Chapter 01

’Tinker’ Taylor

The Beginning

At 15:30 hours Master Sergeant Jack ’Tinker’ Taylor walks into the ward of the Womack Army Medical Center where his wife and new born son are. He stops to look at his son for a moment before he turns to talk to his wife, Madeline Leyland. One of the hospital administration staff nurses has a clipboard with papers on it when she follows him in while she asks the couple, “Have you decided on a name for him?”

Jack pulls a coin out of his pocket and he flips it while saying, “Call it. If you win he’s named after your father, if I win he’s named after mine.”

Madeline says, “Tails,” while the coin is in the air.

Jack catches the coin, slaps it onto the back of his hand, looks down at the head displayed, and says, “Randolph Leyland Taylor it is.”

The nurse sees what the coin shows, but she simply smiles while she writes down the name on the several forms on her clipboard while Madeline grins as she says, “I hate Randy as a short name form so we’ll call him Lee on a daily basis as it’s the short form of his middle name.”

A moment later the name on the plastic identity bracelet on the boy’s wrist reads Randolph Leyland ’Lee’ Taylor, and the same information is noted on all of the paperwork for the hospital and the other authorities.

When the nurse goes to leave Jack says, “Lieutenant, can you please stay to witness some signatures for us.” The nurse smiles as she nods.

Jack pulls a bunch of papers out of his pocket, places them on the bed table, sorts them into two piles, and then he goes through one set signing all of the forms in it. When he steps back the nurse steps up to check and sign as the witness on the forms he just signed that require a witness to the signature. She then glances at the other pile, and she moves the table to where Madeline can sign while she says, “You need to sign these first, Captain.” While Madeline reads and signs her forms Jack puts his forms in his pocket. In a few minutes all of the forms are signed, and the few requiring a witness to the signature are also signed by the Lieutenant.

Madeline looks at Jack as she says, “I thought we were going to discuss who retires after they send me back to our quarters.”

Jack replies, “We were! However, when I had proof the new company commander is a worse asshole than the previous one I decided I’d had it. I got the word you were going into labor at eleven thirty, but he wouldn’t let me leave until after he had his lunch. Then he went to lunch and he came back half drunk at fifteen hundred. I already knew how much leave I’m owed, so by taking all of my due leave prior to not re-enlisting I can walk out of the unit at the end of next week. Now I know both you and Lee are OK I’ll go to file all of the papers today.”

Madeline sighs as she says, “OK! I understand. Go get it done, Jack.”

Within minutes of leaving the medical center Jack is handing in the paperwork for Madeline at the 3rd Brigade Combat Team Headquarters before going to the 82nd Airborne Division Sustainment Brigade HQ to hand in his own paperwork. While there he has a quiet word with one of the HQ staff he knows well so they can pass on why he’s filing his papers to leave the unit as soon as he can. He hopes someone will listen then look into the behavior of his new company commander. After that Jack returns to the medical center to spend time with his wife and son.

All of the paperwork is processed, and Jack’s last day with the Army on Friday of the next week is spent processing out of the Army.

Family Background

Madeline grows up as a tom-boy who’s happier to be out hunting in the hills around the family property than when she’s at the mall with her friends from school. One of Madeline’s uncles who served in the 82nd Airborne Division teaches her what he knows of the Army and military skills. As an early teen Madeline joins a local dojo to learn martial arts to give her an edge in hand to hand combat training. Her uncle influences Madeline’s schooling through her decision to go to a high school with an Army Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps (JROTC) program and a college with an Army Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) program. All of her early training results in Madeline being an officer in the 82nd Airborne Division early in her military career. While at Fort Bragg she meets and marries Sergeant Jack Taylor. Shortly after Lee is born Madeline is offered a bonus to stay in the service, which she accepts.

While growing up Jack earns the nickname of ’Tinker’ because he’s always taking apart and rebuilding a host of electrical, electronic, and mechanical devices. He’s often able to get broken things working again. When he isn’t fixing things he’s usually ’tinkering’ with car engines to make them work better to give a higher performance or he’s helping his father repair or tune car motors. Jack qualifies as a motor mechanic to work in his father’s automotive workshop as soon as he’s old enough to pass the state tests for an automotive mechanic’s certificate. It’s a good life until Jack’s father is shot by a robber during an attempt to rob the gas station the workshop is a part of. The whole facility is sold by Jack’s uncle as part of settling the debts of the estate. The little money that’s left after the sale is split between Jack and his step-mother. Since they both have to leave the residence above the shop Jack’s step-mother goes to live in Florida while the nineteen year-old Jack joins the Army to make a living.

Being a graduate of high school with a motor mechanic’s qualification makes Jack a prime candidate for recruitment as a technical person. After his Initial Entry Training, what most people call basic training, Jack goes to Fort Lee, Virginia, for specialist mechanical training. Due to his prior qualifications and previous experience he ends up being qualified to work on a wide range of military vehicles instead of just a few vehicles the way most of the other troops at the training center are qualified for.

While Jack rises up through the ranks he also does distance learning courses on electronics and electrical gear in his off-duty time for his own interests. Someone higher up the command chain see’s Jack’s file then sends Jack to do the specialist training on the electrical and electronic gear in the vehicles his unit maintains. Jack’s wide range of knowledge is why he gets early promotions to supervisory and management positions where a large part of his work is troubleshooting the unusual problems.

Along the way Jack meets and gets to know a Lieutenant in one of the combat units his unit supports. While the Army doesn’t like officers and enlisted personnel becoming personally involved with each other there are no heavy restrictions on people from different command structures. After several months of getting to know each other First Lieutenant Madeline Leyland and Master Sergeant Jack Taylor are married. A year later Lee is born soon after Madeline is promoted to Captain.

By leaving the Army Jack is able to be a ’stay at home dad’ to provide the primary care for Lee. While Madeline is still at home in their married quarters recovering from the birth Jack is busy looking for a suitable residence that’s close to an entrance to Fort Bragg, is off the base, and it has a suitable space for him to use as a workshop for private work. When he finds one he makes arrangements to buy it, only to have his father-in-law, Randolph Leyland, arrange to have it bought by the family trust his grandfather had set up. This way they don’t have to take out a mortgage on it while they pay rent at a minimal below market rate to live there.

After being discharged from the Army Jack sets up a combined motor mechanic and electrical workshop in the large workshop attached to their new home. Part of the two workbenches is a place where he can set Lee in his fancy car seat to allow Lee to watch what Jack is doing. Thus, from when Lee is only a few weeks old he’s in the workshop watching his father work on a variety of cars, electrical items, and electronic items to fix them for his clients. Most of Jack’s clients are military personnel or their family members because Jack’s shop is so close to Fort Bragg and he does not charge them a high rate to do the work. Jack knows how tight their family budgets are so he only charges a low labor rate. He also gets some contract work from the Army as a specialist trouble shooter.

The natural result of this arrangement is Lee soon has an interest in, and a knowledge of, the types of work his father does in the workshop. As he grows older Lee works with his father to learn what he can of this work. In doing this Lee is following in his father’s footsteps, so he soon earns the nickname of ’Tinker’ as well, although many call him ’Tinker Two’ due to his father also being known as ’Tinker.’

One good outcome of the early training from Jack is Lee develops an interest in learning all that he can learn. Being a fast learner with a wide range of interests means Lee learns a lot more than most people his age learn. Lee’s mother adds to this desire for learning and knowledge by teaching him all of the knowledge and skills she has, when she can.