“You want what?” asked Nathan, suddenly less distracted. He looked at Sergeant Major Luke Carter and then at both David and Joshua who were standing with him in Nathan’s office. Up to that moment, the day was actually been going pretty well for once.

Carter repeated his request without the slightest trace of emotion. “I want to conduct a long range reconnaissance to the south just as you directed, but I want Joshua and David here to lead it.”

Nathan looked at his boys in turn. He had heard about how well they were performing as trainers for Carter and was not really surprised. He saw Joshua’s worried but hopeful look and David’s defiant and proud one and decided to steer clear of the obvious issue of the boys’ age. The Sergeant Major certainly had a reason for coming to him with such a request. He thought he should probably hear him out.

“Let’s hear it,” said Nathan, “Tell me why.”

“Dad, listen,” began Joshua.

Nathan cut him off with a look and a point of his finger. “You keep your mouth shut unless I ask you something. This is between the Sergeant Major and I. I’m frankly not even sure why he brought you here.” Nathan gave Carter a hard knowing look as he said this because in fact he did suspect why they were there. “Go on,” he told Carter.

“Certainly, sir,” said Carter unperturbed. “We must begin the discussion with the importance of the mission. Although we have numerous areas of weakness here, our lack of intelligence prevents us from prioritizing which areas to address first with scarce resources.”

“I know that part,” said Nathan, “we’ve had conversations of just such matters. I also understand why you want to recon south. Get to the part where you think David and Joshua should take part.”

“Sir,” said Carter, “let me be clear. I don’t just want them to participate in the recon, I want them to lead it.”

Nathan opened his mouth to retort and then quickly caught his words. He was again careful about wounding the boys’ pride. He also thought there was something else at play here that he did not quite understand yet. “Why them?” he asked simply.

“For a variety of reasons, sir,” he answered. “First and most importantly, they are the most qualified men I have under me right now for such a mission. I know they are young, but they have much more practical experience than I did the first time I went into enemy territory. Also, they have been training these men for months and the men respect them. And…” here Carter paused before going on, “if they are to be two of my platoon leaders, I want them to have the experience behind them.”

“Your what?” asked Nathan.

“Sir, it’s no secret that you plan to commission me a Captain after this current training class and put me in charge of the central region of the park.” Carter was matter-of-fact. “You’ve asked my commander at Murray State who talked to me about it. If I’m going to be a commander, I need good subordinate leaders. I want these two to be lieutenants under me.”

Nathan shook his head and blew out a breath. “Sergeant Major don’t you think they need a few more years under their belts first? We both know leadership is a heavy burden. Also won’t folks just say they’re being commissioned only because they’re my sons?”

Carter smiled slightly for the first time. “Sir, in my experience the only way to obtain leadership experience is to lead. As far as what people think, that’s one reason I want them conducting this mission. No one can question their capabilities if they’re the first to lead such a patrol. All who know them already know better, and those who don’t, soon will after this.”

“I’m flattered, but are you telling me that of all the men you’ve trained lately that these two are your first choice for platoon leaders?” asked Nathan.

“Actually, no,” replied Carter, “I have a former SEAL whom I’m making my executive officer, a park service game warden who is going to make a fine platoon leader, and one of those NCO’s from Fort Campbell is going to be my headquarters and support platoon leader. But on a standard company organization that leaves two platoon leader slots open and these two are more than capable and they know their stuff.”

“I see you’ve given this a lot of thought,” said Nathan, pondering. He would have preferred them to be older, but they were old enough to make their own decisions. David at least would likely go with or without Nathan’s blessing.

“Boys,” Nathan began and inwardly cringed at the word. They weren’t really boys anymore. “How do you feel about this?”

“We’re ready,” said Joshua eagerly, “and we’ll be careful.”

Nathan continued on. “I’m sure the Sergeant Major has talked to you about being a leader, but I’m going to add my two cents’ worth.” He looked at them carefully to ensure he had their attention. “There are three things you need to know about being a leader going in.” Here Nathan held up three fingers and began counting them off, “First, leadership is lonely. You carry the burden alone, not your men. Second, leadership is not fair. You are responsible for everything they do or fail to do. And third,” here Nathan looked hard, “you’re most likely going to have men die under you if you do this long enough. Make damn sure you did everything possible to prevent it from happening ahead of time so that you know it isn’t your fault when it happens. Do you understand?”

“Yes, sir,” both said in unison.

“So we are good to go?” asked Carter.

Nathan smiled and shook his head. “Not so fast. Have you ever been in an airborne unit, Sergeant Major?”

“Of course,” responded Carter. “Lots of them.”

“Ever been in one where you had brothers in the same unit?” asked Nathan.

“Can’t say that I have,” answered Carter after some thought.

“Well I was once,” said Nathan. “At Fort Bragg I was in a company that actually had three brothers in it. They fought like cats and dogs.” Nathan smiled at the memory. “But, the point is, on airborne operations all three couldn’t be on the same plane. Two could, but not all three. Do you know why?”

Carter nodded, “I guess in case the plane goes down the family doesn’t lose all three sons.”

“Exactly right,” said Nathan, “and a good policy it is too. So, I’ll agree to the recon, and to the boys leading it, on several conditions. First, I want them fully prepared and briefed with numerous contingency plans. Second, I want to be at the final rehearsals, pre-combat checks, and pre-mission briefs. And finally,” here Nathan paused for a long moment, “only one of them goes on the patrol.”

They all stared back at him in silence for a moment before David asked, “Which one gets to go?”

“That’s for the Sergeant Major here to decide, and I’ll stay out of it,” answered Nathan, “The other one can lead the next recon and they can take turns if you like, but I don’t want both of them out at the same time and certainly not on the same mission. That is non-negotiable.”

Carter nodded, “Understood, sir. I hear you loud and clear. We’ll start planning and let you know what our timeframe looks like.”

“Good,” said Nathan. “Now get out of here before I change my mind.”

Carter smartly saluted, followed by the boys’ more hesitant salutes, after which they all filed out of the room, shutting the door behind them.

Nathan stood and looked out the window as the boys walked away from the building. Bethany is going to kill me, he thought.