For the Position
Note and Disclaimer: I still don't own M*A*S*H of course. Please excuse my creative liberty on this next addition to "After My War".
This person interests me a little not because he was a small fixture of the 4077th. He's also intelligent and in it for the position, but doesn't know how to use his brains to pick his battles. That's Jack Scully for you. Rogue, scoundrel and all around good friend – he's been there and done that so many times that he should have been dead before Korea. He's beaten me almost every time, but I digress.
Jack was a born rebel, loyal and trusted. Born in Virginia to a single mother, he spent his childhood in trouble. Never mind that his father ran off with another woman and frequented his life with a new one on every arm. Forget that his mother couldn't control him. Jack considered his family useless. He raised himself.
Jack didn't care though. He ran with the revolutionary crowds, skipped school and learned quickly that life didn't come from a book. It came with the position. One had to work up there and that was that. He just had to protect those beneath him with passion and love and get them to believe in themselves. That was what position truly meant.
And that was what he craved the most. Oh, it was easy for Jack to get it. Before the Army drafted him, he was all about being king of his mountain. But that didn't stop him from protecting his following. Jack was many things – demanding of his women, a drunk and instigator of all things illegal – but he never left a man behind. It was a belief that he carried with him after the enlistment.
Basic training was easy for him. He always relied on the same skills to survive on the streets. But going to war in Korea was a test of his abilities. Jack sought to continue living and used position as his anchor. He had been close several times in getting killed because he was led by those who did not know or care. I was so close and yet, Jack was always there to duck and cover. He picked up on this new playing field with gusto. The problem was, his officers either hated him or listened to him.
It depended on who was in charge. Some officers bowed down to Jack's experience and allowed him to take that position. Others liked to read from a manual aimlessly. Jack never liked that. He had earned his wings in war. These people that came from the training schools…they were worse than his parents. They did not deserve his care like the others did.
He fought them for the position. There was no other way. In order to keep everyone alive and to retain it, he had to scream about their protection. Sometimes, it meant he was cast aside like a rag doll. Other times, it meant that his men were saved. It depended on how much power he had in his position. It was so close to him and yet, so far away…
And it was through his frustration that he met Hawkeye Pierce. Jack went AWOL after too many times of being dismissed and walked until he found Rosie's Bar. The day was memorable and quite the meeting with the infamous Margaret Houlihan. While it was a time to remember, it was also one of reflection. He found that he had position all along. He just had to grasp it another way and hold tighter.
Leaving later that night gave Jack all sorts of ideas of how to get back to the 4077th. One of them was purposely getting wounded. He tried to have the time of his life with Margaret in Post-Op. Another, he managed to obtain leave after being demoted. He found her again…only to see that he expected more. Jack liked his women, but he did not desire one as independent and mature as Margaret. That ended a lot of his hopes.
Denied of one position, Jack continued to seek the one he craved the most – being in charge of his men. He nursed these hopes constantly, picking fights with his superior officers for their dumb mistakes and getting his buddies out of trouble while he took the blame. He narrowly missed being killed several times despite his anger towards officers. But he went too far one day and it cost him dearly.
In the last autumn of the war, Jack was sent out on patrol with six other men. They had to ensure a village was cleared so the others could pass. Jack argued it. He knew that it was dangerous. They didn't have the proper aid.
The lieutenant in charge had enough and continued the fight. The verbal tit-for-tat transformed into a physical altercation. The two struggled to gain control. All the while, Jack thought. All he ever wanted was for his men to be save…to do their job and to go home in one piece…but there was a high price to pay. Focusing on the position meant that Jack didn't know that there was a landmine in the road. He easily stepped into my dance.
I am Death though…and there is always a way to me. Jack Scully did not have a life after the war. He chose to hold onto position. That wish turned into a blind desperation. All he sought was to lead and to empower. Instead, he went home in a flag-draped casket. He would not be a leader in that endeavor though. His body was just a number.