Another One Bites the Dust (part three)
INT – IRAQ – NIGHT
The sound of gunfire can be heard and the screen
fades to a desert scene. Then, a small combat unit – under fire -- in Iraq can
be seen, lying behind/under their HMMMVs that are parked in a ‘herring bone’
formation. The unit is seen from an aerial view as they are fired upon.
Then the camera is ground level and behind the
American unit.
One soldier turns around to see another soldier to
his right.
Cameras focus on the soldier who is turning and
reveal it is PFC ERIC JOHNSON.
Bullets begin to wiz by, causing desert dust to fly
up after they touch ground, making the visibility worse. A few members of
Johnson’s unit continue firing and the incendiary rounds (1 of every 3 bullets)
can be seen penetrating the dust clouds.
PFC Johnson then gets into the prone position, slips
on night vision goggles, and begins to slowly pick off enemy personnel. He
fires one shot per enemy, aiming center mass (chest/heart).
Clink, clink, clink sounds are made by his weapon
when the cameras are close up, the other weapons are more distant. The “clinks”
sound and a quick muzzle flash can be seen from tip of Johnson’s weapon because
the camera is looking through the night vision, depicting Johnson’s line of
sight.
A large, red, fiery ball approaches Johnson’s unit,
blinding Johnson temporarily.
CPL
WRIGHT
R!…….
P!……..G!
Most members of Johnson’s unit continue to fire from
a prone position; a few put their heads down after hearing CPL Wright.
BAM! The fiery ball hits a HMMMV that two soldiers
are near. The vehicle explodes into fire and lifts 4-5 feet off the ground,
flipping sideways on top of the two soldiers.
The fire sheds some light on the scene, and one of
the two soldiers can be seen slowly getting up on the friendly side of the
vehicle, missing an arm. He stumbles like a drunk to maintain footing.
He takes 2-3 difficult steps and falls forward,
dead. The other soldier never moves after the explosion.
CPL
WRIGHT
Okay!
We need to hold our positions here. Everybody keep their fuckin heads down.
Wright can be heard but not seen. The bullets
continue to spray into their area, damping their ability to hear. The sound of
bullets echoes loudly until fewer gun shots can be heard. Immediately the American
soldiers stop returning fire and silence grows for one to two minutes until no
shots can be heard.
PFC
JOHNSON
PFC Johnson prematurely raises his head up to take a
look….
I think they’re
retreatin’ yo! Let’s sweep through. These muthas are weak, man. I’m going.
CPL WRIGHT
No!
Keep your dumb ass down.
BAM!
Johnson’s head tilts back and then his body drops
backwards until it hits the earth.
Johnson’s arms flap up once while his weapon falls
and clangs up against a rock. The others run to his aid, the sound of gunshots
picks back up.
CPL
WRIGHT (cont)
Cover
fire! Cover fire! Meeeediiiic! Where’s the god damned medic?
The enemy fire picks up again, filling the air with
dust.
The camera moves to an aerial view.
Wright maneuvers to Johnson’s position, as do a few
soldiers providing cover fire.
The camera zooms on PFC Johnson with his eyes wide
open, blood coming from under his Kevlar, and his fellow soldiers putting his
body back down onto the ground. One soldier gently closes Johnson’s eyes with a
shaking hand, and they cover his body with a green wool blanket…. “US” up. All
the while, four soldiers, all in single-knee firing positions, return fire to the
enemy.
CPL
WRIGHT
Damn!
They got Johnson.
FADE OUT
EXT – RECRUITING OFFICE – DAY
FADE IN
The voices of SSG JONES and another recruit can be
heard but figures not seen yet.
SSG
JONES
Hi!
Come on in and have a seat.
AMANDA
OK. I came in today
because I’m finished with high school and want to move out of my house. My
family is basically kicking me out, but I’ve really done nothing wrong.
SSG
JONES
No criminal offenses?
You appear to be within weight standards. What did you score on your SAT?
AMANDA
No law
violations at all, and I got a 1000 on my SAT. Is that OK?
SSG
JONES
Yes, that score should
mean you can pass the ASVAB, so I won’t give you the practice test. If you want
to join quickly I can expedite that.
Phone rings.
SSG
JONES (cont)
Hang
on, Amanda.
Answers phone and then listens for a while.
Today’s
Army. This is SSG Jones, may I help you? (listens for 1 min)
His eyes open wide and he looks downward before
hanging the phone up.
Amanda, I have to be
honest with you. The Iraq war isn’t exactly over, and chances are that you
might end up in a unit that is deploying over there. I just don’t want to
bullshit you. That phone call was the Army casualty assistance office. One of
my previous recruits was just killed in action.
AMANDA
That doesn’t mean the
same thing will happen to me. I still need some place to call home. Please let
me in.
SSG
JONES
Let’s
do the paperwork.
EXT – HOME OF PFC JOHNSON’S PARENTS – NIGHT
SSG JONES knocks on the door. Standing next to him
is an Army Chaplain, both are in dress uniform, and the Chaplain carries a Bible
in his left hand.
SSG
JONES
Ma’am, my name is SSG
Jones, and I was your son’s recruiter. Can I come inside? I think you might
want to have a seat. This is Chaplain Rodriguez.
MRS.
JOHNSON
Sure. He mentioned you
before he went in. Last I knew by the way, he was loving it, but is in Iraq
now.
SSG
JONES
Looking at a small letter
Ma’am, I’m afraid your
son was killed in action, while serving under the deadliest of circumstances.
Mom’s mouth opens, tears begin to form, but she
remains speechless.
He was killed while in
battle, assisting others to survive despite their odds of survival. I knew he’d
make a good soldier, but he turned out to be one of the toughest that any
country could hope to have.
She collapses on the floor, crying. Both the
Chaplain and SSG Jones kneel to her position. They speak to her but their words
cannot be heard. Only their mouths can be seen moving as her crying drowns
everything else out.
The screen fades to the outside of a building and “2
YEARS LATER” appears in white at the bottom.
EXT – US ARMY RECRUITER’S CONVENTION – NIGHT
– 2 YEARS LATER
The words and outside fade to reveal the inside of
the building, where lots of soldiers can be heard talking. All of them are in
dress uniform with their spouses dressed to impress. “Attention” is sounded and
the sound “New York, New York” is played over the speakers. Every soldier
stands up and snaps to the position of Attention within seconds. The spouses
stand to their feet as well but not as quickly as the soldiers do.
The Battalion Commander stands up and moves to the
front stage. It takes him almost the entire song to get there because he stops
and shakes hands along the way. He climbs the four steps in front of the stage
and waves as he approaches the microphone.
LTC
MARINO
Please be seated.
Before we get started, a word from the Chaplain.
CHAPLAIN
RODRIGUEZ
Please
stand in prayer.
Lord, as you look upon us now, we pray that you see our
efforts and assist us in remaining safe while enjoying our convention.
To the soldiers
Join me in the Lord’s
Prayer. Our father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come,
thine will be done, on earth as it is in heaven, forgive us for our trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us, for thine is the kingdom, the
power, and the glory forever……AMEN
The Chaplain sits down, as do all of the soldiers and
spouses. Only LTC Marino remains standing on the stage.
LTC
MARINO
Okay, it’s time to get
this party started. To start us off, I’d like to call up the Hempstead
Recruiting Office’s Station Commander: SFC Barnes
SFC
BARNES
Standing in front of 100 recruiters with awards and
trophies poised on a table behind him
This next award goes to
the recruiter who consistently led the battalion in prospecting, accessing, and
maintaining the Army’s acquisition requirements, basically the soldier who put
the most people in the Army….ha ha. Anyway, we all know who this is going to.
SSG Jones, could you please come up here and get this huge trophy off my stage.
And while you’re here, grab that one for best recruiter, the Meritorious
Service Medal, since you’re leaving us to go back into the mainstream, and that
envelope that was handwritten by the General of all recruiting that thanks you
for your individual efforts.
SSG Jones stands up and walks towards the stage,
climbs up three small steps, and walks towards the microphone. As he does this,
the crowd stands and begins to clap in sincere admiration for his efforts and
his performance. Voices can be heard chanting: “nice job, outstanding, best
soldier ever, hell of a recruiter, our loss the mainstream’s gain.” Then, in
harmony, the crowd chants “speeeeeeeeeech” “speeeeeeeech” “speeeeeech” as
loudly and annoyingly as they can.
SSG
JONES
Well, first I need
thank all of my friends here, SFC Barnes, and my fellow recruiters from the
station. We worked hard together, and I hope my efforts taught you how to do
things better. But I really hope you remember one thing that I didn’t learn
until it was too late to avoid guilt.
Tears begin to fall.
There is no need to lie
to people. The army is at war now, and we sit here telling people, “it’s all
good,” when it isn’t. We cannot help that soldiers die in combat, but telling
new folks that they probably won’t go to combat is stupid. Telling them lies
regarding what they can have later isn’t good either. If someone dies for this
country, let be because they went into it knowing full well what is in store
for them. And for goodness’ sakes, do not hide from war by remaining a
recruiter. Don’t put them there while you hide from where they are going;
that’s cowardly. Cowboy the fuck up and do your real jobs. Keep it real, folks.
The crowd goes silent, knowing that Jones has been a
rather unscrupulous recruiter and has motivated them to be that way also. They
begin to look at each other and whisper quietly; laughing can be seen but not
heard.
SFC
BARNES
Barnes runs slowly up to the stage and to the
microphone.
Thank you Jones, and
nice work over the last three years! I hope you don’t run into too many of your
old recruits. You know you did what you had to do quite a lot, but that’s why
you’ve got all of those awards that will help you get promoted. Let’s hear a
round of applause for him.
The crowd claps while smiling, as if they’re just
clapping because they were told to.
Good
luck Jones.
INT – PARENT’S HOUSE – DAY
On leave, en route to his next duty station, SSG
Jones walks in to see his brother speaking to an army recruiter. He pauses,
puts down his bags, and hurries to sit nearby without introducing himself.
SSG
CRONE
You
can have any job you want to in the army. You wanna be a sniper, just sign
here.
MIKE
Hell
yeah!
SSG
JONES
Hang
on! Mike, you cannot be guaranteed Sniper School, bro. You have to sign
infantry and then apply to it. You can be denied, but you’re still in the army
for the duration that you signed up for. If you’re gonna join, join for the MOS
that you want, and then look for schooling you’d like that helps you get
promoted within that field.
SSG
CRONE
Crone quickly retorts an interruption to regain
control of the interview.
True!
But Sniper School helps infantry get promoted.
SSG
JONES
But did you tell him
that only one out of every 20 applications is accepted into that school?
SSG
CRONE
Well,
I don’t always say everything. He wants to fight.
MIKE
No, I want to be the
best that I can be. I initially told you high tech stuff. Can that be coupled
with contributing in the battle?
SSG
CRONE
Sure
it can.
Crone looks at Jones, waiting for a reply.
SSG
JONES
In a supporting role,
yes. The high tech guys don’t usually see direct combat, and infantry is not
high tech.
MIKE
Let’s
look for a high tech job, bro. Can you help?
SSG
JONES
Sure
I can.
INT – FT LEWIS, WA – DAY
SSG Jones is standing at the in-processing center,
just having finished his intro paperwork. He stares at the admin person.
SSG
JONES
So
which unit am I in? I’m ready to get it on!
CLERK
You’ll be heading back
to the Henry H. Lind NCO Academy to be an instructor, Staff Sergeant. Kill ‘em
dead! It’s a nice assignment for sure. You’ll be training young NCOs all of the
fundamentals of leadership. You’ll ensure the Army Values are upheld: loyalty,
decisiveness, endurance, selfless service, honor, integrity, and personal
courage.
SSG
JONES
Yeah,
I think integrity is something we all need a little work on. Hoah! Thank you
clerk.
The clerk remains quiet, thinking Jones may have
been referring to him. His eyes squinting, his eyebrows go up, and his mouth
opens in curiosity, making the clerk appear confused.
