Perseverance (The Resident FF) by Frances51163

CHAPTER SEVEN: A Lesson

As the meal was almost finished the four men sat in the booth at the rear of the Stoney River Steakhouse in Cumberland Mall, which Conrad had suggested for its' rustic charm. The army dress uniforms had got a bit of attention when the group entered but Devon had noted the men were oblivious to the looks sent their way.

"Good grief that was too much," Eric patted his stomach as he put down his cutlery, "going to have to stay away from salads in future!"
"Heck it wasn't the salad which filled you up," Danny chided as he sipped his beer, "it was every side order you ate with it!"
"Hey I'm a growing boy," Eric protested "besides had to make up for Conrad here," Erich gestured to the man beside him, "he barely touched his much touted Blue Ridge salad."
"Hey it's great just like I said. Just not hungry. Besides I knew you'd eat enough for two," the fair haired Resident explained as he pushed his almost full plate away.
"Glad you're sitting with him this time," Danny spoke with a mischievous grin, "I always keep my fingers well out of reach. Once he starts he can't stop!"
"Some things don't change," Conrad commented forcing a smile.

"So ye guys know each other before the army?" Devon asked as he wiped his hands on a napkin after taking his last bite of the justly recommended Blue Ridge salad.
"Nah. Met these reprobates in training camp," Eric recalled, "course we lost track of Conrad for a while when he decided to become a Medic."
"So Medics do basic training as well?" Devon didn't know much about military life.
"Yeah. Ten weeks of being shouted at by a Drill Sergeant," Danny recalled, "we were in Fort Benning in Columbus. Sure was glad to finish. Course O'Connor, our Drill Sergeant, was actually a good guy as long as you kept the rules."
"What were the rules," the interested man wanted to know.
"Well besides doing everthing he ordered you to do one of the main rules was not to use your cell phone."
"Ye were allowed bring cell phones?" Devon was surprised.
"Well many Recruiters say not to bring them to Boot Camp but that's actually allowed," Eric took up the explanation, "but they're usually taken off you when you arrive. Then you have to earn phone privileges to be able to make a call."
"So what was the hardest part of boot camp?"
"Well when I heard lights out was at 21:00," Eric replied, "I remember thinking I was going to go nuts. That sounded really early but in the end a lot of the time you'd be tired after the day so you wouldn't be long falling asleep when you tried. Besides a lot of the guys had their own routines after lights out. Some wrote letters home, some prayed and a few even did exercises. Once you did something quietly it was allowed really."
"Ye remember how Andy would write short letters to the boys?" Danny looked at his two friends as melancholy descended.
"He'd never post them," Eric shook his head thinking back.
"He gave them to Fran when he got out," Conrad offered, "they opened them for their 18th."

"You see him much after we got out?" Danny asked.
"Only a few times," Conrad sighed.
"We tried to meet up with him in San Antonio a couple of times since we opened our garage but he always found some excuse."
"Guess we all know why," Conrad spoke rhetorically from experience.
"Why?" Devons' question reminded them they were in the presence of a civilian.
"Sorry," Danny apologized, "forgot you wouldn't know about .....,"
"War?" the first year Resident supplied when the other man stalled.
"Yeah," Danny nodded glancing across at his army friends, "sometimes it's easier not to meet guys because a lot of memories can surface you don't want to deal with."
"Understandable," Devon nodded then tried to change the heavy mood, "so what made you decide to be a Medic?" he looked at his mentor.
"Figured that was the best chance I had of not shooting anyone. Not that that worked out," Conrad shrugged his shoulders, "did sixteen weeks AIT in Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio before I got shipped out."
"AIT?"
"Advanced Individual Training," Danny deciphered helpfully.
"Didn't know Medics carried weapons."
"They can use them to protect a patient or themselves," Danny furnished when no comment was forthcoming from across the table, "once a Medic uses a weaon though they're no longer afforded the protection of their post."

"And we eventually met up with him on our second tour," Eric put in as he finished the end of his beer, "he got assigned to our Squad."
"Just in time too," Danny spoke ruefully, "saved our asses. Eric and I wound up being put in the same Squad as Andy. Couldn't believe it two months later when this Army Medic, a Corporal no less, was assigned to us. Good timing."
"How come?"
"Hell guys ignore Devon," Conrad suggested ruefully, "his girlfriend's a Journalist. Sometimes he forgets he isn't."
"Sorry didn't mean to upset anyone," Devon was genuinely contrite, he had just become so engrossed in hearing about his friends' past life that he forgot to exhibit tact.
"You didn't. Don't pay him no mind," Eric insisted thumping his companions' arm, "he just hates hearing how he saved the day!"
"Guys let's change the subject," Conrad quickly directed as he shifted on the seat uncomfortably.

"Don't get why you don't want credit," Danny raised a brow, "what you did took guts. You need to accept it. What happened was out of your control. Heck let's face it GI is exactly what it stands for ."
"What exactly does GI mean? I've heard the phrase but what exactly does it mean?"
Devon asked intrigued.
"It actually stands for government issue. It was originally used to describe military food rations in World War 2. You know mass produced items. In time Soldiers started using it to describe the mass production of fodder for war."
"I don't understand," Devon failed to make the connection between mass produced rations, fodder and GI Joe.
"The fodder represents Soldiers," Eric elaborated, "the government churns Soldiers out to do their bidding, whether moral or otherwise."
"Hell never thought of it that way."
"As a Soldier you do what you're told and you hope whatever you do is the ethical thing," Conrad contributed to the conversation.
"Of course it's only when you get out and gain some perspective that you hope your actions were ethical. Hell when you're in the middle of a battle you don't have time to question orders because lives are depending on you," Eric explained matter of factly.

"How many were in the Squad?"
"Well a Squad usually varies between four and ten. Including the Sergeant we had eight. So anyway Conrad here is only with us three weeks when our newly assigned Sergeant takes us out on a patrol," Eric began ignoring the glare sent his way, "now Sergeant is new to the combat arena and is what you might call ... yellow and .....,"
"Don't say that!" Conrad unintentionally raised his voice causing patrons to look their way.
"Well what else do you call someone who panics and tries to run at the first sign of danger?" Eric demanded unrepentantly, glad the other man was on the inside of the cubicle so that he could not just get up and leave as he usually did when the present subject was broached.
"A human being," Conrad fired back heatedly.
"Anyway we're after hiking in the baking oven of an Afghan afternoon for an hour and Sergeant decides we should take a break. Which in theory sounded grand, hell we were all drenched in sweat, except he ordered us to stop in the middle of two rocky areas. About a klick away on either side."
"Bascally we were as good as meat in a sandwich if anyone wanted to use us for target practice," Danny clarified quietly.
"Rule 101 of survival - use common sense," Conrad deadpanned, resigned to hearing the story one more time.