Alisha pushed her way through the crowded mess hall and climbed up on a table. Standing taller than the men for once, she had little trouble getting the troops’ attention and silence. “It has come to my attention that this fort still keeps dogs.”
A few snickers in the far corner got her quick attention. “I will remind each of you that reg 3.354 forbids the practice. But then you all know that. So I will tell you something else. It. Is. Wrong!” She displayed her anger in each separate word. “The Corps is not just a job. It is your family. And what type a family takes their new additions, their children, and beats, rapes and sodomizes them for the first year of their lives?”
The room was deathly quiet as she continued. “On my first day as a Ryder I was the dog, and I was nearly killed when I was purposely stalled out at three hundred feet over the Wind Farms Ridge. And before you say ‘so what’, think about how many of you would be standing here today if I had died before the Ridge and Broadtown battles?
“All of you have probably been a dog. That’s what makes the continuance of this behavior so horrible. You personally know how hurtful it is. Nobody will admit it, but you know the violence can go too far. You know Ryders who have died. So I’m telling you now. The practice of making dogs stops today! And captains, I hold you personally responsible for the health and well-being of every member of your squad. If I even suspect that someone under your care is being abused, I will come down on you so hard, you will long for the anger of the general. Is that understood?” she asked softly.
The dead silence gave no reply.
“The colonel is waiting for a reply, captains,” General Powell said from the door.
“Sir, yes, sir!” The reply came immediately.
“I hope the slowness of your response was because you were in shock at the realization of the monstrosity of this practice each of you has participated in. Because if you only replied because I prompted you, then your time as captain will be very short-lived. And I don’t just mean at this fort.” The general entered the commissary and walked to the table where Alisha stood.
“We’ve all been the dog,” he continued. “I was one, myself, when I was a cadet. But until today, I’d forgotten the horror of that year: the beatings, the abuses. When my year was up, I put it behind me. I convinced myself it made me a stronger soldier. But it didn’t make me stronger. It just made me hate a couple of officers for the next forty years.”
The remark got several nervous chuckles from some of the men.
The general was not smiling, however. “We are at war, gentlemen, and our enemy is well financed, clever, and determined. If Colonel Kane’s reasons have not convinced you that the practice of dogs must stop, then let me try one more reason. We can’t afford to waste Corps resources. Had Colonel Kane died during her time as a dog, the war would be over now. And every man here would be nothing more than a glass-framed picture on his mama’s mantel.”
The general let his words sink in for a moment and then continued.
“Now, is there any soldier here that thinks I’m not dead serious that the days of dogs have ended?”
The reply was instantaneous. “Sir, no, sir.”
“Consider this a part of the new world, gentlemen. No dogs, no rabbits, no nothing! You will treat your newest members with the same dignity and respect you expect from your own commander.” He looked up at Alisha. “Sorry for stealing your thunder, Colonel. Is there anything you’d like to add?”
“No,” Alisha said. “I think they’ve gotten the message.”
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