rlfj: Blog

The ‘wolves, sheep, and sheepdogs’ line did not originate in the film American Sniper, but showed up earlier, in a book by Lt. Col. David Grossman, On Combat; it was suggested by one of my military editors, jjmcdonald7911. Another similar quote is that ‘people sleep peacefully in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf’, generally attributed to George Orwell, though his comments were a restatement of something said earlier by Rudyard Kipling, and only put in the final form years after Orwell’s death, by Richard Grenier. That quote I used in AFS, so I didn’t want to trot it out here.

There was one relatively minor complaint about the last chapter. How could a battalion think a soldier was dead when the CO of the battalion knew he was alive? Okay, that was a stretch. In the story I addressed it by having the CO transfer out almost immediately, which we see in Chapter 67. Realistically, though, it’s a stretch. On the other hand, I have received countless emails from veterans who agreed that military bureaucracy could be maddening, and reported how they had lost promotions, pay, and decorations in the system. I would not be surprised to learn that something like this has actually happened.

In a totally separate and completely unrelated note, in the state of Uttar Pradesh in India, corrupt officials and judges routinely declare living people dead, usually after being bribed by relatives trying to inherit land. It is next to impossible to ‘come alive’ afterwards. There is actually an Uttar Pradesh Association of Dead People, made up of these ‘zombies’, which fights for their legal rights. I saw this on 60 Minutes once. Amazing, the junk you remember.

Many thanks to all the veterans who have read this story and sent their thanks and appreciation. It is very fashionable now to thank veterans for their service, but I grew up in a time when the opposite was true, when servicemen were cursed and spit upon. I respected you then as much as I do now. Thank you for your service.

There are going to be some who will simply not believe it possible that one part of the Army could consider Grim dead, while another part knows he is alive. One of my editors thought this might be some sort of conspiracy. On the other hand, as doctors are taught in medical school, if you hear hooves, don’t go looking for zebras. The military abounds with inefficiency. In the September 2015 issue of the Proceedings of the Naval Institute, in the cover story, Data and Design, is a section on relevant personnel issues with the US Navy:

“…Sailors must access one system, BUPERS On-Line, for personnel info and awards, another (DFAS) for pay, a third (NSIPS) for leave, and yet another (PRIMS) for physical training and medical data—not to mention hard-copy records such as awards, fitness reports, and orders, which must be entered manually by administrative staff. No system speaks to any other, and if any data is incorrect or needs to be duplicated, sailors need to call a service center and wait their turn on hold…”

I would have a hard time believing the Army is any better.

Could the Army actually lose the paperwork for the MOH? It has happened before. During the Battle of Ganjgal in Afghanistan, September 8, 2009, both Corporal (now Sergeant) Dakota Meyer and Captain William Swenson performed actions worthy of the MOH, however Swenson’s was delayed because his paperwork was lost in the Army’s email system for two years. This shit really happens.

I deliberately timed Grim’s MOH so that it occurred before Staff Sergeant Salvatore Giunta’s (Afghanistan.) I remember the hoopla in the news when Giunta received his, and the accompanying publicity tour. Much of this was because Giunta was the first living recipient since Vietnam. Most of those since then have had much smaller tours.

Finally, could Grim be helped by meeting his old squad mates? This was the biggest question I had in the story, and I ran it past a psychologist with PTSD treatment experience. His response - “The visit by the two survivors of Whiskey would have made a huge difference for Grim's PTSD, exactly as your story depicts. Jose and Bob's reaction to seeing Grim: "You're really alive!" contrasted so much with Grim's feelings of shame it caused Grim cognitive dissonance. Cognitive dissonance happens when two perceptions collide. Jose and Bob's joy at finding Grim alive cannot coexist with Grim's shame in Grim's world view. The only way Grim can cope with this dissonance is to change one or the other. His two buddies won't change their view, so Grim has to change his view of himself - giving up his self-shame.”

Chapter 65 is the whole Medal of Honor thing. It has been almost three years since the fight at Outpost Whiskey, and now the Army comes calling. Where have they been until now? Why has this taken so long? This is obviously not the end of the story. Much will become clear in Chapter 66.

One item I learned was that it is not at all uncommon for errors to show up in the 214 form. Many young soldiers are so eager to leave the service they don’t pay attention to their 214, which can differ from their 201. This can lead to problems getting benefits down the road and is a real pain to fix.

As I was writing this story, I always had it in my mind that Grim would get the MOH. I concocted all sorts of fanciful combat scenes for this but ended up doing what I should have done all along. I went to the actual narratives and commendations for those who have received the MOH. Several recipients rescued fellow soldiers by going outside their lines to do so, and the final scene, where Grim called in artillery on his own position, was taken directly from Audie Murphy. PS: Grim’s marksmanship is taken from Alvin York, another MOH recipient.

One question occurred to me while writing this story. At one point I asked, ‘Just how rare is the Medal of Honor?’ I Googled that question and got some strange answers. One number which repeatedly showed up was 11,000 to 1, which simply made no sense. The numbers work if it was only restricted to combat medals, which not even one in ten soldiers receive. I did the numbers old school. We have had about 2.5 million service personnel in Iraq and Afghanistan and currently (written/posted in 2015) have a count of four in Iraq (all posthumous) and thirteen in Afghanistan (three posthumous.) That works out to roughly 150,000 to 1, with a 40% chance of dying, and a 100% chance of being seriously wounded/maimed/crippled. Your best method of earning the MOH? Jump on a grenade, but even that isn’t a guarantee, and the odds are that you won’t survive.

FYI – A lot of these guys have some serious PTSD issues. Almost to a man they will describe that specific battle as the worst day in their lives. Then, when they actually have to have it all dredged up again and put on national television, it is like ripping a scab off an ugly wound. Some have attempted suicide. Grim’s PTSD is relatively mild for some of these recipients.

Quite a few readers were wondering whether I was going to have Kelly be killed/kidnapped/raped/etc. by the Bolling gang. Some wanted him to have a shootout with them over her, or a big car chase. Sorry, guys, but it never even crossed my mind. I think that would be a bit too melodramatic for the story. It just didn’t fit with my overall concept.

I was surprised when a reader didn’t understand the phrase ‘better to be judged by twelve than be carried by six.’ Judged by twelve implies a jury trial, typically twelve people. Carried by six refers to a typical coffin, which usually gets six pall bearers.