Thursday, February 12, 2009

graf #7 person

Sometimes, when someone we first meet comes across as a hard-ass, they permanently take on that persona in our mind. We can’t imagine that person ever being reasonable or even less likely, being friendly. When I met drill Sergeant Fore I never expected the mutual respect that would be earned during our time in Army basic training.
He seemed like the typical drill. His shaved head as clean cut as the creases in his army trousers. He was young to hold the rank of staff sergeant already. Everything was done by the book and according to standard operating procedures. It was very rare to see him crack a smile and if one showed it was usually at the expense of some scared private. His favorite sick game was to sneak around the barracks on a boring Sunday. Sundays were the only day when no training was conducted. Privates spent their time hanging around the barracks cleaning, writing letters home, and anything but falling asleep. Sgt Fore would obviously find snoozing soldiers throughout his rounds. He found all sorts of creative ways to torture the unfortunate guys that were caught. The one time I got caught was a double hit. I remember his words as he poured a 5 gallon wash bucket full of water into the entrance of the room; “YOU LOST YOUR DAMN MINDS PRIVATES!” My roommate and I were on opposite sides of the linoleum floor catching some Z’s when a tsunami of nasty water flooded the room. We spent another couple of hours that afternoon performing push-ups and various exercises. He seemed to get a kick out of catching trainees doing the wrong thing.
Sixteen weeks of yelling, hostility, and re-socialization changed us. We were transformed from unmolded lumps of adolescence coming from every corner of the U.S., to true-blue American soldiers. Above all the abuse and anger during the long training I had gained so much respect for the drills. Drill sergeant Fore in particular had gained my trust and admiration. He had taught us to be steadfast soldiers and instilled in us a sense of honor. One of my final memories of the man was a day or two after we had graduated from the program. Everyone had shipped off for leave or for their first duty station. I was still kicking around the barracks for a few weeks to take part in some specialized training when I found myself playing a round of pool with Sergeant Fore in the formerly off limits lounge. I felt like he accepted me as a soldier and as a man. His demeanor had changed and was actually talking with me on the same level. Don’t ever take a first impression for how somebody is. Many times people are simply taking on the role they have to at the time.

1 comment:

  1. Nice piece, thoughtful, controlled, story in the middle, lots of detail, generous to the reader, works for me.

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