Chapter 372: Back on Patrol

Saturday, February 4th, Morning (Central European Time)

(Song lyrics in italics)

The day of a patrol always started early. They would get up before the sun and get dressed. Among the rest of the patrol, Keith would be fed, then head to the tank park to prepare the vehicles for their routine patrol. Keith would help his crew like he always did, but even more so because they were down one.

Finally, the vehicle commanders were called away to brief on what the days patrol and mission would be. Keith made some quick notes, and once they finished, he headed back to his Tank, D13, Damageplan.

Bodies fill the fields I see, hungry heroes end
No one to play soldier now, no one to pretend
Running blind through killing fields, bred to kill them all
Victim of what said should be, a servant 'til I fall

Palmer popped his head out of the loader's hatch. "We're almost done, Sergeant," he said.

Keith nodded, "Good, meet me at the front, and we'll go over the plan," he said.

"Should I let Letty know, Sergeant?" Palmer asked.

"Of course," Keith said and went to the front of the tank.

Letty pulled herself out of the driver's hatch and slid down to the front of the tank. Palmer came down from the turret and joined them. Keith laid out the map and looked to his two crewmates.

Soldier boy, made of clay, now an empty shell
Twenty-one, only son, but he served us well
Bred to kill, not to care, do just as we say
Finished here, greeting death, he's yours to take away

"It's a basic patrol, we're going to make it look like it's a typical west loop patrol, but we're changing up some of the waypoints. The big move is a show of force, well, since what happened this week. The host nation will be doing the other circuit. Drone flights have detected some movement on the other side of the border," Keith said.

"What are they trying to do?" Palmer asked.

"Which they?" Letty chimed in.

"The idiots on the other side of the border," Palmer said.

"I don't know, they didn't tell me, and ours is not to reason why," Keith said.

"This is nucking futs," Palmer said.

"That's being in the ranks of the US Army," Keith said.

"I just don't want…." Palmer said.

"To die, like Garrison?" Keith asked and looked at Palmer, "Well, Private Masterson?"

"No, Sergeant," Palmer said.

"Look, Private, I have a wife, two kids, and a whole truckload of family back home. I promised my baby sister I'll see her graduate high school. Believe me, Private, I don't want to die on the plains of Central Europe," Keith said.

Back to the front
You will do what I say when I say
Back to the front
You will die when I say you must die
Back to the front
You coward, you servant, you blind man

"I understand, Sergeant," Palmer said.

"Any questions? Specialist Halleck?" Keith asked.

"No, Sergeant," Letty said.

"The other change is Draconian is the lead tank of our section now," Keith said.

"Why?" Palmer asked.

"Because Sergeant Shoemaker is the new platoon sergeant," Keith said.

"Yes, Sergeant," Palmer said.

"Let's get the tank out and lined up. Palmer, take the rear guide," Keith said.

"Yes, Sergeant," Palmer said.

"Yes, Sergeant," Letty said.

The crew got into position, and Letty nodded and started up the tank. The crew carefully guided the tank out of the tank parking spot and to the point they didn't need ground guides. Keith and Palmer mounted the tank.

Barking of machine-gun fire does nothing to me now
Sounding of the clock that ticks, get used to it somehow
More a man, more stripes you wear, glory seeker trends
Bodies fill the fields I see, the slaughter never ends

Keith dropped down into the turret and started to set up the gunner position. Across the turret, Palmer was loading the machine guns. Once Keith finished, he climbed back up into the commander's position and pulled on his CVC, which still had his family crest and nickname "Tarheel" painted on it.

"Checking the commander's override," Keith said over the intercom.

"I'm clear," Letty said.

Keith rotated the turret left, then right, and then raised and lowered the gun. "We're good," Keith said as he finished getting his position ready.

Soldier boy, made of clay, now an empty shell
Twenty-one, only son, but he served us well
Bred to kill, not to care, do just as we say
Finished here, greeting death, he's yours to take away

Shaking his head, he removed his CVC and climbed out of the tank. Keith made his way over to his gear in the bustle rack. He dug through his bag and came with something. Keith returned to his commander's position and slipped opened the case he retrieved.

"Are you all set, Sergeant?" Palmer asked.

"Yeah, just forgot my eyepro," Keith said and donned his tinted protective glasses.

Palmer nodded, "I guess I understand," he said.

"Been under armored so long," Keith said.

"Yeah," Palmer said, a bit down.

"We'll get through this," Keith said and donned his CVC again.

Palmer finished up and popped out of the hatch. "Whose turn is it for music?" he asked.

"Oh shit," Letty said.

Keith sighed.

"Garrison," Palmer said.

"Garrison," Letty said.

"Yeah," Keith said.

"So, who's next?" Letty asked.

"Palmer, you're up," Keith said.

"Are you sure?" Palmer asked.

"I have no problem with it," Letty said.

"Okay," Palmer said, pulled out his MP3 player, and hooked it up to the radio.

Back to the front
You will do what I say when I say
Back to the front
You will die when I say you must die
Back to the front
You coward, you servant, you blind man

Keith leaned back in the commander's hatch and looked up at the sky. He watched the clouds move across the compass points. He coughed a moment later and moved forward; Keith flipped a few switches and moved around the Independent Commander's Sight.

"Are we going to talk about this?" Letty asked.

"About what?" Palmer asked back.

Why am I dying?
Kill, have no fear
Lie, live off lying
Hell, hell is here

Why am I dying?
Kill, have no fear
Lie, live off lying
Hell, hell is here
I was born for dying

"We're going out on patrol, crew down after Garrison was killed," Letty said.

"We're soldiers; we do what we're told," Keith said.

"Not everyone sighed up to fight," Palmer said.

"When I was at Benning, my Drill said one thing to us on day one," Keith said.

"What was that?" Letty asked.

"I don't care why you signed up; while you're here, you're here to serve your country," Keith said.

Life planned out before my birth, nothing could I say
Had no chance to see myself, molded day by day
Looking back I realize, nothing have I done
Left to die with only friend, alone, I clench my gun

"So, what are you trying to tell us?" Palmer asked.

"You took the President's coin; you fight the President's battles," Keith said.

"You didn't need to take the President's Coin, so why are you here?" Palmer asked.

"Because I wanted to be here," Keith said.

"You're crazy," Palmer said.

Soldier boy, made of clay, now an empty shell
Twenty-one, only son, but he served us well
Bred to kill, not to care, do just as we say
Finished here, greeting death, he's yours to take away

"We're here for our own reasons," Keith said.

"Why did you turn down the tank?" Palmer asked.

"You turned down command of a tank?" Letty asked.

"Yes, and Palmer, I wanted to be Garrison's gunner for a little while longer," Keith said.

"Is that all?" Palmer asked.

"Yes," Keith said.

"Yes, Sergeant," Palmer said.

"We're moving out," Keith said, "Stay alert, and let's get the guns ready."

Back to the front
You will do what I say when I say
Back to the front
You will die when I say you must die
Back to the front
You coward, you servant, you blind man
Back to the front

"Roger," Letty said.

"Roger," Palmer said and first chambered a round in the co-axial machine gun. He climbed out of the loader's hatch and did the same for the loader's machine gun.

Keith chambered a round into the commander's heavy machine gun as they crossed the base's fence line. They were now back on patrol.

Back to the front
Back to the front
Back to the front
Back to the front