“Yes, sir,” was the immediate response from the still rigid Zires.

“Teach these greenies how to square a locker. I’ll be back in twenty minutes.”

Hulzen turns and strides out of the room without a further glance or comment. When the door slams behind him Zires moves to the center of the aisle and yells at the squad.

“Everyone, gather around Brimble’s bunk.”

Zires spends the next eight minutes showing the squad the right way to fold their clothes and how they should be placed into the footlocker.

“Your turn,” Zires yells. “You better get this right or the sergeant won’t be happy.”

The men scramble to their lockers and desperately try to mimic the form that Zires demonstrated. After only three or four minutes the door opens and Zires yells, “Attention!”

About half of the squad understand what is happening and return to attention at the front of their beds. The rest realize what is needed when Hulzen yells.

“Are you cock-suckers deaf? Did you not hear the call to attention?”

The rest of the squad hastily assembles at attention. Hulzen skulks down the line. At Garrick’s locker he sees clothes hanging askew over the edge of the locker. They had fallen off the bed when he scrambled to attention.

Hulzen gets within an inch of Garrick’s nose and yells, “Did I not say ‘square your locker’ when I left? Yours looks worse.”

“Yes,” stammers Garrick.

Zires is standing behind Hulzen, but after Garrick speaks, he rushes to also be just inches from Garrick’s face in a pose similar to Hulzen.

“Yes?” Zires yells, spittle falling onto the young man’s face. “Yes? It’s yes sir, or sir, yes sir.”

Garrick blanches and his voice cracks as he says, “Yes ... sir.”

Hulzen steps back and scans the room. No one has the locker fully squared, but that was the intent of the surprise visit and early return after Zires’ hasty demonstration.

“Zires,” Hulzen barks, “these men don’t seem capable of learning new skills without motivation. Let’s see if a five-mile run will get their attention. Maybe they’ll be able to get their lockers squared before tomorrow’s roll call.”

Hulzen takes one last long look around the room and then turns and marches out the door.

“You heard the sergeant, gear-up and get in line out front in three minutes. We’ve got a nighttime run.”

The belittling mind-games and harsh physical regimen continue week after week, but like every squad before them, Hulzen was transforming the men in gamma squad into soldiers. Also like most every previous squad, something big would happen before the end of boot camp. Gamma’s big event came on the Monday morning starting their ninth week.

The squad is at attention in front of booths at the shooting range. Hulzen is pacing back and forth in front of the men.

“I can see it in your eyes. You sons-o-bitches think you’re hot shit. Can run five miles without breaking a sweat, can hit a target with your rifle, know how to polish your boots.”

Hulzen stopped directly in front of Patrick and addressed his next remark directly into Patrick’s face.

“But it’s taken over two months. Hell, my grandmother can outrun and outshoot you pussies.”

Patrick had taken an immediate, personal disliking to Hulzen on the first day. Hulzen saw it and pushed Patrick constantly. Patrick’s eyes would go wide and the vein on his neck would bulge as Hulzen taunted him with his derogatory comments.

Hulzen makes a small grin and says, “Maybe a ten-mile run followed by target practice? Anyone not getting 90 or higher will do another ten miles followed by more shooting. It will continue until everyone gets a ninety or better.”

Hulzen turns from Patrick and laughs. That’s when Patrick snapped. Hulzen was two steps from him when he took a large step out of line. Hulzen saw the movement and turned, but Patrick had already started his windup. He put all of his weight into a sucker punch that connected with Hulzen squarely on the jaw.

The squad heard the hideous crack come from Hulzen’s jaw and then saw him slump to the ground. Zires was blowing a whistle and waving for the attention of nearby MPs while he simultaneously charged Patrick. Patrick was standing over the unconscious drill sergeant with a glazed look on his face, his eyes staring at Zires but not seeing him as he was roughly tackled.

The MPs arrived within seconds and took over, pulling Zires off the recruit. One handcuffed Patrick and moved him off to the side of the group, keeping a steady hold of his elbow. Another told the squad to return to their barrack and stay in their bunks until further notice.

Zires yells over the increasing din, “Shut the fuck up and do as you’re told. If I hear any of you talking amongst yourselves there will be hell to pay.”

The rest of the day is a blur as each recruit is taken in turn to be interviewed by a panel of officers. Darren, Steve, Cedric, and Francis are interrogated longer than the rest due to their time with Patrick the night before sign-in.

At 19:00 Zires enters the barracks. He seethes at the men standing at attention.

“Get your asses to mess for dinner, then back here and stay put. We’ll start again at 07:00.”

The remaining twenty-one members of gamma squad slowly file out of the barrack. They whisper between themselves, but no one has any definite information. In fact, no one is officially told what happened to Patrick, but the rumor was that he spent a week in the brig being interviewed by MPs, the base CO, doctors, and even a shrink or two. They supposedly concluded that Patrick felt like he would always fall short of his brother’s standard and took the cowards way out by getting himself dishonorably discharged with an attack on Hulzen.

At 07:00 the day after Patrick attacked Hulzen, gamma squad is at attention outside their barrack, apprehensively waiting for what would happen next. A jeep comes to a stop in front of the group. Zires exits from behind the wheel and it takes a second, but the squad then sees sergeant Hulzen purposefully striding around the jeep. He has an elaborate metal collar around his neck attached to leads and screws that are holding his jaw in place. He stops and looks over the squad. Zires takes a step forward and addresses the squad.