The night before mobilization, Eric and 1SG Hammond met up at their favorite bar. connexes had been inventoried, equipment had been shipped out, and the only thing left to do was board the plane. The two men sat in a corner of the bar, looking up at the LED lights plastered on the beer shelf. Each man knew what the other wanted to say, so no words were exchanged. Other soldiers at the bar were shrouded in the same silence. The air before war always seemed to be heavier.
Hammond looked at Eric and sighed. The young man was playing with his ring. He patted him on the back and leaned back in his chair. "Have you heard from her lately?" Eric grumbled into his beer and chuckled. "She's probably in Ohio with Jody right now." Hammond snorted in response "Every good NCO always has at least one Jody story."
Eric grins and took a sip of beer before laughing at his 1SG's expense. "What if you're on the 4th?" Hammond shrugged off the insult and looked down at his beer once more. The silence that ensued was comfortable but heavy. Bar music played gently in the background as the two men settled their own thoughts. They both had their fair share of moments like this. The last night before mobilization is always the hardest.
Finally, Hammond spoke. "You are a good NCO, Dryer. Don't get cute or try to be a hero. Heroes are the first to die in real life. Those kid's need you. Don't let them down."
Eric looked off in the distance, recalling the last 21gun salute. He saw a folded flag and a mothers wail. "I won't let that happen Top." Eric responds, a grim look covering his face.
Hammond nodded and got up from the bar, he put a hundred on the table and walked out. Eric followed him out. Eric lit a cigarette, making eye contact with Hammond. Hammond matched his gaze. A quiet look between them shared enough words that no conversation could ever hope to match it. "Don't be late." Hammond says as he gets into his car and drives off. "Stubborn old fool, always has to get the last word out." Eric grumbles out loud before he too, gets into his car and drives home.
"It's time." Eric says as he looks at his alarm clock. He was already dressed in OCP's, with his Ruck and go bags ready. Having not been able to sleep, he had already been awake for multiple hours. By the time 0300 hit, he had already showered.
Eric was the first to arrive at the flight deck. He knew he would be. Who in their right mind would arrive four hours earlier than the first busses showed up? After a few minutes of waiting, a familiar gruff voice called out behind Eric. "You too, eh?" 1SG Hammond droned as he looked at Eric. He signed and pulled out a pack of cigarettes, placing his ruck down and using it as a seat.
The rest of the batallion began showing up an hour later. At 0400, accountability was being held. NCO's were ensuring that the last possible checks were carried out. This war was going to be hard and fast hitting, so the atmosphere carried with it a finality. Each man and woman felt the grim reaper staring over their shoulders, waiting to call each soldier by name.
Wives cried while children sobbed. Parents had to be separated from children, and memories overlapped for Eric. This was now the fifth time he had sang this song and dance… Each time the deployment hadn't truly ended because he could still hear the wailing mothers and folding of flags. "It won't happen again." Eric whispers to himself as he clenches his fists. Hammond saw the moment and said nothing to Eric. Hammond himself had seen the same things Eric had, so he understood the younger man's reactions perfectly.
At 0700 the busses arrived. The loading of the buses took place in an organized manner. like a perfectly oiled machine, each company got their own bus. It was time for war. As Eric loaded his platoon onto the bus, he swore he saw a face amongst the crowd. The face of a woman he had only seen in pictures. A face that he recalled only in his dreams. "Nah, she can't be here. Grandma has been dead for nearly twenty years. I must be going crazy." Eric grumbled to himself as he loaded into the bus.
Once off the bus, Eric looked up at the massive planes lined up on the tarmac. These huge flying beasts were his first-class ticket to the hellscape he had never wanted to go back to. "It's been a while, old friend." Eric mumbles as he walked up the ramp. There was no comfort for soldiers on these types of flights, everyone packed in like sardines as they awaited takeoff "If any one of you motherfuckers farts, you are gonna run the tarmac in full battle rattle when we land." The Sergeant Major growls out as they all took their seats.
The flight over to their destination was monotonous and wearying. Eric nodded in and out of sleep while soldiers talked about what they may encounter on the other side. "Hey Sarn't, can I smoke on the plane?" A voice called out to Eric as he slept. The voice sounded too old for such a stupid, private sounding question, so Eric jolted awake and looked to where the voice came from. Eric grumbled as he noticed 1SG Hammond talking to the CSM. He grumbled. "It's been 11 years dammit!" He yelled out. Given the context clues, Eric realized that 1SG Hammond had been telling the CSM about the time he had tried smoking on their first deployment. That was a day that would forever live in infamy for Eric.
When the plane was making its final approach, Eric jolted awake for the final time. No more jokes were made, silence invaded the atmosphere. Hands clenched around rifles, as chinstraps were buckled on ACH's "why is 1SG glaring at me like that" Eric wondered before realizing his own chinstrap was unbuckled. "Oh. That's why." Fixing his uniform malfunction, Eric buckled his chinstrap and readied himself for the war that is coming.
As the plane started descending, sequential explosions were heard. Screams of terror echoed down from the front of the plane. 1SG Hammond and CSM Heuitt got up to go approach the cockpit in order to find out what was going on, but never got the chance to do so. Approximately 20 seconds after the first scream, everything went black. The last thing Eric heard or saw before pain exploded in his body was the loudest explosion he had ever experienced, and the plane falling apart.