Mission 2

I was laying half asleep in my hooch nursing a major hangover from the homemade rice wine my yards had snuck in to celebrate with. We had been told to stand down for a week to have a little R&R and relax from our last mission. My second, Carlos had went to Saigon for five days, but I tried to stay away from there and usually hung around the base getting caught up on laundry and letter writing and this type of thing. Besides it gave me time to nurse my hangover and get together with our armorer who was a friend of mine, and shoot some of the more exotic weapons he could get his hands on. I was in my second month of my second tour and knew what relaxed me, and how to cope with the stress of too many high risk missions we always went out on. On this last one I had lost two of my yards in an ambush at the LZ and to say I was pissed would be putting it mildly. I had snuck out of the base against orders, and went to their village with Chung to attend their funerals. I had exchanged a bunch of my illegal greenbacks to local money, and given the families enough to buy them food and extras for several years by their standards.

I had stayed with Chung in an empty hooch and celebrated with my men for two days before coming back to base drunk and half blind from drinking too much rice wine. Upon my return I had collected another article fifteen for leaving without permission. I really didn't care as it just gave HQ more paperwork and made my file thicker. This time they had taken a months pay for punishment because what else could they do except take a stripe, but they wouldn't do that because of my successes in the field. I was more disgusted with myself because of losing two good men because of some REMF who changed the LZ at the last minute. I was still trying to find out who it was, and planned on a little one on one with him when I did. Sooner or later I would find out who it was and confront him. I was the team leader and I had the call on dust offs in the bush, and to be over ruled and losing men was unpardonable to my way of thinking.

My thoughts were rudely interrupted by the arrival of an MP looking for me.

"You need to report to HQ ASAP Sarge."

"I will as soon as I have a pot or two of coffee soldier."

"Sorry Sarge but I was told to tell you it was important and that we were to escort you."

Well shit I thought, what the hell was so important that they would send an escort to take a hung over sergeant in a very bad mood to HQ to listen to the usual lecture crap about my duties like always. Oh hell I thought I will at least be able to get a decent cup of coffee there, if my head didn't fall off on the way. I grabbed four aspirins and followed the MP out the door and got in the jeep, sitting up front making him sit in the back. Thankfully the ride was a short one, but my head was throbbing so bad when we got there it felt like it was going to fall off at any time. I got out of the jeep and went through the door heading directly to the coffee pot. The first cup I half filled with sugar and swallowed the aspirins as I drank it down. The second cup I put about half the sugar in, and sat down sipping it waiting for the aspirins to help relieve my throbbing head. I was about halfway through it and feeling a little better when I was called into the Captains office. I quickly refilled the cup and followed the orderly down the hall where he knocked and went in. I followed him and watched the grimace on his face with a smile when the Captain dismissed him. I took the empty seat next to the civilian who was sitting in the other one and sat watching the Captain waiting to see what he wanted. I didn't have long to wait.

"Dammit Sarge, you been back just a short time and already got an article fifteen. You have more fifteens that any other Beret in the history of the Forces. If it weren't for your bush record I would have you Court Marshaled and sent back to the world. What do you have to say for yourself?"

"Cap, it's just paper as you well know. I went to the village to go to the funeral of the two men I lost because some asshole decided to change our LZ and put us in the middle of an ambush. I don't like losing my men, and I feel I owe it to them to at least attend their funerals. Just because some straight leg can't understand that I would be glad to stuff his article fifteen where the sun don't shine. Those are my men and my responsibility Cap."

"You don't have to tell me, I feel the same way you do and understand what you're saying. Just try to be a little more diplomatic about it the next time you call a Major an asshole. You should have kept your mouth shut, and called for me to handle it. You know I would have covered your back Sarge."

"I know that Cap, but I was so drunk I couldn't see the ground, let alone have any rational thoughts. Now if the lecture is over I want to go back to my hooch and nurse my hangover then get some chow when I feel I won't puke it up."

"Not just yet Sarge, this is Bert Casey and he wants to talk to you. Before he does let me send for some more coffee for all of us. I have a feeling your gonna need it."

We sat and waited for the orderly to bring in the coffee with me wondering the whole time why a spook wanted to talk to me? I usually worked with a certain one and knew he could be trusted. I wondered what happened to him when Casey started to speak.

"I have a Top Secret Mission I want you to lead. I have a handpicked team waiting to go. Since you intimately know the area we will be operating in I want you to lead them."

"Not no, but Hell no Casey!"

"What do you mean hell no Sergeant! You follow orders like everyone else."

"Casey, let's get something straight here and I am sure the Captain will back me on this one. I don't work for the CIA, nor have I ever, because you guys throw men away like they don't mean a thing. Most of your missions have a fifty percent or less chance of success. Half the information you get is flawed or outright lies but you keep getting men killed trying to make yourselves look good. I work for SOG and am not required to take any mission unless I wish to. There's only one man that can directly order me to take a mission and that's the General, and he won't do it because he believes in his men having free choice of missions. That's why we have such a high success rate, because we know when we can win, or have a good chance of succeeding going into the mission. Besides I won't work with any other team but my own, because we have trust in each other and know what we are doing in the bush. I would almost bet a year's pay, that none of the men in your team have any time in the bush at all. No Casey, as is my right I refuse the mission. I have three days of stand down left, and I am going to use them relaxing before I go out again. Cap, is there anything else?"

"No, you're dismissed."

"Thank you Sir."

I got up and left with Casey shouting something in the background at the Captain. I was smiling as I walked down the hall to the front door. Damn I thought, that felt good. I knew I hadn't heard the end of it, but I had won for now so I was happy. I stepped outside and was almost blinded by the sun, and quickly donned my shades heading back to my hooch where the mama son should have my laundry back, and waiting for her pay for doing it. It was then I realized my headache was gone, and I was feeling like my throat had been cut I was so hungry. I quickly walked back to my hooch and almost ran over the mama son coming around the corner with my laundry. I took it from her grabbing the edge of the stack and shaking them vigorously to make sure there were no hidden surprises inside. When nothing fell out, I paid her and gave her a tip watching her reaction when she smiled at me. She left and I went inside remembering the grenade one of my teammates had found inside his clean laundry. He had failed to check and almost got killed when he took them from his mama son. Now we all shook them out for our own safety. I quickly stowed them away and headed for the chow hall to get something to eat. Unlike the regular army chow halls ours ran 24/7, because of all the teams coming in and out at all hours. It was operated almost like a diner in the states as your food was cooked to order. It was ran by SF cooks and they were all good men, that had been in country awhile, and most were on second or third tours. I ordered and sat down with coffee waiting for my food.