Kevin Miller - Declared Hostile

“I’m sure you are wondering why I’ve called you here together. It’s no secret there is no love lost between you two. As your XO, I see things, and I hear things. I want to offer my help before things get out of hand. What is going on between you two?”

The tight-lipped lieutenants avoided eye contact, each waiting for the other to speak first.

“Trench, as the senior, why don’t you start?”

Trench opened his mouth and tried to find the words. “Ma’am… we do our jobs, but… I mean…. We’re not friends, but we can get along.”

“And you?” Annie asked Macho.

“Ma’am, I have no problem with Trench,” she lied, wondering if she could fool her XO. She didn’t have to wonder long.

“Macho, you are full of baloney. I would use a stronger word, but, in the presence of ladies, I defer. Frankly, I don’t believe you’re telling me the truth. So, with that little lie out of the way, let’s continue. We’re going to resolve this right now . Do you read me?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

Annie cast a cool gaze at Macho. “Are you going to lie to me again?”

“ No, ma’am! ” a shaken Macho answered.

Annie waited a few seconds before she responded, an eternity to Macho. “Good.” When she continued, she set her sights on Trench, which allowed Macho to catch her breath.

“Trench, you are the quintessential air wing playa , think you are God’s gift, have a disgusting porn habit, and snicker too much in the back of the ready room. Are you seeing someone on this ship?”

“No, ma’am!”

“Good. Are you making women on this ship uncomfortable?”

“Ma’am?”

“Flirting with some but not others in the wardroom? Being overly solicitous of Airman Jackson on the flight deck? Snickering when our intel officer is briefing the squadron? Any of that ring a bell?”

Trench looked down, not knowing how to respond.

“We XOs have eyes in the back of our heads. Being a mom helps, too.”

“Yes, ma’am,” he stammered, blood flushing his face, but Annie wasn’t finished with him.

“Are you attracted to some women on this ship?”

Trench glanced at her, then Olive. His worst nightmare was coming true. Where is the XO going with all this? he thought.

“No names, but tell me the truth.”

“Yes, ma’am, as much as the next guy.”

“Are you attracted to me?”

Trench moved back in his seat, not knowing what to say. He sensed, though, he had better figure it out fast. He again opened his mouth, but no words formed.

“How about Lieutenant Commander Teel? She’s a woman, and, unlike me, she’s single.”

Trench took a quick look at Olive whose face remained expressionless.

“Ma’am, no—”

“Oh, are we too old for you? I’m a hag, of course, at 38, but Olive is much closer to your own age. And, as I said, she’s available.”

Trench’s forehead was moist.

“Ma’am, I haven’t…. It would be wrong to pursue….”

“Because we’re senior officers, right? In your chain of command? Wouldn’t be proper, would it?”

“No, ma’am.”

“But Ensign Duncan and Airman Jackson are in your chain of command. You are their senior officer. Perhaps they are flattered by your attention. Perhaps it makes them nervous. Whatever it does, we call undue familiarity fraternization , and it’s really, really bad for good order and discipline. It doesn’t have to be sexual either. If Olive and I go shoe shopping together, or go in and buy a Cessna to fly on weekends, it’s still undue familiarity. She is at an advantage over her fellow department heads as they compete for promotion. And that generates mistrust, which is bad for good order and discipline, which, in turn, degrades combat effectiveness. And my job is to help the CO ensure that the Firebirds are combat effective.”

Trench remained still, his humiliation almost complete.

“I see things, Mark, and so do others. You are a superb aviator and can go far. You are a warrior I want leading a group of JOs down the road. I suggest you take these words to heart, and stay away from women in this squadron and, I would say, the entire ship. It can only lead to ruin.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“One more thing, and this is for both of you. Your job is to fly Hornets off this ship in support of national tasking. You must work together and fly together in formation. You must not undercut each other in front of the others, especially the sailors. You must do the job together, but you do not have to like each other .”

The chastened junior officers nodded. Annie then changed course.

“Very well. Trench, you are now dismissed. Lieutenant Commander Teel, you may leave as well. I have something I want to say to Macho, alone. Please excuse us.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Trench said, still troubled by the experience. Olive followed him out, closing the door behind her.

With the others gone, Annie studied Macho for a moment before speaking.

“Why did you join the Navy?”

Unsure of the reason for the question, Macho answered. “I wanted to prove something to myself, do something exciting.”

“Not many women fly jets. There’s only five of us on the whole ship. You are in rare air.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Macho agreed, grinning with pride.

“So, have you proved anything to yourself?”

“Well, yes, ma’am. Here we are in a man’s world, you know, succeeding . I mean, we know that women can fly and do anything the guys can. I appreciate that you were one of the women who paved the way for us in the ‘90s. And I want to build on that.”

Annie nodded with a smile. “We can do anything the guys can.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Macho gushed, lowering her defenses further.

“Then what is your goal this tour?”

“Well, I want to help you and Olive lead the women here. To ensure that guys like him are not harassing or assaulting them—”

“Assaulting?” Annie asked, concerned.

“Well, you know, ma’am, the whispered comments, the frat boy antics on liberty… like in St. Thomas. Girls have to stick together against those guys.”

“Yes, assault . Those stray comments, men being men…. Why, a girl could go to pieces under the pressure.”

Macho realized that the conversation was taking a troubling turn.

“ Pressure is a low-fuel jet trying to recover on a pitching deck on a black night, or Marines screaming for help in an Afghan valley while you try to find them. You’ve been here a while, and you are doing well enough, but you’ve not experienced pressure like that yet.”

“Yes, ma’am, I’ll be….”

“You know, Tiffany, this is a tough business. You are expected to kill , and you can be killed out here. You want a challenge? You’ve come to the right place. But it’s not about proving something to yourself or others. The bottom line of our business is combat effectiveness, not agendas and not revenge. Certainly not the PC crap Washington cares about. We are warriors, you and I. We are also adults, old enough to know the ways of the world. If you want to be offended you can be, but if you want to make a difference and contribute to the unit cohesion and combat effectiveness of this squadron, we need you to do that. Frankly, we demand it. If you cannot give us that, you need to do something else. If I catch him behaving untoward to anyone in this squadron or aboard this ship, I’m going to rip his lips off. He can see he’s been warned and you saw it. But if I catch you sowing discord and forming your own little clique that can tear this squadron apart, I’m going to hammer your tits. Do you understand?”