Chapter 56

16:45 Tuesday, December 10, 1991

Parade Ground, Hearst Gymnasium

University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720

"Good afternoon, Midshipmen, school and classmates. Thank you, Commander." Lenore took a moment to adjust the microphone downward slightly, and smiled when she heard her own voice reflect back off the ranks of the battalion before her. "That's better."

"I have to admit, back in September, when I got this special assignment, I had a notion I'd be delivering this speech indoors, or at least in more hospitable weather. Instead," she gestured around her, "we have cold rain and fog. Welcome to the Bay Area, I guess."

After the words rolled out, Lenore realized that she wasn't going to get a lot of feedback from the battalion, standing at Parade Rest in the drizzle, wearing All-Weather Coats and covers. With a mental shrug, she continued.

"I have no idea if this will be an oratory for the ages," she continued. "I'm here today to talk a little about growth as an officer, and a little about how the more successful officers have something about them that you might not expect.

"My hardest times this semester have come when I tried to deny that I was a human animal, and when I tried to be cold and efficient. Efficient certainly has its place, but you don't have to be cold about it. It's easy to mistake commitment and efficiency for being cold – but the best sailors and officers are far from being cold.

"In fact, it's that human face of the Navy that is its greatest strength. How many times have you heard that the greatest asset we have is our people? How many times have you actually thought about what that might mean?

"I'll give a few examples, and keep this short. We all have exams to study for, and this is the final formation of the semester. Yet, when we started this semester, many of us had difficulty in forming up, and dressing the formation. Marching was something you'd done once before, maybe, at the Naval Science Institute for a month or two after you'd graduated high school. But your upperclassmen helped you, and look at you today. No one in this formation has any doubt about where he should be or how he should act.

"Another case in point: study groups. Coming together, helping one another, and having a leader of the group work with everyone, keeping tempers even, making sure no one is left behind, and generally tempering the experience. Only humans work together like this. We learn how to use a weapons system; we learn how to pass an Economics exam.

"Many of you know I'm an Officer Candidate, and I have commitments, Active Duty commitments, to another part of the Navy. Earlier this semester, I was asked to do something I'd never done before, and that was to accommodate some foreign Navy officers while they conducted business on our soil. I'd never done anything close to this, but with the help of a few good friends, and the guidance of our leadership, I was able to do this. If anyone I'd turned to had been as cold and efficient as we might like to think the ideal officer is ... I'd have been sunk.

"Not much longer, folks, and I'll give up the microphone. I had a really long speech, with twenty-nine points and supporting cases for each, but I scrapped it when I saw the weather. See, this is efficient – and human. I think you all are getting my point anyway. We can't be friendly to everyone all the time, but there isn't any reason for us not to help where we can, even if it's not our job. Because no matter how much of a hardnose you think you are, someone somewhere helped you out once, and we all work better for it when you help another out. I'm not asking for any radical personality changes. I want you all to consider, as I did, that we work best together, not apart, and that our greatest strength in the Navy is our people. I'll consider this speech successful if I can get you – on the bus ride home, while you study tonight, or when you lie down to sleep – to think about one situation where someone helped you out, and one situation where you could have helped someone else out.

"Last thought. If it seems unimportant to you, here in the Midshipman Battalion, think about the smaller world of a ship or boat. How important is cooperation and an approachable nature then?

"Thanks. I cannot wait to see what next semester brings. Stay safe over the holidays."

12:35 Saturday, December 21^st, 1991

Gate 12B Terminal 3 (United)

San Francisco International Airport (SFO)

"Thanks for picking me up, Gunny," Ben Collins said as he came off the jetway, donning his maroon beret.

"Ben," the Gunny said, and emotion choked him for a moment. "God, I'm glad to see you," he said, roughly.

"Hey, now, me too," Ben said, softly, and the handshake turned into a quick hug. "Careful, don't knock the beret off. It'll take me hours in front of the mirror to get it right again."

"Come on, we'll go to where you're staying," the Gunny said. "Lenore and I aren't ready to move in just yet, but you and Sandy and her Mom and her boyfriend..." The Gunny trailed off.

"You mean First Sergeant Davis," Ben grinned at the older man.