Chosen Soldier - Dick Couch [175]
The next day, there’s more confrontation. The resupply brought in ammo, MREs, and more money—more don. The ammo and the MREs were stored in the supply tent. This morning, two cases of the MREs are gone. Olin reports this to Santos, who takes it up with Colonel Chissom.
“Are you accusing my men of stealing?” he says with a show of anger.
“I’m saying that we are missing some food,” Santos replies, trying to keep the emotion from his voice, “rations for our men. I have inspected the Americans, and they do not have the missing rations. What do you think we should do now?”
“I do not have to inspect my men. They would not steal, as the penalty for stealing is death.” The missing MREs go unresolved and Santos chooses not to pursue the matter.
Pay for the Gs had been an ongoing topic between Santos and Chissom since their arrival—how much and when. They agreed that the funds the Americans brought with them would go for operational needs, but when the resupply came, the men would get paid—payment in arrears for their service and a week in advance. It was also agreed that the Gs would sign a pledge of loyalty to the new government of Pineland. The signing and the pay would take place at the same time. But the Gs refused to sign the pledge, and only a few of them can read. A compromise was struck—they would take an oral oath—but not until some words were exchanged between Sergeant Major Johnson and Staff Sergeant Olin.
That evening, the team and the Gs stand down. First Lieutenant Kwele is put in charge of the G base while Colonel Chissom, Captain Santos, and Sergeant Olin attend a meeting called by the Pineland guerrilla force area commander. The meeting is ostensibly to talk about operations and the course of the campaign for the liberation of Pineland—what needs to take place before the U.S.-led coalition forces arrive. The assembly is held in an old barn and attended by what seems to be a host of locals, mostly retired Green Berets in the role of Pinelanders—a colorful gathering, to say the least. This gallery of area residents, underground and auxiliary, numbers about fifteen. Chissom sits with the area commander, along with Colonel Merced, at a table. Miguel Santos and Tom Olin are seated in low chairs before the table and are bathed in floodlights. The setting has all the makings of an inquisition.
“I was led to believe that you American Special Forces would join our freedom fighters and work together against the enemy,” the area commander begins. “But I’m told this is not happening. I hear there are problems, and I want to know what’s going on. Why aren’t the Americans and our fighters working more smoothly? How come the Americans always lead? What’s this about working through Ra-haa and the men having to sign a pledge before getting paid for service? Why are you not killing more Pineland security forces? And I just learned that three of our freedom fighters have deserted from your base. What about this, Colonel Chissom?”
Chissom, like Santos, is on the spot with the area commander. The colonel pushes through a list of excuses, most of which lay the issues at the feet of the Americans. Now it’s all on Captain Santos. He’s in the docket and on the defensive. And this is the first that he’s heard of the desertions. The meeting lasts two hours. Shortly afterward, Santos tells me, “This was longest two hours of my life.” For Captain Santos, it was a verbal gauntlet, with hard questions coming from several quarters. He was squirming, and so was I. I like this young officer, and my heart went out to him during this ordeal. In the end, both Santos and Colonel Chissom pledge that they will work together for the greater good of the cause.
“You have to game out a meeting like you game out a mission,” Garrett Childers later tells his detachment leader. “Think in terms of most probable courses of action, most dangerous courses of action, and everything in between. This time, they put you on the defensive and kept you there. But you had no fallback courses