Texas Nights - Book 13 of the Damned of the 2/19th

Snakes in the Mud

Charlie Company Area
Battalion Aid Station
15th FSB Operations Area
Field Site 32
Fort Hood, Texas
CONUS
Monday
14 October, 1991
0730

Colonel Krait held the surgical mask against his face, along with everyone else, watching as two privates assisted a Specialist in performing medical tasks on a simulated casualty who had supposedly been hit by a rifle fired grenade. Donovan was watching, a clipboard in his hands, grading them.

"Step back," Sergeant Caruthers said, waving his hand. The three medics moved away and Sergeant Caruthers checked the medical tasks the three had done. After a moment he straightened up. "Move the patient out to the evac area," he said, and then slapped the 'casualty' on the chest.

"Return to the MKT, Specialist," Caruthers said. Specialist Oldman nodded, even though his face was wrapped with 'bloody' bandages. The two privates lifted the stretcher and carried him out, while Sergeant Caruthers and Specialist Hatman moved to the next 'casualty'.

Captain Jane looked at Colonel Krait, who was nodding slowly.

"Impressive, Captain," Krait said, walking toward the far side of the tent. He reached out and tapped the tent liner, then turned and looked at Captain Jones with a raised eyebrow.

"Prepped positive pressure liner with shielding plates between the liner and the tent proper, sir," Captain Jane said.

"Shrapnel shielding?" He asked, continuing toward the back.

Captain Jane waited until we left the tent and stepped out into the rain. "Radiation and shrapnel shielding, sir. It arrived the week before Chief Cromwell."

He turned and looked at me, catching me lighting a cigarette. I hurriedly snapped the lighter closed and took the cigarette out of my mouth as I jammed the lighter into my pocket.

"I assume that the shielding is in line with your, shall we say, unusual MOS?" He asked.

"Yes, sir," I stated. "This shielding has not been exposed to anything, although my QRF has set it up before, and trained their fellow soldiers."

He nodded slowly. "Your 'assistance' to the 'Rangers' recently," he said. I could hear the quote marks in it.

I wondered if someone whispered in his ear through the network.

He looked around slowly then started walking toward the perimeter.

"Don't you want to inspect the MKT?" SFC Gable asked.

He shook his head. "Soldiers are waiting to eat," he looked around, "And they've put in a lot of hard work."

"The men will appreciate hearing you said that," Captain Jane said. I made a mental note to spread that around.

We stopped in time to see a PFC, with a leaf blower, chasing the two privates carrying the stretcher with SPC Oldman on it, blowing it into their faces and on the blanket covering Oldman. The Colonel's shoulder's shook for a second as he watched the two privates stop inside an engineer taped circle, set down the stretcher, and bend over the 'patient' as the private sprayed them with the leaf blower. He turned around slowly.

"Simulated helicopter rotorwash?" He asked.

"Yes, sir," Captain Jane sounded unsure of herself.

"Chief Cromwell's idea, Captain?" His face twisted and he turned away.

"Yes, sir," she said.

"Innovative," he coughed, obviously trying to cover laughter.

We toured the perimeter slowly. He examined the foxholes carefully. The foxholes had been dug already, probably years before, and marked by Range Control, but the overhead cover, sandbags, and the fact that the troops had cleared the debris out showed him that they'd worked on them. None of them were the movie round holes in the ground, they were all H patterns, with grenade sump holes and room for multiple soldiers, with the middle firing port at the center of the middle section readied for a crew served weapon.