Chapter Eight - part four

   The officer turned and walked off without another word. The press remained relatively silent as they packed up and left, which wasn't normal for them. It seemed that they were too stunned to say or do much at the moment. As it turned out they seemed to be satisfied too. The press conference had done exactly what had been hoped it would do, flashed up on the national news and then just as quickly it was forgotten. James was glad to see it quickly fade away, but it hadn't faded away as quickly on the Hill. James found himself facing much the same type of opposition he had faced at the beginning of his time on the Hill. There were a couple of big differences this time though. The first was that he was now a 2 degree and held a considerable amount of rank as well as still being at the top of the list for his academics. The second thing was that there were more cadets who seemed to be supportive now. They might not say or do a lot, but they said and did enough. What they did made a difference, at least as large as his rank did, maybe larger. As the days passed and the start of BCT approached James fell back into his daily routine. He stayed busy with his required summer session events, as well as with being an instructor for the glider program. Sarah had been a big help during the madness of media attention and she had remained in constant contact with him afterwards. She was getting bored, but would soon be taking officer training courses. Her schedule hadn't changed and she would be starting her pilot training in November or December.

   Starting day for BCT finally arrived and James stood back and watched as the new class did in-processing. It seemed like a totally different process and yet it was exactly like what he had done too. James couldn't help but smile at the looks on some of those Doolie faces. He wondered if he had looked the same and knew that he had. He didn't get to associate with them yet, but he could watch from a distance and did when he had the chance. Mostly he tried to watch the cadre and see how they were handling the new class. He was reasonably sure they were just as strict and brutal at times with this class as he remembered them being with his class. The one thing James hoped he was seeing was a different attitude about acceptance. It seemed like the cadre were a little more accepting of religion. There was no way to be certain of that until he was allowed to interact with the Doolies himself though. James based his opinions on spending time with the cadre when they were away from the Doolies. The cadre just seemed to be more relaxed about the Doolies who started to pray or asked to see a chaplain. Either of those things would have immediately resulted in extra training when James was a Doolie. They still did occasionally, but it seemed to be happening far less often.

   The time passed rapidly and the march out to Jack's Valley arrived. James was waiting to greet the new Doolies at Jack's. It quickly became apparent that he would have another issue to deal with. The new class had all heard about the 'Ironman'. They had all seen his pictures and read the articles about him before they ever arrived at the Academy. Many of them had even seen the press conference, or parts of it, on the television. Well, almost all of them. The ones who hadn't seen or heard about it were deluged with it once they had arrived at the Academy. Now James found himself trying to deal with hero worship. That caused him problems with the Doolies and even with some of the other cadre. Most of the cadre seemed to find it hilarious and were little help in dealing with it. There did appear to be one good thing that came out of it. An exceptionally high number of the Doolies showed up for services that first Sunday.

   Colonel Madison had been surprised by the sheer number and even more surprised when she had asked why they were there. It had taken a few minutes for her to pin some of them down to the facts. They were there because James was there. James had expected her to do something, but she had done nothing. She had given much the same sermon that he had heard his first year. She had mentioned that he had been there then, but she said little more. After it was over and they were heading back to their tents, James had tried to talk to Colonel Madison about it. She had just laughed before telling him to wait and see what happened. She wasn't overly concerned, because if they were only there to follow James they wouldn't be there for long, but if they were there seeking something else... well maybe they would find what they were looking for while learning about God's Word. Either way, time would reveal the true reason they were there.

   By the end of the first full week at Jack's Valley things were starting to work themselves out. A lot of the hero worship had died during their runs with James in command. Most of it had been replaced by a new kind of respect, but some had been replaced by something close to hate. James spent a lot of time with individuals, but he never let the unit as a whole suffer because of any individual. In fact he spent a great deal of his effort making each separate unit realize that every individual was a part of the whole that made up that unit. If the individual was in trouble, the unit was in trouble. James also worked to make the units understand that while they were separate units that were competing against each other; each unit was still a part of a greater whole. That meant that a unit in trouble, even if it wasn't their unit, meant that they were all in trouble. There were a lot of very tired, very sore Doolies returning to camp after completing a run with James. There were also a lot of very determined and confident Doolies returning after spending a session running with James too.

   The wing staff, the upper class cadets responsible for managing the cadet's at the Academy, quickly became aware of what James was doing. While they didn't always agree with or like his methods they couldn't argue with his results. At the end of that first week all of the units he had been training were showing major improvement. The wing staff made note of that improvement and tried to make changes to duplicate it in other areas. James wasn't sure if he was doing the best he could for the Doolies, but he was trying. That Sunday, much to his and Colonel Madison's surprise the numbers at services increased. The most shocking thing about it was that it wasn't all Doolies. In fact they lost almost as many Doolies as they had gained overall. The real increase in numbers had been in uppers. Mostly it had been Firstees who had never come to the services before. James didn't stay around to talk to Colonel Madison this time. He took a long run to do a little thinking and a lot of praying after it was over. About halfway out he had stopped to call Sarah and talk about everything. That had been a major help. Hearing her voice had been enough to help lift his spirits, but her words of confidence and encouragement had helped restore his own faith and trust in God's plan for this too.

   The days passed rapidly for everyone. There was little time that wasn't filled with training of some kind. James quickly learned that as demanding and long as the days were for the Doolies he was training, they were even longer and more demanding for him and the other cadres. James was in meetings, making reports, or reviewing the day's activities long after lights out for the exhausted Doolies. Then he would be up and preparing for the new day and the Doolies he would be in charge of for that day well before they or the sun was up. James pushed his Doolies hard every day, but that meant he had to push himself even harder. If a Doolie ran five miles with James, then James would have run seven miles or more. He soon earned a reputation as one of the toughest trainers the Doolies would face. He also earned a reputation as the one who could get the most out of every Doolie he trained.

   By the time the second week was over James had spent some time working with almost every Doolie. That wasn't the way it was supposed to work, but James had stepped up and taken on extra duty just so he could spend time with more of the Doolies. He had seen some of the Doolies struggling and he had seen a chance to step up to help Doolies who were really struggling with the intense training. The wing staff had been hesitant at first about his request to take on the task of working with the struggling Doolies, even if they weren't in his group. They had agreed to let him try it for a couple of days. Those two days proved to be enough to convince the wing staff to allow James to focus any time he could find on those who were having the worst trouble. It demanded even more from him, but the results were almost beyond belief. The Doolies he took a special interest in almost always improved and some of them improved dramatically. Oh sometimes they still struggled to complete the runs, but most did complete them and in decent times too.

   That Sunday saw more increases in the numbers at services. Most of the increase was from the Doolies James had given extra effort. They came more to show appreciation and respect for James than because they wanted to be at the service. But once again Colonel Madison didn't care why they came. There were also a couple more of the firstees who showed up. In fact the Wing Commander showed up. That was a first for Colonel Madison. She had seldom had wing staff show up and never the commander. At the close of the service James found himself put on the spot again. The Wing Commander had stepped up and asked to speak to the assembled cadets. Colonel Madison had hesitated, but she had given him permission.

   He had stepped up with a smile as he turned to address the cadets gathered there. He didn't speak with the same commanding tone that he often used when speaking to large groups like this. "I came here today to watch, to listen, and to learn. I wanted to find out what might have suddenly drawn you here, to this simple religious service. I also wanted to see if I could discover why so many of you have chosen to return each week." He looked over and gave a slight nod towards Colonel Madison before speaking further. "While I will admit that Colonel Madison is a very good motivational speaker and her message does hit home; I don't truly believe that either her abilities as a speaker or her message are what brought you and held you here. I am not a Christian, though I did have a grandmother who was during my childhood and she still reminds me about my lack of religion regularly. I am somewhat familiar with the Bible and the message that Colonel Madison gets from it. I get that, but I couldn't see the connection between that message and our choice to serve our nation."

   He stopped for a moment and frowned before going on. "During the last two years I have been here I have seen things changing. At first I thought those changes were just minor bumps in the road, changes that wouldn't survive long. When I started here religion was all but dead on the Hill and I saw that every effort was being made to completely eliminate it. Having grown up as a military brat I saw much the same thing in the rest of the military, though not so total as it was here. After two years I can now see that something has indeed changed at the Academy. I am not yet convinced that it will survive the test of time, but I don't think it is a simple bump in the road either. I watched you here today and I saw something I hadn't expected. I saw you thinking, thinking about the message, and I believe thinking about what it means for each of you as individuals."

   Now he smiled again and looked directly at James. "I don't know why many of you have been returning here each week, but I think I do know why many came to begin with. You have been following the lead of one individual. That isn't why all of you came, but I think it was why most of you did. In fact it was one of the main reasons why I came today. I wanted to see what it was that he brought here that drew you along with him. Honestly, I can say that I saw nothing here today, but I have seen something during the last week of training. I have watched and seen the way he leads and the way he motivates you during training. I have also watched the way he goes about his duty almost since the day he arrived. I have realized that you follow him, because for him this service is no different that his daily routine. You are here to see if you can figure out what is so different about him. I don't know if these changes I see will last once he leaves, but it will be interesting to see what happens. I want you to know, that as Wing Commander, I have made a decision today. I am going to do what I can to reduce any pressure about religion on the Hill, as long as it doesn't interfere with your duties. I won't say that religion has made a difference in the kind of officer Cooper seems to be, but I won't say it hasn't either. All I am certain of is that I would like to know and the best way I can see to find out... is to let it alone. If his religion did make him a better officer, then maybe it can do the same for some of you."

   He stepped over to James and smiling spoke to him. "I don't know if it is you, your religion, or a combination of the two that have caused all of the problems and changes I have seen since you arrived. Frankly, I don't care. I will watch and if I see problems starting up, because I have eased up... I will come down like a hammer and smash whatever is causing the problems. Change can be either good or bad, so I will watch while things are changing and as long as I don't see bad results I will just watch. But I will personally warn you, that you will be held personally responsible if anything goes bad because of the changes you have set in motion. Like it or not Cooper, you and you alone will be the one everyone looks to if things blow up. I suggest that you make sure those who have followed you here stay in line when they get back to the Hill."

  That simple warning was the end of what he had to say. He snapped a sharp salute to Colonel Madison as he turned and walked away. He gave nobody a chance to do or say anything before he was gone. Colonel Madison watched him walking away for just a moment and then turned and addressed the assembled cadets sharply. "Let me make something very clear to each of you! He may be the Wing Commander, but he isn't God. I suggest that you remember that. I also suggest that you take a good hard look at Cadet Cooper. He is just like you, with one possible exception. He doesn't play at religion. He lives his life by faith. It isn't about religion to him, it is all about faith. If you get a chance, ask him what he thinks of religion and see what he tells you. I am glad that each of you decided to come to hear the message I have tried to share with you, regardless of why you came. I hope, and I will pray, that you each understand that message wasn't about a religion. It was about faith, my faith, your faith, and most important of all God's faith! Think about that. Pray about that. Make a decision about that!"

   Colonel Madison took a deep breath and seemed to relax just a bit. She stood looking out at all of them for a long moment and then she spoke quietly to them. "You are dismissed, may the Lord watch over you this week as you are tried and tested." Then she turned and stepped aside to speak with James and the other cadres who had been coming since they were Doolies themselves. She didn't say anything out of the ordinary to them. She did warn them to stay alert without letting that distract them from their normal duties. She reminded them that being watched was after all the normal condition for them as Christians, so nothing had really changed. James had waited until the rest were gone and then he asked her one simple question. "Colonel, does what you said go for me too, or has this changed things again?" She had just smiled and shrugged before giving him her answer. "That is something we will both have to wait to find out. Things have changed, but I am not certain if they have for you. You, young man, have been at the center of this since day one. I don't see any sign to make me think that has changed or will anytime soon."  With that she turned and walked away leaving James alone to consider things.