congratulations to both you gentlemen for your noble gestures, and to you, Arcadia, I wish you the best of fortune with your new enterprise.
10
Fort Independence, Virginia
For George Washington it was a busy ten days. He was working at least 10 hours a day, but he’d never felt better. His new teeth took so much discomfort from his life, but he was finding he had more endurance, his thinking was sharper, and his overall health was the best it had been in years. He was checked by the doctors twice more, but these were simple blood tests to insure, according to them, that no reactions to his full range of vaccinations were occurring.
The day after the major briefing, he was picked up by another General, who introduced himself as Manny Compton. Compton was a very pleasant, but professional officer. At their first meeting, Compton told Washington, “General, in our army when we get promoted to General we normally speak to each other in private by our Christian names, mine’s Manny. Would you object to me calling you George?”
“Not at all, Manny,” said Washington, “we have much the same custom in our ranks.”
“Great,” said Manny, “Let me give you a little background of me. I am a graduate of the U.S. Military Academy, that’s the Army College established on the Hudson River at West Point in 1789. I’ve been a professional soldier for 35 years. I’m a veteran of several American combat operations, and commanded a brigade for most of them. I’m also a graduate of the Army War College, where the latest tactics are studied in comparison with the long history of successful combat tactics since before the Roman times. My job is to acquaint you with the capabilities of the equipment you will command. I’ve arranged an inspection for you, if that is convenient.”
“By all means,” said Washington, “I’ve been eager to see all that equipment we saw in review in action.”
“Then let’s start with a first-hand look at what we have.”
Washington was growing more comfortable by the day in his new uniform. It was strong and very practical, with pockets and pouches located all over. He asked Manny about it.
“You’re wearing the standard green camouflage fatigues. The reason the uniform is designed in this way is to cause you and your troops to blend into the environment. We are surrounded by green trees, so you can disappear into the forest and be very hard to be seen by the enemy.”
The two men walked out of the VIP quarters and jumped onto an ATV. “This vehicle is used for reconnaissance and advance patrolling. It will go over rough ground, and on a flat road can go 50 miles per hour. It’s powered by an internal combustion engine, as are all of our vehicles. They run on refined oil, known as diesel fuel.”
They roared off down the road, headed for the motor pool. For Washington it was an exciting and exhilarating adventure.
Their first stop was at the garage that housed the Humvees. Manny came to stop inside, and an enlisted man, a sergeant with a patch that had three stripes up and three stripes down, came hurrying up. He saluted the Generals sharply. Washington was catching on to this acknowledgement of officers by the lower ranks, so his salute was a good deal crisper than it was the first time he saw it.
“Good morning, First Sergeant,” said Compton. “This is General Washington, the Commander of the Colonial Army.”
“Good Morning, sir,” said the sergeant. Washington returned his salute and then shook hands with the man.
The
10
Fort Independence, Virginia
For George Washington it was a busy ten days. He was working at least 10 hours a day, but he’d never felt better. His new teeth took so much discomfort from his life, but he was finding he had more endurance, his thinking was sharper, and his overall health was the best it had been in years. He was checked by the doctors twice more, but these were simple blood tests to insure, according to them, that no reactions to his full range of vaccinations were occurring.
The day after the major briefing, he was picked up by another General, who introduced himself as Manny Compton. Compton was a very pleasant, but professional officer. At their first meeting, Compton told Washington, “General, in our army when we get promoted to General we normally speak to each other in private by our Christian names, mine’s Manny. Would you object to me calling you George?”
“Not at all, Manny,” said Washington, “we have much the same custom in our ranks.”
“Great,” said Manny, “Let me give you a little background of me. I am a graduate of the U.S. Military Academy, that’s the Army College established on the Hudson River at West Point in 1789. I’ve been a professional soldier for 35 years. I’m a veteran of several American combat operations, and commanded a brigade for most of them. I’m also a graduate of the Army War College, where the latest tactics are studied in comparison with the long history of successful combat tactics since before the Roman times. My job is to acquaint you with the capabilities of the equipment you will command. I’ve arranged an inspection for you, if that is convenient.”
“By all means,” said Washington, “I’ve been eager to see all that equipment we saw in review in action.”
“Then let’s start with a first-hand look at what we have.”
Washington was growing more comfortable by the day in his new uniform. It was strong and very practical, with pockets and pouches located all over. He asked Manny about it.
“You’re wearing the standard green camouflage fatigues. The reason the uniform is designed in this way is to cause you and your troops to blend into the environment. We are surrounded by green trees, so you can disappear into the forest and be very hard to be seen by the enemy.”
The two men walked out of the VIP quarters and jumped onto an ATV. “This vehicle is used for reconnaissance and advance patrolling. It will go over rough ground, and on a flat road can go 50 miles per hour. It’s powered by an internal combustion engine, as are all of our vehicles. They run on refined oil, known as diesel fuel.”
They roared off down the road, headed for the motor pool. For Washington it was an exciting and exhilarating adventure.
Their first stop was at the garage that housed the Humvees. Manny came to stop inside, and an enlisted man, a sergeant with a patch that had three stripes up and three stripes down, came hurrying up. He saluted the Generals sharply. Washington was catching on to this acknowledgement of officers by the lower ranks, so his salute was a good deal crisper than it was the first time he saw it.
“Good morning, First Sergeant,” said Compton. “This is General Washington, the Commander of the Colonial Army.”
“Good Morning, sir,” said the sergeant. Washington returned his salute and then shook hands with the man.
The
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