I let my wife read through this thread last night, I thought she might be interested to read it since she knows the “real” story this case study is based on, and knows a lot of the people involved. She was like, “wow, this story is a lot more interesting than what really happened.” ;)
At any rate, she insisted that I quit screwing around and wrap this story up, so here goes…
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Eventually, the uprising in Najaf was put down, with no more losses from the Group. At the end of it all though, it didn’t seem fair that men like Bradley were now dead, and men like Moqtada al-Sadr still walked the streets of Baghdad with impunity. It also didn’t seem fair that Bradley was dead and Jody remains unpunished- an injustice compounded by the fact that Mrs. Bradley stands to inherit all of Bradley’s insurance money.
Two weeks after Bradley’s death, the Group begins rotating back home, relieved in place by another Special Forces Group. First Sergeant was on the torch party coming out to Iraq, arriving nearly a month before everyone else, so you think it’s only fair that you send him on home on the advon party. There are plenty of things that need to happen before the main body returns home, including planning for the memorial for Bradley and the other Soldiers killed in Najaf. Days before he gets on the plane to go home, First Sergeant gets an email from Mrs. Bradley. It’s terribly misspelled and the sentences are rambling and almost incoherent, but the gist of the message seems to be that she’s glad Bradley’s dead, and that she’s gloating about what she’s going to do with all the money she’s going to be getting. “When I get home, I’m going to kick that stupid cunt right in her…” You cut First Sergeant off and extract a promise from him not to do anything that would jeopardize the Jody investigation.
The trip back home was… eventful. The C-5 transporting the main body of personnel home was attacked by rocket fire shortly after takeoff. There were no damage or injuries- at least not from the rockets, but someone observed that the evasive maneuvers of the pilots caused more distress to the passengers than the enemy fire. As the senior ranking officer on the flight, you are the trip OIC. On the flight is the main body of your company, part of two ODAs, some Group staff members, and a couple of men wearing civilian clothes and sporting long hair, that no one else on the flight seems to know.
The C-5 broke down three times en route home, including a hard break in Europe that resulted in an overnight stay. Predictably, several individuals partook of alcoholic libations in excess, and a series of events that became infamous in Group lore as “The Soul Plane Incident” (AKA “Terminalgate”) occurred, much to your embarrassment.
After spending every waking moment of the flight from Europe to home station contemplating how many bars you are going to lose from your collar once the Group commander finds out about what happened in Europe, you and the company arrive at home station. After a mercifully brief customs inspection, the company was released to the flock of families and well-wishers that congregated at the flight line. At a predesignated time, all of the Soldiers returned to the buses that were waiting to take them to the Group garrison area. After a sensitive items inventory and a final manifest check, everyone was released on a two-day pass. A few days of post-redeployment activities after that, and the unit will be released for block leave. Once block leave is over, the real fun can begin.
The day after you get back though, there’s a very conspicuous email in your inbox from the Group Deputy Commanding Officer (DCO). In the “subject” line of the email, it says only, “See me. Now.” There are no words in the body of the email. You know immediately what this is about- Soul Plane.
Stories about the DCO’s combat valor and leadership abilities are as famous within the Group as his ass-chewing ability. For an officer, having to go see the DCO when you know you’ve fucked up is just as bad as having to go see the Group CSM for enlisted and NCOs. Sitting at your office, you try to mentally prepare yourself for what you know is coming. The worst part is the uncertainty. You’ve had several dealings with the DCO in the past, which have up to this point been very cordial. You wonder what’s going to happen when you walk into the DCO’s office on your own.
Although you don’t tell anyone about the DCO’s email and your pending ass chewing, First Sergeant finds out somehow and insists on coming with you, even though he had nothing to do with what happened in Europe, and wasn’t even on the flight, having come back on the advance party to make the arrangements for Bradley’s memorial ceremony, which is scheduled to occur the day after the Group returns from block leave..
On the way over to the DCO’s office, your mind races. The things that happened in Europe were pretty bad. Some of them were downright comical- at least they are in hindsight.
So what’s it going to be? A counseling statement, a letter of reprimand… surely not a relief for cause? Although you personally had no involvement in any of the incidents that happened, as the senior officer present and the trip lead, you were responsible. Your name is on the blame line.
You are very grateful that First Sergeant is coming with you and you don’t have to face the wrath of the DCO on your own. First Sergeant doesn’t seem nearly as concerned about this as you are. Whereas you are taking your time walking through the Group Headquarters building and getting to the DCO’s office, First Sergeant seems almost… enthusiastic. “Come on sir, it’s not gonna be that bad. Worst that can happen is that he’ll shitcan you on the spot and send you back to Mother Green.” (the conventional Army). Somehow, that doesn’t seem very reassuring to you but it brings a smile to your face to hear it nonetheless.
Arriving outside the DCO’s office, you take a deep breath and pound twice on the door. He instructs you to enter. He returns your salutes but does not instruct you to relax from the position of attention. He also does not move to close the door, which means everyone in the building is about to hear you get your ass chewed.
The DCO cocks his head to the side and looks at First Sergeant. He asks rhetorically why you brought your first sergeant with you when the email specified for you to come alone. He tells First Sergeant to leave. First Sergeant refuses. To your enormous relief the DCO decides to let both of you get your asses chewed together.
The DCO likes to punctuate the highlights of his little talk with you by gesturing with his right index finger. The only problem is, he lost most of that finger in Afghanistan, and can only point with the nub. You remember hearing that the DCO is extremely sensitive about the finger, which is why it’s curious to you that he keeps sticking it in your face while he’s talking. When he sticks that finger in your face to make a point, it’s all you can do not to stare at it.
Although it’s over relatively soon, you know that this is the worst ass chewing you ever received in your life. When he’s done with you, the DCO launches into the First Sergeant. The DCO wonders loudly how any First Sergeant could allow his CO to be so fucked up. He inquires what kind of First Sergeant has the type of company where discipline could break down so easily. He does everything he can, but First Sergeant refuses to be rattled, answering only with “yes sir,” “no sir,” or “I don’t know, sir.”
Eventually, the ass chewing is over and you are both kicked out of the office. You’re not certain, but you’re pretty sure that you get to keep your job, so long as there are no more repeats of Soul Plane.
As you walk out of the DCO’s office, First Sergeant whispers, “Sir, I think the DCO was pissed about something... but I couldn’t quite put my finger on it.” You almost choke thinking about what the DCO would do to the two of you if he overhead you making fun of his missing finger. Passing the staff duty desk, the NCO of the day (having heard every word of the ass-chewing through the DCO’s paper-thin walls and the wide-open door) looks up at you and gives you a wink of support.
On the ride back over to the company area, you feel enormous relief that the Soul Plane incident is over and you can move on with post-deployment recovery. Later that afternoon, you administer some ass chewings of your own to the Soul Plane offenders in the company, then First Sergeant declares “NCO business” and takes over. You and the rest of the company take some well-deserved block leave.
First Sergeant stayed local during block leave so he could make the arrangements for Bradley’s memorial ceremony. When you returned from block leave, First Sergeant and Rico had already pinpointed Jody’s unit and had a couple of likely locations for where Jody and Mrs. Bradley are staying. The plan is for you and First Sergeant to head over to Jody’s unit once the memorial ceremony is over, and to have a sit-down with Jody’s chain of command.
Within Jody’s chain of command, who should you talk to, and why?
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