Diamondhead by Patrick Robinson Page B
Authors: Patrick Robinson
Tags: Fiction, Suspense, Thrillers, War & Military, Political, Iraq War; 2003-, Assassination, Weapons industry
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Agreed?”
“Agreed.”
“Which brings us to the final, somewhat minor, issue of reckless conduct in the face of the enemy.” Captain Dunning seemed saddened yet resigned to the wearisome issue of finding the SEAL battle commander guilty of something. The orders had been passed down from the highest authority in the nation. Not to cooperate would be, in effect, to defy the commander in chief, the president of the United States. Boomer Dunning was privately sickened by the entire process. Reckless conduct! Jesus Christ, these fucking madmen had just murdered twenty members of the Special Forces. And he, Boomer, had been charged with the task of finding Lieutenant Commander Bedford guilty of being reckless.
Now he spoke confidentially to his panel. “Look,” he said, “none of us much likes this, being more or less told to find Mack guilty of recklessness, and I would like to ask the views of each one of you.”
All three lieutenant commanders were reluctant to convict but were not sufficiently rebellious to go against the wishes of the president of the panel. The fourth and youngest member, the lieutenant, Jonjo Adams from Alabama, was a SEAL. And he was very concerned. He looked at Boomer and said quietly, “Sir, like all of us, I’d be proud to fight under Mack Bedford’s command. And we can sit here for a thousand years, and I ain’t never going to find him guilty of anything. He did what was right. I was in Baghdad when that bomb went off strapped to one of the surrender guys. A buddy of mine had his head blown off. If I’d been at the bridge with Mack, I’d have shot ’em myself.”
“I understand,” replied Boomer. “And since I feel much the same, I’m going to find him not guilty of reckless conduct. That’s the best I can do. But I will have to issue some kind of a reprimand. That’s the absolute minimum I can do”—he paused for almost ten seconds before blurting out—“in this whole fucking lousy, rotten business.” All four members of the panel saw Boomer Dunning brush his coat sleeve across his eyes and walk to the other side of the room because he could not bear anyone to see him this upset.
They ate their sandwiches almost in silence. The clock ticked away the minutes until 1400 hours, at which time all five of them walked back into the courtroom and took their places. Everyone else was awaiting their arrival.
Captain Dunning made no preamble. He said simply, “Lt. Cdr. Mackenzie Bedford, you have been charged with the murder of twelve Iraqi citizens. The court finds you not guilty. You were charged with several offenses against the Geneva Conventions, and these the court has dismissed out of hand, thanks to the wise counsel of Commander Surprenant. You were further charged with reckless conduct in the face of the enemy. The court finds you not guilty.”
Mack Bedford turned to shake the hand of his attorney. But Captain Dunning was not through.
“The court, however, finds that this was not a textbook military operation. Several SEALs were ready to open fire if a fake surrender was being enacted. And the court detected an element of panic. With this in mind, I have issued against Lieutenant Commander Bedford, a GOMOR, a General Officer Memorandum of Reprimand. The court is now closed.”
Mack Bedford was appalled. He turned to Al Surprenant and almost cried out, “Sir, this ends my career as a SEAL team leader. I’m banned from command, out of the promotion ladder.”
“As I feared,” replied his attorney. “Very much as I feared.”
CHAPTER 3
My dearest Anne,
Right now the whole world seems to be falling apart. Only the thought of seeing you and Tommy is keeping me going. The Navy has been very decent about my payoffs, my pensions, and the extent of our health insurance. Commander Surprenant says it’s “conscience money.”
By the way, one of the guys on the panel which heard the court-martial has
“Agreed.”
“Which brings us to the final, somewhat minor, issue of reckless conduct in the face of the enemy.” Captain Dunning seemed saddened yet resigned to the wearisome issue of finding the SEAL battle commander guilty of something. The orders had been passed down from the highest authority in the nation. Not to cooperate would be, in effect, to defy the commander in chief, the president of the United States. Boomer Dunning was privately sickened by the entire process. Reckless conduct! Jesus Christ, these fucking madmen had just murdered twenty members of the Special Forces. And he, Boomer, had been charged with the task of finding Lieutenant Commander Bedford guilty of being reckless.
Now he spoke confidentially to his panel. “Look,” he said, “none of us much likes this, being more or less told to find Mack guilty of recklessness, and I would like to ask the views of each one of you.”
All three lieutenant commanders were reluctant to convict but were not sufficiently rebellious to go against the wishes of the president of the panel. The fourth and youngest member, the lieutenant, Jonjo Adams from Alabama, was a SEAL. And he was very concerned. He looked at Boomer and said quietly, “Sir, like all of us, I’d be proud to fight under Mack Bedford’s command. And we can sit here for a thousand years, and I ain’t never going to find him guilty of anything. He did what was right. I was in Baghdad when that bomb went off strapped to one of the surrender guys. A buddy of mine had his head blown off. If I’d been at the bridge with Mack, I’d have shot ’em myself.”
“I understand,” replied Boomer. “And since I feel much the same, I’m going to find him not guilty of reckless conduct. That’s the best I can do. But I will have to issue some kind of a reprimand. That’s the absolute minimum I can do”—he paused for almost ten seconds before blurting out—“in this whole fucking lousy, rotten business.” All four members of the panel saw Boomer Dunning brush his coat sleeve across his eyes and walk to the other side of the room because he could not bear anyone to see him this upset.
They ate their sandwiches almost in silence. The clock ticked away the minutes until 1400 hours, at which time all five of them walked back into the courtroom and took their places. Everyone else was awaiting their arrival.
Captain Dunning made no preamble. He said simply, “Lt. Cdr. Mackenzie Bedford, you have been charged with the murder of twelve Iraqi citizens. The court finds you not guilty. You were charged with several offenses against the Geneva Conventions, and these the court has dismissed out of hand, thanks to the wise counsel of Commander Surprenant. You were further charged with reckless conduct in the face of the enemy. The court finds you not guilty.”
Mack Bedford turned to shake the hand of his attorney. But Captain Dunning was not through.
“The court, however, finds that this was not a textbook military operation. Several SEALs were ready to open fire if a fake surrender was being enacted. And the court detected an element of panic. With this in mind, I have issued against Lieutenant Commander Bedford, a GOMOR, a General Officer Memorandum of Reprimand. The court is now closed.”
Mack Bedford was appalled. He turned to Al Surprenant and almost cried out, “Sir, this ends my career as a SEAL team leader. I’m banned from command, out of the promotion ladder.”
“As I feared,” replied his attorney. “Very much as I feared.”
CHAPTER 3
My dearest Anne,
Right now the whole world seems to be falling apart. Only the thought of seeing you and Tommy is keeping me going. The Navy has been very decent about my payoffs, my pensions, and the extent of our health insurance. Commander Surprenant says it’s “conscience money.”
By the way, one of the guys on the panel which heard the court-martial has
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