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Chasileah glanced toward the cloudless sky as she wiped dirty sweat from her forehead. Clods of baked clay mixed with gritty gypsum dust filled the air from the hooves of the mounted company’s many horses. Field Marshal Trisha had decided to make an inspection of the new officer corps training camps at Satahapar. The name meant ‘to drink dust’ and it had been aptly awarded such a title. A light shower earlier that morning was now not even a memory in this desperate land.
Through some twist of nature, the high mountains west of Oros combined with a geological shift far under the surface of the planet, causing Satahapar to become a desolate, high desert surrounded by grassy plains and wooded mountains. This ‘island of festering anger’, as many came to call it, was ideally suited for military training. Located less than twenty leagues northeast of Oros, it stretched eastward for another sixty, and nearly one hundred leagues wide. Every kind of torturous terrain and temperature range anyone could hope or dread finding, from midsummer days clawing their way to well above a hundred degrees, to winter nights where it could fall to forty below zero was found here.
Chasileah scanned the countryside - barren hills with little or no life other than the lonely desert rat or a scurrying tarantula. Carefully studying these surroundings, she discovered familiar outcroppings that, although severely weathered, gave her a point of reference. She remembered visiting this place so long ago, but it was much different then. Yes, once, where they were now riding, she had sailed in a little wooden boat, and small cottages and farms dotted the shoreline. That was before the lower strata changed, causing the underworld of molten rock and noxious gasses to bubble forth, drying up or polluting the waters, leaving a arid wasteland filled with frothing geysers and acrid, boiling, mineral pools. Now she struggled to take a breath as beating hooves tore away the ancient lakebed, kicking up choking clouds of gritty dust.
To add to their misery were the new garments issued to every soldier in training, including instructors and commanding officers. All uniforms used during that time were to be made from simple cloth, not from smart, climate-controlled material. There was little comfort provided by them other than what protection was offered from the boiling sun and, at other times, the biting wind.
To help harden the raw troops was not the only reason these new uniforms were so basic. There was a severe shortage of supplies. The sudden increase in all branches of the service put a strain on everyone. Chasileah could now see just how unprepared her people were for war. There were few warehoused goods, including uniforms and weapons. Why, even food was being rationed at times. The new industry would eventually catch up with their needs, but it would be ‘nip and tuck’, as Jebbson would say, for some time to come.
Things were so different from Chasileah’s earlier soldiering days. There was no longer going to be the relaxed family atmosphere like one would find in the old Army. This new officer training camp was an example of change as well as the camp uniforms made of coarse flaxen or cotton, even wool blends - anything that could be woven into cloth. They were of simple cut, a ‘one size fits all’, comprised of loose-fitting leggings, a long-sleeved, thigh-length blouse and closed-toed sandals that laced up the calf. A stamped metal helmet with a removable padded lining, so that the helmet’s steel shell might serve any other necessity, finished their attire.
There were other changes in this new army. Many rules and regulations had recently been put in place - rules, it was hoped that would quickly toughen inexperienced recruits for the rigors of the coming war.
Just that morning, the field marshal had addressed a gathering of officers in training, explaining what was expected of them. Chasileah recollected what she heard. There was to be no more fraternization of any kind between officers and enlisted soldiers. As Trisha explained, ‘It has been the decision of the Council that for the best performance of the new military machine, all officers are to discontinue any relationships with non-officer soldiers. This includes all romantic and intimate affairs, social gatherings, even private, personal conversations, unless opted through proper channels.’ She expressed the need for officers to remain aloof from the noncommissioned soldier so that proper military discipline could be maintained.
Trisha then pointed out to the new officer candidates, few of whom had ever been active in real combat and many never even had been in the military, ‘It will be your responsibility to order the death, if necessary, of your own soldiers. How easy will it be for you to fill a ruptured breach, order a charge, abandon the wounded and dying, when dreams of lovemaking with the person you’re consigning to the fire still burns hot in your mind? How will you think clearly if you are looking at faces instead of objectives? No! It is better to deaden your body to all feeling and emotion than to hesitate to act swiftly on the field of battle!’
Continuing in the same line of thought, the field marshal went on. ‘From this day forward, your sergeants will become your mouthpiece to and for those of lower rank, other than when you’re in general assembly or issuing orders. Should you live to attain a rank above lieutenant, then you will view your junior officers in the same capacity as you did the enlisted soldiers. You no longer have any friends, lovers, brothers or sisters surrounding you. You are an officer. You are now the oil that keeps a very complex machine running smoothly. That is your job, your only job!’
Trisha also took time to define the chain of command, explaining that many of the titles were taken from military terms found in the Second Realm. ‘It has been the decision of the King’s Council to adopt a similar order of rank found among the armies of the Realms Below. The people of that world are more practiced at war and already have an excellent vocabulary for us to choose words from.’ She then proceeded to provide a rough outline of the rank-of-command in the army.
The new enlistee started at private 3rd class, advancing to 2nd, and then to 1st. The next level was corporal 2nd class, advancing to 1st. Sergeant, the highest level of noncommissioned officer, began at sergeant 4th grade, then progressively up through until first sergeant, 1st grade. The final level was master sergeant, 1st grade. A sergeant major was an optional position a colonel might bestow within his command.
Officers started at rank of third lieutenant, advancing to second, then to centurion lieutenant, an officer commanding one hundred enlistees, and finally 1st lieutenant, who officered directly under the command of the captain. The next rank above captain was major 2nd commander, progressing to major 1st commander, followed by lieutenant colonel, then full colonel.
The upper echelon of command proceeded with brigadier general, major general or corps commander, and finally lieutenant general. The commanding generals leading each of Trisha’s four armies were also officially titled ‘lieutenant field marshal’, and each of her four chief staff officers was titled, ‘general enstaff’. In detailing the chain of command, Trisha emphasized that all staff officers on official business, regardless of rank, represented their respective commander and were to be obeyed thusly.
It had been decided to implement all the new changes immediately with the current and future enlistees and officer recruits. Little else would be done with the veteran corps other than the redesign of the command structure. Mihai and her war council recognized the possible difficulties long-time soldiers and higher ranking officers might have in making needed adjustments, working with what was to become the largest military machine Lowenah’s children had ever built.
Those of the old school who couldn’t adapt well would be placed in more specialized regiments and companies. Many were already leaning toward joining Special Forces or the newly created Marine divisions. This fluidity of movement was one of the privileges no longer enjoyed in the new army. In the old army, a person became an officer if they signed up for a permanent stint in the military. They could resign at any time, and often bounced around between army and navy, the two fields often blurring. Many also became fighter pilots for a time, it being a b
ranch under the guidance of the Navy. Now things were changing.
The various branches were clearly defined and separated from each other, the Navy and Marines being the last holdout of the old ways. Although Mihai could authorize personnel changes between branches, or even set up liaison officers who maintained their authority between or among the different fields, it would be a rarity. Now, once a recruit received an officer’s position within a certain branch, he or she would remain there. There also was no longer an automatic officer status for just offering permanent service. Every new recruit was trained in a school of sorts, and needed to pass the rigorous standards that had been established before becoming an officer.
Chasileah was deeply absorbed, pondering the real value of all these changes, when a voice shouted back to her, “Major, to the front of the column!” She spurred her horse and galloped to the lead of the line, which was now cresting a knoll. At the front of the troop there was no longer any dust blocking her vision. She could see in the distance their objective, several tiny dots far off on the vast salt basin. Trisha again addressed her staff officer. “Soon you shall see first hand how we are educating the new officers for the rigors of war. I will seek your input at a later time. For now, please, silence.”