When he was finished with flight school and earned his wings they would have a class celebration. He was careful not to overdo it because he didn't want to cause any issues with his superiors about his behavior by becoming a fall down drunk. Being drunk and showing off are not traits of a pilot in the United States Air Force. Once the party was completed, he was free to go anywhere he wanted. The Air Force granted him fifteen days of leave. Knowing where he wanted to go he had made plans for his trip earlier that day. He decided to go back home to see his mother before he shipped out to the war in Iraq. He was able to take a MAC flight back home to New York. The closest airfield was Stewart Air National Guard base in upstate New York. Since Stewart had doubled as a commercial airport he was able to rent a car and drive down to the city to see his mother. When his leave was finished he would be able to ship out right from Stewart.
She was late and she knew it. Rehearsals for the new show that she was in ran so late that she couldn't get out of the theater in time. She looks at her watch and notices that it's almost 1 p.m. She's been at rehearsals for the past five hours and on a Saturday no less. The director of the play decided to have an early start this morning and she agreed foolishly she might add to be there. But no matter what she was going to see her son even if it meant pissing off the director, which it did. The extra help with the rehearsals helped her craft and that's always a good thing. Now she was running East down 43rd Street to catch a cab at the corner of 8th and 43rd. The only reason she was running that way was that most of the cabs are down on Broadway and not this far East. It worked because she was able to hail a cab within three minutes. She gave the driver the address to her loft and she was home in less than ten minutes.
Rick had a stroke of luck when he was able to find a parking spot right in front of his mother's loft. Parking the rental car he made sure that the meter was paid before he even left the car. He strains his neck to look up to see if he can see if she is actually home. He starts walking towards the door after he can't really see if anyone is there. Just then he hears someone yelling yoo-hoo many times in rapid-fire succession. He turns and sees her running towards him yelling. He would recognize that voice anywhere. He sees his mother rushing down the sidewalk making sure she knew she was heard.
"Richard thank God I made it in time," Martha says as she slows to a walk.
"Mother, you know that I would wait for you no matter what. Since it's hot out why don't we go inside and get something cold to drink and then we can talk or I should say I can answer all the questions that you're going to inundate me with."
Martha just gives him a sly look knowing that that's exactly what she's going to do. They enter her loft and she goes into her bedroom to change into something more comfortable. She tells her son to make himself at home and there's alcohol to make drinks with at the bar. She asked him to make her a Maiden's Prayer.
Rick could only blush at her choice of beverage. He knew she was extravagant but this drink was something he would never drink just because of its alternate meaning. He walked over to her bar, got out all the ingredients for her drink and mixed it for her as he had done so many times in the past. He then settles for his usual three fingers of scotch, neat.
By the time his mother returned she looked more relaxed and that has eased the tensions in his body a little bit. She takes her drink and raises it in a toast towards him which he responds to equally. They both take a sip and love what they are drinking by telling each other so.
"So Richard please tell me why you did such a foolheartedly thing?
"Mother, please don't start. This is what I wanted my entire life I want to be just like my father was."
"Richard, I applaud your dedication to service, I really do but sweetheart you do realize that your father was shot down and he died in a war no less. I don't want the same thing happening to you."
"It's not like that mother. The jet that I'm flying is practically impenetrable from enemy fire both on the ground and in the air. Even if I were to be hit there is so much titanium covering the cockpit that I would be able to eject safely and still survive. The plane I am flying is designed to take enemy fire and still be functional. I'm going to be fine."
Martha looks at him skeptically not really believing him.
"Well, all I can say now is that it's much too late. You've already gone ahead and taken the assignment in the Gulf region, haven't you?"
"Yes, mother I have. I will fight for my country. There is nothing that I'd rather be doing."
Martha stands pulling her son up and wraps herself in a close hug with him. She says into his chest,
"Don't get yourself killed okay?"
"I won't mom. Thanks."
"What on earth for?"
"For believing in me."
"Richard I always have. That was never in question"
She was woken from a sound sleep. At times the noises were so loud it had her afraid for the both of them. She wanted to make sure that her father was fine but knowing that he was in the condition that he was in earlier, he was still probably sleeping it off. But just to make sure that he was okay she gets up to check on him. She was making sure her father was okay no matter what because soon he wouldn't have her to rely on.
The first time she heard him it was close to one thirty in the morning. He was still on the couch where she left him after he stumbled into the apartment earlier. He started to mumble something that she could not understand.
She stands leaning against the doorway between the kitchen and the living room just watching him. He has been tossing and turning in his sleep and during his unrest, he had kicked off the blanket she had covered him with. It's then when he starts moving as if he's already having a bad dream. In a way, she can tell that he is having a bad dream. It looks like he is trying to run away from something or to someone or something just by the way his legs are moving furiously in a running motion. And then he starts screaming but in hushed tones. It looks like he's trying to stop something from happening to his wife in the alley. And no matter what he does he can't get there in time to prevent it.
Then she hears him start to cry. And she thinks that he is obviously at her funeral and all he can do is relive the moment over and over in his mind ending with the same result.
She can tell that most of the alcohol is out of his system by now because he starts to snore. He had only done that when he was in the deepest of sleep and he was exhausted from a hard, stressful day of work at the office. She stands at the doorway wondering what he's become since her mother died. He was never like this when they were married. He always gave until he had no more to give. But once her mother died it seems like he must have died with her and he has simply given up. Because when she died he became incapable of showing any feeling towards anything again including her.
She dreads telling him that she was thinking about becoming an officer in the Air Force and will be gone for god-knows-how-long. But on the other hand, she thinks that when she does tell him he will end up doing what he does every night anyway on his favorite barstool at Connolly's Pub. She doesn't know what the conversation is going to lead to but she can tell that it won't be pleasant. She again pulls the blanket over his frail body and heads back to her bedroom to catch a couple more hours of sleep.
She misses her mother. Ever since she had returned to the recruiting station in Times Square she had so many reservations about what to do with her life. Her mother would always be there to talk to her about the tough decisions in her life. She had read all the literature that Master Sergeant Collins had given her and there were questions she wanted to know the answers to but was on the fence about asking them. This is what bothered her the most. She had seen movies and realized that recruitment was a goal that every service had to make. Be it the Army, Navy, Air Force, or even Marines each had its own quota on how many men or women they needed to get to join their service. And that was okay but she didn't want to be taken advantage of either.
Two days after being given the literature to read she made a list of questions to ask when she went back. She had also made a pro and con list and it seems like the pro list beat out the con list. There were too many benefits to being an Air Force officer. The pay was outstanding, the medical benefits were equal. The Air Force gave you a roof over your head and fed you for free. And if you calculated it you were getting paid around the clock 24/7.
The questions she had for the Master Sergeant were simple ones at best. She wanted to know how long the length of training took for her to do her job. The literature that she had didn't really get into what was going to evolve once she did sign on the dotted line. She would fight for her country no matter what. There was no way that she wouldn't. Ever since 2001, the military had been losing people from this war. She wanted to put a stop to that in any way she could.
"Kate! it's good to see you may I call you Kate?" The Master Sergent says.
"Yes sir. That would be fine." Kate replies.
"So what can I do for you?"
"I had some questions about what it was to become a combat rescue officer. I realize that I will be on the front lines most likely and I really am not afraid to put myself out there. But what is the likelihood that I will actually be in an active war zone?
"These are all good questions, Kate. I'm not going to lie to you like some other people do in the services but some recruiters don't give you all the facts. Yes, you will be deployable to a hostile environment. That means you will be in the thick of the war in the Middle East. After your training is complete that is where they will most likely be sending you."
"Is there a cut off so to speak on my training? What I mean is What happens if I can't complete the training that you send me to? Am I sent back home? What happens then?" Kate wondered.
"That's another good question. If you're serious about a commission in the Air Force then there are alternate jobs you can fall back on if your training can't be accomplished. But the Air Force will make it their job to get you through the training for your job. If you can't get through the training or you DOR then they will train you to do something just as important. You'll still be a commissioned officer but you'll just be doing a different job."
Kate sits back in the chair and thinks over her options. She knows going into a war zone is inevitable because of her job. She's not afraid to do so but there is a small portion of her brain that wonders if she will survive in that war zone. She can't let it bother her because if everyone did no one would be safe in that region.
"Master Sergeant Collins, if I do decide to take you up on your offer when would I have to report for duty?
"With this job, you would need to report for duty by the end of this month." The Master Sergeant tells her after consulting his desk calendar for the next training start date.
"What part of the country would I be going to for training?"
"You would be going to our OCS school in Montgomery Alabama. Maxwell Air Force Base. There are other courses that you are required to take in order to pass the required training. They are, the Combat Rescue Officer Development course, CRO/Pararescue Indoctrination course, Air Force Combat Dive Course, Army Airborne Parachutist course, Military Free-fall Parachutist or U.S. Navy Military Free-fall course and this depends on where you are in your training then we can get you to whoever has a slot open for you at their facility. Underwater Egress Training, SERE training which will be done in San Diego California, CRO Advanced SERE training which is done at MAGTFTC Twenty-nine Palms California, and finally the CRO course."
"Wow. That's a lot of courses to take."
"Actually from the time you start to the time you finish, the time to train you for this job will be twelve and a half weeks. And when you're finished you must maintain combat readiness and there will be a separate SSBI investigation into your past before you are able to receive your commission."
Kate takes the time to think about what she wants to do. Her mind is eighty percent made up already but the only thing that's going to stop her from doing anything is the fact that her father needs to know about this first. But there are some things that she needs to do for herself and this is one of them. She'll deal with her father when he's sober.
"So master sergeant Collins, where do I sign?"
"If you're serious about signing up right now Kate I will prepare the forms and administer an Air Force Officer Qualifying Test just to know where your skills lie." He looks at her with a little bit of hesitancy not knowing if she was going to actually enlist today.
Eventually, he sees the seriousness that's on her face. So he selects the forms that she needs to sign for the test she needs to take and he takes her to a small conference room in the back of the recruiting station and gives her the test. When she's done she returns an hour and ten minutes later. He quickly grades the test with the aid of the computer program and finds out that she scored exceedingly well. With the exception of a higher-ranking officer, she could do just about any job the Air Force offers.
"Good news Kate you qualify for a combat rescue officer. Now there are some forms for your enlistment that I need you to sign and then we can move on to the next phase of your training."
About two hours later Kate has finished signing everything she needs to sign in order to be a combat rescue officer in the Air Force. The master sergeant gives her a temporary military ID and she leaves the recruiting station to get ready for the next phase of her life.
TBC