there was a pretty good brawl downtown. Any of our guys that were caught up in it managed to get away.
Top and the battery commander knew a couple of our guys had been involved and were discussing it. I happened to be practically next to them as I had business with Top. I think he wanted to put me on some sort of a detail if memory serves me.
They knew I could hear every word and the BC looked at me and asked me what I thought. By now he knew he'd get another opinion from me.
"Think about it, Sir," I said. "The taxpayers get what they pay for. Recently I graduated from basic and AIT where I was taught that the solution is extreme violence. They taught me to stick cold steel into another human and tear him open or shoot some poor bastard. You take young men and train them in extreme violence and then get all pissed off and indignant when they do something violent."
Top grinned and looked at the BC. "He's actually right, Sir."
Then he looked at me and with kind of a smirk he said, "I know but we're trying to keep it down to a dull roar."
Then instead of assigning me to whatever he told me to see him after formation and we fell out.
As to be expected he ranted and raved for a while over the incident and made the obligatory dire threats of what would happen to anyone caught in a brawl downtown.
When I reported Top after formation he told me he had changed his mind over what he wanted me for. Instead of whatever it was (I don't recall but it wasn't fun.) he told me to clean the utility closet. I could go home after it was finished.
The place was trashed and I simply threw out about 90% of the accumulated crap in it and repainted the walls and overhead and GI'd the floor and gave it a couple of coats of wax. The sink was terrible so I dumped a bunch of Ajax into it and grabbed a buffer from the motor pool and got it into practically brand new shape.
I was done by noon and the place sparkled and looked brand new. Then I went home.
The next morning Top called me out at formation and after formation told me I had done one hell of a good job. The BC did, too.
When I said, "I hope I didn't screw myself by doing a good job."
The BC, a mustang, laughed and said, "I already thought of that. Keep up the good work and we'll make it worth your while."
They were both good to their word, too. I was quietly removed from meaningless details and fairly often got a three day weekend.
It worked out well.
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