An Assault Helicopter Unit in Vietnam (Undaunted Valor 1)

“You are to report to the company commander, now, in Class B uniform,” he said and left.

Normally we wore our flight suits to go to the flight line. Why was I getting dressed up in my khaki uniform? This wasn’t good. As I arrived at the company commander’s office, he was coming out and told me to follow him. We walked in silence to the battalion commander’s office, which was in another building. The company commander entered the battalion commander’s office first and shortly thereafter came out and directed me to go in. His only words were spoken in almost a fatherly manner.

“Just tell him what you told me last night. It’s going to be all right.”

The battalion commander directed me to sit down and asked me to explain what had happened. He listened and took some notes. He didn’t ask questions, and at the end, he stood, picked up his hat and directed me to follow him. We left that building and walked to another building. The sign read School Commandant. This shit was rolling uphill now. The company commander and

battalion commander entered the commandant’s office first while I waited in the foyer. Then the battalion commander came out and I was directed into the office of the school commandant. Since joining the Army, I hadn’t spoken to a full colonel, but here I was having an audience with one. Being a Navy brat, however, I had spoken to a lot of Navy captains, which is the same rank as an Army colonel. Dad had told me they all put their pants on the same way; don’t ever lie and always talk straight and respectful. Also in attendance was the chairman of the Weather Committee, who had arrived before us.

Entering, I stopped three feet in front of the commandant’s deck, came to attention and saluted. “Sir, Cadet Cory reporting as ordered, sir.”

Returning my salute, he indicated a chair. “Sit down, Cadet Cory. Your company commander has told me what happened in the barracks the night before the weather exam, but I want to hear it from you.” I repeated what I had stated before, almost word for word.

“Why do you think Mr. Clinton did that, Cadet Cory?” the school commandant asked. Time to play my hand.

“Sir, in my opinion, as on previous occasions, Mr. Clinton was intoxicated, as demonstrated by him putting Cadet Barker in the front leaning rest position and directing him to shave with a razor,” I replied. This was the first time I’d mentioned those two details. You could have heard a pin drop. The colonel looked around the room at the others, who were looking at each other, and then all eyes came at me.

“Do you realize what you just said? You have made a serious allegation against an officer of the United States Army,” asked the battalion commander, his voice slightly elevated.

“Yes, sir,” I stated calmly.

“Cadet Cory, you will return to your classes. You will not repeat any of this to anyone. Do you understand?” The colonel glared. “You are dismissed.”

I stood at attention, rendered the proper salute and departed. I began to wonder if I’d just sunk my own ship. When I walked into the classroom at the flight line, the instructor stopped in mid-sentence and everyone stared at me. Everyone wanted to know what had happened, but no one dared ask. The next day, three more cadets were told to get into their Class B khaki uniforms and report to the company commander, and all were instructed not to repeat what happened. And again the following day, three more were pulled from class.

Slowly, other items were coming out that the battalion commander and school commandant had not been aware of. Our class was in its eighth week of training and we were finishing up our instrument training. Since our arrival, our class hadn’t been allowed off post on pass, except for the married men who lived off post. Every other class received blanket weekend passes, but not us. It appeared that the stigma of so many cadets arriving late on day one had tainted us. Other instances of our TAC officer being intoxicated began coming out as well, as the barracks incident hadn’t been the first occasion. On Thursday we were informed that our class would retake the weather exam on the following Saturday. We were restricted to the barracks until such time but would all receive a weekend pass after the exam. Now if that wasn’t an incentive to study, nothing was. We studied individually and as a group, asking questions and making a game of it. Come Saturday morning, we were ready, and everyone passed the exam with flying colors. Getting ready to go to town was on everyone’s mind as we marched back to the barracks. Not so fast!

When we arrived back at the barracks, spirits were high. As we came through the door, there stood the battalion commander, and we immediately came to attention. He was standing in the middle of the hall along with another officer, a major.

“Cadet Cory, bring everyone in here and put them at ease,” he directed me.

Once we were all assembled, the battalion commander introduced himself. “I am Lieutenant Colonel Barlow, your battalion commander. I have not met most of you and normally do not meet cadets until graduation. However, because of this incident, I have met some of you and thought I should meet all of you. What you have experienced is not typical of the treatment of cadets. Changes have been made, the first being you have a new company commander. Major Kitter will be your company commander for the remainder of your training. Mr. Clinton and Sergeant First Class Moron will no longer be your TACs either. Major Kitter.” And he turned the meeting over to the major.

Oh shit, I thought. They’d relieved our company commander over this. That was a ruined Army career. No love lost for the TACs. Our new company commander was a combat pilot, as was every officer at the flight school, but this guy had a reputation as a gunship pilot. Judging by the awards he was wearing, he had seen some action. Silver Stars and Distinguished Flying Crosses didn’t get passed out easily.

“Thank you, sir. I know you’re all anxious to get into town, so I’ll be brief. You know what is expected of you for barracks standards and discipline. Maintain those standards and you can expect fair treatment from me. You will not have any TACs, but I will fulfill that role. Are there any questions?” No one did, or at least they were all smart enough not to ask at this point. Then the hammer fell, on me.

“Cadet Cory, you will remain as class leader. Any issues you have or I have, we will talk directly. Do you understand?” He was looking right at me, and so were all my classmates.

“Yes, sir.” No discussion needed.

“Now, cadets, get changed and enjoy your pass for the weekend. Cadet Cory…”

I had been around long enough to know what that meant. “Class, attention!” I bellowed out and they did smartly. After he and the battalion commander left, I put everyone at ease. Naturally, there were a lot of questions. Some cadets still didn’t understand that the company commander had been relieved and was probably being put out of the Army, as were the TAC officer and NCO. I closed the meeting with instructions on what time everyone had to be back on Sunday night and dismissed everyone. As I was changing clothes, another cadet from a lower class told me to report to the company commander’s office in civilian clothes.

When I arrived, Major Kitter was by himself in his office and told me to come in and close the door.

“Sit down. Do you want some coffee? I just made a pot,” he asked as he poured.

“Yes, sir, thank you.” I was in shock that he was being so casual.

“Got any plans for this weekend, Cadet Cory?” he asked as he looked over the rim of his coffee cup. This is not good, I thought.

“Not really, sir. Just going to see some of the sights in Savannah,” I responded slowly.

“Front Street is where most people go for the bars. You’re over twenty-one, aren’t you?” he asked with a grin.

“I am, sir, but I don’t normally barhop. I find hotel cocktail lounges are a lot quieter and off the beaten path.” Where’s this conversation going? I wondered as I sipped my coffee.