The Trooper’s First Exercise
Under the Sergeant control, two hundred troopers, carrying one hundred pound back-packs, with night vision glasses hanging around their necks entered the ‘Training Woods.’ It was getting dark as they set up their camp about 500 feet in. They divided the Troopers into four platoons. The Sergeant assigned temporary corporals to each squad which contained ten trainees.
This is the same woods where Alice and Robert almost drowned, and Maria (Mountain Lion) was born.
Three troopers from each squad had to check the large trees for recent climbing cuts. They used ultra-ray spotlights that could expose, even in the dark, the smallest cut or mark in a tree. They ordered the trainees to check the tree bark up to thirty feet from the ground; they found nothing.
The Sergeant ordered the troopers to go back and start over, at forty feet
The soldiers were laughing inside because they couldn’t believe anyone could jump forty feet.
With the new guidelines, the trainees got lucky. The tree was an old Maple located two hundred yards from the camp and about four feet off the road.
It puzzled the troopers, how could anyone jump forty feet, it was impossible? But that’s what the cuts showed? There was another surprise; there were no indentures in the tree showing that anyone actual climbed down.
The nearest tree was over twenty feet away. The troopers believed it was impossible for anyone to jump from the first tree to the second one. After sounding an alert confirmed the hit, the entire training group surrounded the tree in question.
The Sergeant shouted all right stop; this is not a fox hunt. Army platoons one and two return to the campsite and guards the place.
After a brain thrust meeting, they believed the person who made the scratches into the tree was still hiding in the Maple. Stepping back from the tree one could see how the dense bush at the top of the tree could conceal a few people.
The Sergeant said he was out, and you guys can run this thing any way you want to.
This called for another brain thrust meeting. The squad leader decided that two men would climb the tree with their stun guns set to fire.
To ensure the troopers had the protection they had Troopers climb the four trees surrounding the target Maple tree.
The men found out that each of the five trees had an envelope stuck in their branches.
The envelopes contained one word ‘Boom.’
The sergeant said we have just lost eleven men. Let’s return to the base camp. On the way, they caught two Troopers in traps.
The Sergeant ordered the troopers to form into columns. He counted them, including the alleged dead ones the total was 201.
The Sergeant addressed the group. We gained one Trooper on paper but lost thirteen to the enemy.
Your Princess may be standing next to you unless you can find a Seven-foot five-inch man.
Just then a stun gun when off knocking one soldier three feet into the air. Then, additional firing occurred, and a smoke bomb was thrown, causing total mayhem.
The Sergeant pulled out a pistol and shot a bullet into the air. He got their attention and called the troopers into a formation.
Okay, we have the results of the first day of the live exercise. The enemy Won we lost. Troopers set up your camp. Select your leaders and then plan on how you are going to catch these two kids and now with their thirteen helpers, it will be harder. Don’t forget; there will be more traps, phony bombs and now even the possibility of a suicide bomber.
We have cameras on you, so it looks like you have a significant problem we will respond. I will be here tomorrow to travel with you and tell you what you did wrong. From now on you will plan your adventures.
The Sergeant continued your side you have hundreds of men and women with years of military experience. Your enemy is two twenty years old kids. The female hasn’t even passed her driving test. Do you know why she failed?
She didn’t pass the driving test is because she is blind? Well, this child did a job on you today. That is my fault I know her and consider her, my daughter, but I didn’t realize how fast she was able to pick things up. Here is the bad news the boy hasn’t even show up yet.
Be careful tonight, or you will find yourself tied to a tree. I think you should prepare for a night counter-attack from her ex-boyfriend. Everyone laughed at the ex-boyfriend’s remark. Also, on your monitors, we have given you a copy of Robert’s recent fights.
The Sergeant walked out of the woods and got into his jeep and left. There was a small goat in his car, and he tried to hide it, but it cried for his Mother. The Sergeant was smiling because his children were home. Final stop picks up his daughter and her friend.
Alice was sitting on a tree branch with Robert, about twenty feet in the air. They jumped in the jeep and said, Dad remember the time we came home for dinner, and he was holding my pants up as Robert was getting in the back. They both laughed.