AN: Hey everybody. As you know from my AN in Paradise, I just finished up a deployment. This year has been, one that I could have never imagined in my wildest dreams. We went through alot and I just need an outlet to let it all out. I will make this as user friendly as I possible can, but no promises. I Need A Medic has been the only other fanfic that I have read that is going to be similar to this, so here goes nothing.
It's nearly 4:30 am and you're pulling up to your unit. It's the first day of pre-deployment training, something that you have been anxiously waiting for. Since the news was put out almost a year ago that your unit was going to be deployed you made sure that you'd be mentally and physically prepared. As a Sergeant (SGT), you'd be in charge of people, in a combat environment. Which, intimidated you a bit.
Being a SGT came with responsibilities. Their lives would be in your hands, and as cliche as it sounded it was true.
Your unit is a mix of two companies in the battalion, mixed to make sure the numbers that were needed for the mission were met. And you made the list. You were headed to Afghanistan, and it was exciting to say the least. It had taken you 8 years to get to this point. Finally, you would have a patch on your sleeve.
You weren't like most people from your home town. It was small, less than 1,000 people total. Most of your classmates went on to college, or got jobs right after graduation. You tried the college thing, it just wasn't it. It was like you craved for something that was bigger than yourself. And so on a whim, you joined the Army.
This deployment, was big for your unit. The first Field Artillery unit to perform a Air Defense mission. It hadn't been done by anyone else and that by itself is something that gave you pride. You were excited, and most people thought you were naive and stupid for being excited to want to head to a combat zone.
To a place that could possibly kill you. But that's what the training is for, right?
You walk into your unit area with your smoothie in hand ready to start your day.
"Good morning, SGT." You're greeted by one of your soldiers, PFC Fabray. She had just come back from basic training and AIT about 2 months ago. You could only imagine what was going through her head. Not even a year into her contract, and she was being sent on a deployment.
"Morning, Fabray. You ready to get this training started?" She nodded. You both headed to the smoke pit and each lit a cigarette. It was a nasty habit you picked up being in the Army. She asked you about your time in and some other questions.
Your unit would be conducting 2 weeks of training at home before leaving. Next stop would be Texas for pre-mob, then Fort Sill for training in your new job.
A week into training, and things were going pretty smoothly. Along with moving to this unit from your original, there were other Non Commissioned Officers (NCOs) and soldiers that came in from outside units to fill the slots needed to have enough to properly perform the mission. Th first week was filled with briefs and presentations on the kinds of things that you were going to be able to get while on deployment.
This week was more hands on, and to see where everyone stood with in the field training such as movement drills and clearing buildings.
Being a cook, you never really got to do things like this. Everyone is taught the basics during training, hence basic training. But it has been nearly a decade since you stepped foot into Fort Sill as a brand new private. So you were using this as a refresher. Granted, your mission didn't include kicking in doors and heavy work but it's good to know in case of situations.
Anything can happen in a combat zone and you understood that.
Your crew was made up of yourself, PFC Fabray, along with two other SGTs and a Specialist (SPC). You wanted to show them that they could trust you to make the decisions that would be needed if that time ever came. So before going to the field, you gathered them up to run through mock lanes so they could get the hang of it.
Another SGT agreed it was a good idea, so all of you headed to a empty space behind the armory. It was grassy, unleveled and a perfect place for you to set up something small so they could get their feet in the water.
"Alright. So the scenario is your squads need to move from this area to the end there." You point towards the fence where you set up different things for them to react to. This one was simple. All you wanted to see was the squads having the right spacing in between each other.
The soldiers start to move into their respective areas.
"This is only a walk through alright." SGT Hudson was standing off towards the wall. "We don't expect you guys to be perfect we just want to see what we're working with."
The squad starts moving together, correcting each other on spacing and being very vocal. Which was good. Exactly what you wanted to see.
"Good." You start walking through the formation, making sure that everyone is covering their assigned sector.
"SGT Lopez, shut up. Let them do it on their own." SGT Karofsky was one off the add on's to the unit, and you didn't really care for his attitude. He was stuck up, and because he was a medic, he made like he knew more than you and constantly talked down to you in front of the lower enlisted. Which is a big no-no.
"This is a walk through though." He rolled his eyes before you could finish your sentence.
As they got towards the end, one of the boys from another platoon stood and pretended to point a weapon towards the squad.
"Bang bang."
Everyone gets to cover quickly, laying on the ground and started communicating about which area the fire was coming from. They performed well, and managed to "kill" the insurgent before any harm was done.
They decide as a squad to search him. So as one person is pulling security, another is heading towards the body.
And that's when SGT Karofsky stops them.
"What are you guys doing?" Another soldier answers, telling him that they are going to search the body. "That's a waste of time. Just leave him."
"If they want to, let them." You add as you step over to where they are now all congregating.
You watch as they start to perform the proper protocol to search a body when SGT Karofsky stops them.
"You don't turn the body that way. When searching, you need to lift the body up so you can see under the body." He kneels down and pushes the soldier performing the search out of the way. "Like this."
"That actually isn't how you do that, you turn them away." You say. You're starting to get upset, because doing that in a real life situation can get that searcher killed.
"I know what I'm doing, SGT Lopez. Thank you for that. But this is the proper way."
"But won't that get you killed if there's a bomb under them?" SPC Chang asks.
"Maybe. But that's the sacrifice you have to make."
You walk away. That kind of leadership, can get someone killed. Someone who can't admit when their wrong is dangerous. And a SGT, in charge of a crew of soldiers? Makes it even worse.
SGT Karofsky ends the lane, and pulls everyone off to the side.
"You know, I don't want to deploy with a bunch of children. You all act like you've never done anything like this before." He was yelling. "This is the kind of shit that gets people killed. And I'm not going to deploy with a bunch of people who don't know what they're doing."
You walk away, shaking your head. You've never seen a SGT act this way towards lower enlisted. A bunch of other SGTs are standing near the wall, and you see one laying on the ground with another kneeling next to him.
"Right? You turn the body away. The person pulling guard is supposed to be at a safe distance to check if the body has anything under it." He was right.
SGT Anderson was a quiet guy, didn't really say much most days. He was a NCO from another unit, and was just observing things.
"Yes. That's right. He's wrong, and he's gonna get soldiers killed if they actually get into a fire fight. I mean, did you hear that it took him 3 different days to qualify on the range? Yet he's over there yelling at them, when all of them qualified in one try?"
Things had been rough the past couple days with SGT Karofsky and you knew that it was going to be a hard deployment if someone didn't put him in check. It was dangerous, and he was the type of SGT they tell you about that no one wants to be with.
You turn back to where they were all standing and see that they are finally released to restart.
SGT Hudson pulls Karofsky to the side to tell him that he was wrong. But instead, he argues with him.
"No, what I learned is that you lift them towards you."
"Yeah, when you're pulling medical coverage. Look, if a soldier does that in combat and there's an actual bomb it will get them killed no doubt. It's not a sacrifice they need to make, it's proper protocal to do what they did. And yelling at them like you did? Was wrong."
You could tell by the look on Karofsky's face that he wasn't used to being wrong. Or being corrected for that matter.
"Okay everybody I was wrong. I apologize." But no one was around to hear it.
SGT Karofsky walked off, pulling his phone out of his pocket.
You knew he was going to be a problem, but you just didn't realize how big of a problem he would be until later.
The last training exercise was a mission set up by the trainers at a schoolhouse. You prepared with your crew prior, to make sure you all were on the same page. You were excited and hopeful. Because you knew that they were ready.
"Alright. Everyone take 3 magazines before heading into the range area. Each magazine has 30 rounds of blanks." The instructor announced as he started handing magazines to soldiers in line.
You pull your crew to the side, and double check their equipment one more time.
"Alright. Mags. Blank firing adapters." They all pointed. "Okay good."
Your platoon sergeant, Sergeant First Class (SFC) Shuester was an old timer. He had been in the Army for over twenty years now, and this would be his third deployment. So you had confidence that he knew what he was doing.
"Team leaders on me." You all huddle around SFC Shuester. "Squads 1 and 2 will be the ones going outside the wire and 3 and 4 will be pulling security on base."
You were squad 3, so you looked around at the area to see where you were going to position your people.
"The mission is to fix the sentinel radar just outside the wire and get everyone safely back inside."
With that, you went to pass down the info to your crew and set them where you wanted them positioned.
You put SPC Chang on the hill just next to the entrance of the base. PFC Fabray was inside the building with you, pulling coverage from the windows. SGT Lee was just outside next to SPC Chang but facing a different direction to cover a different sector of fire.
But before the lane started, SPC Chang and SGT Lee came back inside.
"Chang, what are you guys doing?"
"SGT Karofsky told me I couldn't be there." He shrugged. "So I came back in here."
"He can't tell you to do that, he needs to worry about his own soldiers."
But it was too late, and the lane started. Squads 1 and 2 were heading outside, so you set SPC Chang up in the window you were supposed to be covering.
It was a shitshow. SGT Karofsky's crew was all over the place, flagging each other with their weapons and looking completely lost. If it were live rounds in their magazines then they would've being in a very compromised situation.
"Guys if you see any enemies then you need to call it out and start shooting." You remind them. "Make sure you call out distance and direction that's the most important."
"Roger SGT." They replied.
Two soldiers came out from the tree line and started shooting at squad 1. But no one was calling out a distance or direction, so the soldiers covering couldn't return fire in the proper direction.
The exercise was ended, and the platoon was called back to talk about what happened.
"SGT Lopez's crew didn't provide cover whatsoever." SGT Karofsky told SFC Higgins. "If they were doing what they were supposed to, then this wouldn't have happened."
"Excuse me? You moved my soldiers from the spots I put them in. Which, wasn't your say. Your crew also didn't call out a distance or direction and you were out there with squad 1. So don't be pointing fingers when you weren't perfect yourself."
Staff Sergeant (SSG) Sylvester stepped in. "You should've provided cover fire regardless."
"Which we did. It's not my fault they don't know how to communicate."
"That's enough. We have ten minutes before we go back out there to re-do the lane. SGT Karofsky make sure you and your crew communicate better, otherwise the rest of the platoon covering from base won't know where to shoot. Distance and direction."
You walk back over to your crew and remind them that they did nothing wrong and did exactly what they were supposed to do.
The next run through of the line was much better. SGT Karofsky's crew still looked like shit, and 4 out of 5 soldiers were killed. The lane continued, and the insurgent soldiers were killed. There were wounded so you pulled PFC Fabray and SGT Lee from their positions to provide medical aid.
"Fabray. You go towards the main building to provide aid to any casualties. Lee, come with me."
You all move from the building tactically, and perform your tasks with a breeze. You see SGT Anderson laying on the ground right outside the building you were pulling coverage from.
Because it was a training exercise, there was no blood or anything.
"Where are you injured?"
"I have shrapnel in my chest." He replies.
You perform the proper care, and yell out for a litter.
But none came. You keep yelling, until someone finally comes.
You help get SGT Anderson into the casualty point, when PFC Fabray comes running over to you with SGT Lee.
"We took our casualties over the the evac point, SGT. What do you want us to do now?"
You looked around to assess the situation. "Just go back to you positions I had you in and continue pulling security. Good work guys."
They take off to their positions and you run over to SFC Shuester to get a update on what was going on. He was sort of flustered, trying to figure out what to say in reply to the transmissions on the radio.
You go back over to where your crew is to get a status check on ammo, just in case he was going to ask.
You hear the instructor end the exercise and you all huddle around them.
"Good work, 1st. That's exactly how that should go. For the squads that went outside the wire, it could've been smoother. But as for the two that pulled security, it went perfectly. SGT Lopez, good job on pulling your soldiers to assist with aid for casualties." You look over at your crew and throw a thumbs up. That's when you catch SGT Karosky whispering something to SSG Sylvester. Once they see you looking over in your direction, they stop. "Keep up the good work, 1st."
You walk down with the rest of the platoon back to where the trucks are staged. You sit with SGT Anderson and SGT Hudson.
"SGT Karosky's crew was all over the place. And so was he. For someone who claims to know alot he sure didn't show it out there." The three of you were opening your MRE's now. "Lopez your crew did solid work. That preperation before the lanes today really paid off."
"I just wanted to have them ready. Cause going in unprepared would've made it a crap show. But thank you. You guys did good too. I appreciate your crew communicating and calling out the 3 D's."
"Hopefully Karosky gets his shit together before we get into country because his crew is going to be completely unprepared." SGT Anderson was looking over at Karofsky who was in a meeting his crew. "I bet he's over there telling them that they made him look bad."
"I wouldn't doubt it, honestly." You add. "Only time will tell."