viridity
[ vuh-rid-i-tee ]
noun
greenness; verdancy; verdure.
youth; innocence; inexperience.
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Col.
Brander looked at the group of dozens of young men arrayed before him. He let out a heavy sigh and looked at Reynolds,
his Staff Sergeant.
“They’re
young.” He said.
“Yes,
sire, they are.”
“They’re
really young.”
“I think
the oldest is 19, sir.”
“Have
they seen any training?”
“No,
sir, they have not.”
Col. Brander
grumbled at that. Of course the higher
ups would send him fresh recruits. Of
course they would force him into a bad position. It was like they wanted to see him fall.
“I asked
for soldiers, not recruits.” He said.
“Yes,
sir, you did. But this is what you
got. I’m fairly sure all the veterans
and trained soldiers are already fighting on the front, sir. So, this is what we get.”
The Colonel sighed again and rubbed his
forehead.
“We don’t
have enough time to train them. Not
properly, anyway.” He said.
“I know,
sir. I know. But, it’s what has to happen.”
“Damn it. Why would Command even think this was a good
idea? To send these boys here is suicide. Hell, I bet most of them don’t even know what
war is.”
“Oh, I’m
sure they know, sir. At least, in a
general sense. It’s just that they’re
full of stories about heroes and glory, and they think that’s what it’ll
actually be like.”
“That
just makes it worse. Most of them won’t
survive.”
“Isn’t
that true for all soldiers, sir?”
“You
know what I mean.”
“Sir, I
think the best chance they have will be to get them ready. At least, as much as possible.”
Brander
looked at the lesser officer. The man
had served him well for years, and was usually right about a lot of things. This was no different.
“Guess I’d
better get started, then.”
“Yes,
sir.”
Col.
Brander dismissed the Staff Sergeant, ordering the man to see to housing and
supplies. Then he went to get the recruits
started. He would make sure they were as
trained as they could be, and that meant doing it himself.
He gave
the order for them to form lines. They
were slow to react, their lines were unorganized, and none of them knew how to
stand at attention.
“I asked
High Command for soldiers. Reinforcements
to help hold this fort from the enemy. I
look out at all of you and don’t see a single soldier. All I see are boys that only just stopped
clinging to their mother’s skirts. Now,
it’s not my job to see you properly trained.
That should be a drill sergeant.
But, I’m what you get. And you
will wish it wasn’t.
“Let me
tell you what’s going to happen over the next few months. I’m going to push you. I’m going to run you harder and longer than
you ever have before. By the end of the
first week, you’ll beg me to go home. By
the end of the second, you’ll want to kill yourself, just for the chance to rest
for more than a few hours. By the end of
the third week, you’ll pray for the enemy to come and kill you. But, by the end of the fourth week, I might
be willing to call you proper recruits.
“Oh yes,
recruits. Not soldiers. Not after one month. And it’s then that the really tough training
begins. After two months, maybe some of
you will be good enough to be called proper soldiers. And after three, all of you will be. These will be the most difficult months of
your life to date. If you don’t think
you can handle it, get out of here and don’t let the door hit you on the way
out. I don’t want men who’ll quit halfway
through.”
He
waited to see if any of them would leave.
To their credit, none did. But,
then again, he was out of practice. He
probably was not as intimidating as he used to be when he regularly trained new
recruits.
“Good. Now then, let’s get started.”
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I think I've mentioned this before, but I am not, nor ever have been, a soldier. And I am very glad for that. I'd be a terrible soldier. I really would. Bad eyesight, bad back. Yeah, the army wouldn't want me even if I signed up.
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