The Story Begins Page 15

  The universe conspired to punish him, he thought. It certainly made no sense to him whatsoever that when he was watching the movie, Mindy interrupted him enough times with meaningless banter that he’d miss a good bit of it, yet she’d wake him up because she didn’t want him missing out on parts of it. He had actually tried to switch seats a couple of times during the flight but unfortunately the flight was booked to capacity, and the couple of random individuals he had tried to exchange seats with during a couple of trips to the lavatory weren’t inclined to do so after he’d admitted his reason for requesting so. Reluctantly he resigned himself to his fate and prayed that the plane landed ahead of schedule.

  “WE’LL be landing in about 15 minutes,” announced a flight attendant.

  Finally, Jaden thought. Mindy had hardly stopped talking through the duration of the flight. He found it inconceivable that a person could have so much to say yet still not be done over an eight-hour flight. During the course of the flight, and the mostly one-sided conversation, Jaden had learned that Mindy was also in the Service and was to be stationed somewhere in the Frankfurt area. As much as he felt sorry for those with whom she’d be working, he felt the same for her as well. He knew her only as much as one could another over the course of a flight, and though she certainly seemed to be a very good-natured and kind-hearted person, he couldn’t help but think to what extent others would endure her love for chatter, and poking, and nudging, and pulling out one’s earphones for attention. God help your roommate, sweetie, he thought as the plane began its final descent.

  It was just past eight in the morning when the plane landed. “Good heavens! Thank God this flight is finally over,” he muttered as he deplaned. As he headed towards Baggage Claim and heard German being spoken all around him, it began to dawn on him that he was no longer in the States. “Wow! I’m actually in a different country…” he started to say right before smelling something familiar. Then something very familiar he did see. “Ah, fat food, of course… the age of globalization and unhealthy eating. I just hope that there still is genuine German cuisine I can enjoy,” he said as he walked past the fast food restaurant. Looking back at it, he remarked, “A more apt name would be, ‘We Make You Fat and Unhealthy.’”

  He arrived at the baggage carousel just as the conveyor belt had jerked and begun to move. With nothing better to contemplate, he wondered if his luggage would be among the first that came out. He wasn’t sure if there was a method to how luggage was placed on board flights but always hated that his own always came out among the very last whenever he traveled. Would this trip be the one to break the trend? Folding his arms across his chest, he waited. One appeared and the others he had to wait for.

  While waiting for what remained of his luggage, an elderly couple, also standing at Baggage Claim, greeted him. The elderly lady smiled at him lovingly.

  “Welcome to Germany!” the elderly gentleman said.

  “Thank you. You lovely couple visiting, or is this home to you?” asked Jaden.

  “I came here from the States quite a while ago and did live here for some time. My wife, though born here, is actually of Spanish and Portuguese descent and we now live in Spain though we still do visit Germany. You’ll like it here, young man.”

  “I’m definitely looking forward to my tour. I’m sure there’ll be plenty of things to enjoy.”

  “Absolutely!” said the lady, still smiling. “My husband and I love traveling and we’ve done quite a bit of it. We still do.”

  “Waiting on your luggage as well?” Jaden asked.

  “In a manner of speaking,” said her husband.

  That might have sounded cryptic to Jaden had he not been distracted by spotting his remaining luggage coming around. “Please excuse me, I’ve got to get those,” he said.

  “Certainly,” said the lady, still all smiles.

  Jaden walked over, reached over the belt and managed to pull off one of his suitcases but couldn’t get to the other in time so he opted to wait for it to circle round again. After retrieving his last suitcase, he brought them back to where he had been standing with the couple; however, they were no longer there. He assumed they had picked out their luggage and left.

  Placing his suitcases on a cart, he followed the signs directing him to the US Army station within the airport. Once there he presented his orders to the sergeant who was charged with transportation coordination for all incoming personnel between the airport and their respective duty locations.

  Within the hour he found himself on a bus traveling to Mannheim. As he enjoyed the scenery, he pondered what, if anything, his expectations of life in Germany ought to be. He remembered the elderly couple. They were an interracial couple and the elderly man had made mention of his wife being German only by birth. He speculated as to their age, deciding on mid, maybe late, eighties. Though he remembered that ethnically she was Spaniard and Portuguese, he thought that maybe Germany was not as racist a country as his friend had been led to believe; if not then the lady must be of resolute will indeed to have married a man of African descent during days such as those.

  *

  Jaden could not have known that the venerable couple he had encountered was none other than he and his beloved wife strolling through their days past.

  *

  AFTER journeying for a few minutes shy of an hour, the bus finally arrived at the entrance gate to Sullivan Barracks in Mannheim. This was the central point through which all soldiers assigned to the Mannheim area were processed in transit to their specific duty station.

  The bus stopped at the gate and was boarded by a soldier who inspected everyone’s military identification while another inspected the outside of the bus. Jaden noticed that the soldier outside was paying particular attention to the undercarriage of the vehicle. Searching for concealed explosives, he thought. After both soldiers had completed their respective tasks, the bus was then granted access to the installation.

  After a few turns on the narrow and barricaded roads, the bus came to a halt before the United Services Organization building where all passengers disembarked. A sergeant from the Personnel Service Battalion, who had been awaiting their arrival, then greeted and welcomed them.

  After unloading and placing their luggage in the USO building, they followed the PSB representative to the building adjacent to the USO. Once inside she led them to a large classroom located on the second floor, where she had them wait while she stepped out momentarily. She returned not too long thereafter with documents. Standing before the class, she conducted roll call. After everyone had been accounted for, she handed out the documents they’d need to fill out to initiate their in-processing.

  While the soldiers busied themselves filling out the forms, the sergeant announced that she’d be making a few phone calls. Though most of the units already had soldiers on site awaiting some of the incoming personnel, not all units had sent a representative. Those were the units she’d be contacting.

  Because Jaden was among the first to be given forms, by the time the sergeant was through issuing them to everyone, he was just about done; and he was also among those who didn’t have a unit representative already waiting there.

  While twiddling his thumbs, he wondered just how far away his unit was, as that directly affected how long it’d take someone to get out to him. I already don’t like that Krappa, he thought, somewhat annoyed that someone hadn’t already been there waiting for him. He hoped that this was not an ominous sign as to what he might expect of his stay in Germany.

  Incoming soldiers were always assigned sponsors, whose responsibility it was to ascertain that the transition process went well upon the arrival of a soldier. Lieutenant Krappa was Jaden’s assigned sponsor.

  While waiting, Jaden reflected on his only correspondence with Lieutenant Krappa to date, a very brief email two days following the announcement of his assignment while still back in the States; however, the email had only stated that Lieutenant Krappa was to be his sponsor and nothing more. Jaden’s ear
nest attempts to contact his peer had been futile as the several emails he had sent all went unanswered. When that had failed, he sought to find a phone number to the unit. That undertaking had also been a fruitless endeavor. He considered that there was a fairly good chance that the unit might be away on an exercise or deployed.

  Nevertheless, even if such were the case, there ought to have been a small contingent of soldiers who remained in the garrison tending to home station matters while the rest of the unit was deployed. As far as he was concerned, if the unit was, in fact, deployed, Krappa should have designated the sponsorship duties to someone who hadn’t gone. “What’s the point of being assigned a sponsor if the guy is not going to do his job?” he complained.

  Looking about the classroom, Jaden wondered if any of the other soldiers there were assigned to his unit as well. Obviously none of the females were as women couldn’t be in the infantry. He often wondered why that was. After all, there were some pretty tough women out there who could probably give the hardest infantry guy a run for his money, physically, mentally and emotionally. He always believed that, in some respects, women were, by far, the stronger of the species.

  “You look bored!” said a voice.

  It was the young woman beside him who had spoken. “I am,” he said, turning his face towards her while struggling in a losing battle to stifle a yawn. “But I think I’m more tired than I am bored.”

  “It’s been a long day, huh!”

  “Yes, it has. Am I going to sleep good tonight!” Again he yawned and then apologized for doing so.

  She introduced herself. “I’m Aminah.”

  “Aminah… that’s a different name,” he said. “I’ve never heard anything like it. It sounds kind of just different… different in a nice way,” he quickly added, hoping that she hadn’t misunderstood him.

  She smiled. “Thank you. What’s yours?”

  “Oh, sorry! I’m Jaden.”

  “Jaden!” she repeated. “I’ve always liked the sound of that. I think it sounds cool.”

  “Thanks.”

  “Nice to meet you,” she said.

  He smiled. “Likewise, Aminah.”

  Just then Sergeant Michel, the PSB soldier, stepped back into the classroom and announced that she had gotten a hold of all the units that hadn’t sent anyone out yet.

  After collecting the paperwork, all those whose sponsors were already waiting for them were released to the charge of their unit. The remaining troops had no choice but to remain.

  “So, where are you from?” he asked Aminah.

  “My family is kind of from all over; been everywhere, done a bit of everything. You know. What about you?”

  “Boston, Mass.”

  “It gets quite cold there, doesn’t it?”

  “Oh yeah it does… and how.”

  “So what do you do? What unit are you with?”

  “I’m a reluctant infantryman assigned to AMFL. What makes it bearable, though, is that I’m stationed in a nice city and not some obscure remote location you couldn’t probably even find with a GPS,” he answered.

  “Yeah, I completely know what you mean. What does the acronym stand for?”

  “ACE Mobile Force-Land,” he said. “If I’m not mistaken, the land part of the name designates the ground forces element but I’m not really sure,” he explained. “And you?”

  “I’m a medic. I love to help people heal. Well, everything really, not just people. Yep, that’s what I’m here for.”

  “I’m an infantryman for just a couple of years before I transition over to the Ordnance Corps. I really don’t know why I ended up an infantryman. Perhaps it may be that the Army doesn’t have enough infantry officers, and to make up the numbers, it details some of us to the infantry branch for a couple of years before releasing us to our respective branches. I wanted to be a Military Intelligence officer. That was my first choice.”

  “Well, some people say that things happen for a reason.”

  “Yeah, I’ve heard that before. I, however, don’t subscribe to that school of thought. I’m not saying that it isn’t a possibility. It is. I’m just not one to entertain such notions.”

  “Now that I know, I should address you as, “sir,”” she said. “My apologies, I had no idea.”

  “No worries. We’re all dressed in civilian attire and because I’m not one of those anal folks who introduce themselves emphasizing their rank first, how could you have known?”

  She smiled. “You look young. A second lieutenant, I presume?”

  But before he had a chance to respond, a voice called out. “I’m here for Second Lieutenant Ramiel.”

  “That must be my ride… which also answers your question concerning my rank.” He then began gathering his copies of the paperwork he had filled out. “Well, it’s been a pleasure, Aminah. We’ll probably cross paths again sooner or later,” he said.

  “Oh, we will!” she said, smiling and seeming very sure of herself.

  “You make it sound like you’re quite sure of yourself,” he said as he rose from his seat.

  “The odds in Mannheim aren’t as great as they would have been in, say, somewhere as huge as Berlin or Munich.”

  “Ah! I see what you mean. I’ll see you when I see you then. Take care!”

  “See ya,” she said.

  He walked away.

  “Sir, please report here again tomorrow morning at 0930 hours,” said Sergeant Michel as he headed towards the soldier who had called out for him.

  “What’s on tomorrow’s agenda?” he asked.

  “Tomorrow is when you begin your four-day orientation class.”

  “Okay. I’ll be here. Thanks. I’m Lieutenant Ramiel,” he said, extending his hand to the sergeant that had come to pick him up. “You must be from AMFL.”

  “Yes, sir, I am,” said the Sergeant, taking the lieutenant’s hand. “I’m Sergeant Phil.”

  “Nice to meet you, Sergeant.”

  “Same here, sir. Please follow me.” He led him out of the classroom. “Sir, is your luggage at the USO building?”

  “Roger.”

  “I’ll go and bring the van up front to its entrance.”

  “Okay. While you do that, I’ll bring my stuff out. Thanks.”

  A couple of minutes later the van pulled up. “We weren’t expecting you, sir,” Sergeant Phil said as he helped Jaden load his luggage into the trunk.

  “Really?” Jaden asked, surprised. “Do you have a Lieutenant Krappa in the unit?” he asked, obviously baffled.

  “Yes, he’s the Infantry platoon leader. Why?”

  “He’s my sponsor… well, supposed to be my sponsor. Unless there are extenuating circumstances that impeded his ability to plan and coordinate for my arrival, I can’t imagine him to be a very effective soldier.”

  It appeared to Jaden that Sergeant Phil was on the verge of stating something but rather decided against it. Did the silence insinuate something about Krappa? Jaden thought.

  Sergeant Phil did speak then but evasively. “Roger, sir. You’re right. Every incoming soldier is always assigned a sponsor and it’s the sponsor’s responsibility to make sure that everything is in place and ready for the inbound troop.”

  They hopped into the van.

  “Where are we headed to?” the curious Lieutenant asked.

  “To Coleman Barracks, sir. With traffic it’s about a twenty-minute drive from here.”

  “So where’s this Krappa guy?” Jaden asked, once they had set off.

  “The unit is actually away on a mission right now. That could explain the disconnect,” the Sergeant said.

  “Where?”

  “The guys are in the Ukraine, sir.”

  “The Ukraine! Sounds interesting, it being a former Soviet Bloc country and all,” he said, intrigued by that. “How many guys stayed back?”

  “Four of us did, sir.”

  “And Krappa didn’t mention my arrival to anyone, huh? Well… obviously not. I got an email from him once and when I t
ried writing back, he never responded. I guess his being away could explain that… that is, if he doesn’t have email access where he is.”

  “No, sir, they don’t have email access at their location. The company commander and I keep in touch via satellite phone.”

  “That still does not excuse Krappa’s failing in passing on the message of my arrival and delegating sponsorship responsibilities to you or one of the other guys.”

  Again Sergeant Phil seemed hesitant. Then he spoke. “Sir, it isn’t my intention to influence your opinion in any way whatsoever; however, suffice to say that Lieutenant Krappa isn’t the most popular guy in the unit.”

  “They say that first impressions are lasting impressions. Not that I buy into that as initial encounters could occur when one of the party isn’t necessarily at their best for any number of valid reasons, and to judge a person based on an initial meeting may not necessarily always be a fair assessment; however, based on my experience thus far, coupled with what you just said about him, it would not surprise me if I too find him to be less than what I’d expect in a soldier, be he enlisted or in the Officers’ Corps.”

  They pulled up at a red traffic light. “I’m afraid to ask because the answer, I believe, is all too obvious but nonetheless here goes; are quarters available for me?” Jaden asked apprehensively.

  “Good question, sir!” Sergeant Phil said, his facial expression denoting doubt.

  “I’ll take that as a no,” Jaden said. “Krappa is really beginning to piss me off.”

  “Not to make light of the situation but welcome to the club, sir,” the Sergeant said, trying to refrain from smiling. “Tell you what!” he said, tapping his right index finger on the steering wheel, “as soon as the light turns green, we’ll find a place to turn back and head to the Housing Office and try to get you quarters today.”

  “Are there any rooms available at the barracks?”

  “Not sure, sir,” the Sergeant answered, looking rather uncertain as though disapproving of the idea. “Even if there is something available, sir, those rooms are for enlisted personnel not officers.”