Where Their Chevrons Lay

He stood there like a monolith. Black as a clump of rare earth elements. He stood at the position of attention. His camouflage uniform looked slightly shabby. Some parts seemed pressed and in order while great patches looked ruffled and unkempt. He rolled his sleeves tightly, though. Silence pervaded the room of about eight other junior Marines, privates and privates first class (PFC) mainly. The hatch to the place swung open and Staff Sergeant Henley, aged twenty seven, also blue black in appearance, stepped up to the young PFC standing at attention. This was PFC Cartwright. Tears streaked his dark skin.

“Oh, so now you want to cry, huh, Cartwright?” Henley issued these words in a hushed scream. The contents of the words seemed to be deafening while his delivery was smooth and cold and exact.

“Yes, Staff Sergeant.”

Henley turned to the other Marines in the room. “Take a good look at this soon to be Private Cartwright. When we say that a Marine never steals, we mean it. That is unsat. It will not be permitted in my beloved Corps. Cartwright here is an example. He is an example of what not to do. Because of his transgressions, he is paying for it.”

Henley squared with the young Marine who couldn’t be more than 19 years old. Cartwright just let the tears flow. He couldn’t stop them. Each one dropped to the deck in quick succession. The other Marines became transfixed. Their eyes trained on this whole affair, some grasping at their collar where their chevrons lay. The privates felt around their collar at the phantom rank insignia. Next, the hatch opened again. This time, Gunnery Sergeant May Nichols, 38, strode into the room. She stood at about 5'10" and rose above a good portion of the male Marines. She had olive colored skin and freckles. Henley shifted to the right of Cartwright and allowed May to take command as the most senior Devil Dog in the relatively small, enclosed space. May addressed the staff sergeant then the junior Marines in attendance.

“Can everyone hear me?”

“Yes, Gunny,” the Marines said with an edginess befitting the uncomfortable nature of the events that took place.

“Now, I hope that you will see that this what not to do. This is not the way to be, Marines.” She looked at Cartwright. “You want to steal under the UCMJ? You want to steal under my watch?" The sergeant major just about lost his mind when he found out that one of his Marines had pilfered a can of chewing tobacco. "Do you understand how wrong that is, Cartwright?”

“Yes, Gunny,” Cartwright said.

“And you’ve got the nerve to be standing up here boo-hooing. You weren’t crying when you took that can of dip were you, Cartwright?”

“No, Gunny,” his voice quavered.

“‘No, Gunny. That’s right. Oh, no. Not now. No. All that thievery is what they taught you at Boot Camp, right?”

“No, Gunny.”

“They must have instilled that in you in MCT, right?”

“No, Gunny.”

“Then why the hell am I getting chewed for something that you did, Cartwright?”

The young Marine’s eyes looked down at his boots without his head moving.

“I….”

“‘I’ what, Cartwright?”

“I didn’t know that I’d get caught.”

“Well look what we have here, ‘Devils. A moment of honesty far too late. Let me tell you something, Cartwright.” May lifted the Marine’s collars. “You see these skeeter wings?”

“Yes, Gunny.”

“They’re about to fly,” she said. She snapped off the backings of each of the black arrow looking insignia and clutched them in her hand. She held them up to Cartwright at face level. She then opened her palm as if sifting sand through it. She let the solid brass black chevrons fall to the deck with a distinctive and noticeable tinkling sound. It was like a piece of glass had shattered.

“Private Cartwright, you may now have a seat.”

“Aye, Gunny,” Cartwright said.

Then, Sergeant Major Yannis Samos rolled into the room.

“How’re we doing, Leathernecks?”

“Good, Sar’ent Major.”

“Alright, what you just witnessed is the proper procedure for dealing with a Marine gone astray. Private Cartwright here had to learn that when you commit an offense such as theft, there comes a penalty. Now, let’s all be mindful of what it is to be a Marine. Lying, cheating, and stealing will not be tolerated under any circumstances. Do you understand that?”

“Yes, Sar’ent Major,” the Marines said.

“Go to chow,” Sergeant Major Samos said.

Private Cartwright picked up his chevrons and placed them in his pocket. The other junior Marines filed out of the room with a renewed ideation for respecting Corps values.