Love in the Army 

James has enjoyed staying with Robbo and his family in Birmingham for the last few days but the day had come to say goodbye. Robbo also was getting ready for his return to Afghanistan. He had started to get his fitness regimen back and has started to run every day. James had enjoyed joining him and most days Gary also joined them.

Robbo was with Gary saying his goodbyes to his friend. James arrived shortly afterward and knocked on the door. Gary answered and said “hi mate.”

“Hi Gary, is Robbo ready?”

“Yeah mate, he is ready” Gary said.

Robbo walked out of the lounge and smiled at James and said “ok, let’s get this show on the road.”

Gary hugged Robbo and said, “Keep safe mate, I will see you soon.”

Robbo said, “no doubt.”

Robbo said his goodbyes to Jackie and the two men headed into the city centre and to New Street station.

The lads caught their train to London and sat there laughing and joking all the way. The connecting train was delayed so they had to stay on the platform for a while. Finally the train pulled in and they were soon on their way. Robbo stood up as the train pulled slowly into the station and said, “Well babes, I will see you soon.”

James had tears in his eyes and said, “yeah, and you better stay safe.”

Robbo hugged James and said, “I’ll text you later, and I will email you every day. I promise”

James said, “You better had.”

Robbo waved as the train pulled out and James carried on his journey home.

Robbo arrived at RAF Brize Norton a short time later and was soon getting his kit ready for the journey back to his unit in Afghanistan. His plane was due to leave in three hours. He texted James and Gary and was soon back in his full combat uniform. His kit was loaded on board and alongside 25 other Army guys he boarded the plane.

Robbo arrived at camp Bastian and was soon reunited with his comrades.

Matthew took Robbo into his tent and said, “How’s things back home?”

“Yeah, Gary seems to be coming to terms with his loss. He has been going to counseling, so that has been helping” Robbo said.

“Well that’s good,” Matt said.

Robbo said, “Yeah, and I am glad to be able to help him, but he knows I had to come back.”

“Yeah” Matthew said.

A few weeks later

Robbo and a group of his unit were travelling in an armoured vehicle. Robbo was talking to a new recruit, Private Archie Maxwell, when all of a sudden the vehicle was hit by an explosion. The driver was killed instantly. The vehicle careered over a ravine. Robbo was thrown out of the vehicle. Robbo was in shock, but he knew he needed to get to the vehicle. He crawled to the vehicle and saw that three of his mates looked like they were dead, and saw Archie was badly injured, but was alive. Robbo crawled to Archie and said, “Archie mate. You need to crawl through that window, mate.”

Robbo helped Archie out of the vehicle and then there was firing. Robbo grabbed his gun and started to fire back. Archie crawled over to the vehicle and grabbed the radio. “Archie called onto the radio “unit 2 unit 2 this is mobile 3, come in please” mobile 3 please pass your message, came the reply . “ We needed urgent assistance, 4 men down and we are under fire, over.”

Matthew was with the radio operator when the message came through.

Matthew picked the radio up and said, “mobile 3, message received.”

Matthew sent out two further units.  He knew that Robbo was one of the lads out on this mobile.

Archie called onto the radio again, “unit 2, unit 2, this is mobile 3. The firing has now stopped, but we still need assistance, over.”

Matthew picked the radio up and said, “Mobile 3, other mobile units are en route, over”

“Mobile 3, message received,” Archie replied.

Robbo was still keeping his guard up in case the firing started again.

The firing started again and Robbo was struggling to help Archie and keep them safe. Finally, he spotted the reinforcements arriving. The medical team was with the units and they immediately took over and started to help Archie. Robbo was injured but his injuries weren’t serious. An Apache helicopter landed nearby, and Archie and Robbo were airlifted to camp Bastian. The fire fight carried on for a while and finally stopped. Two of the men in the vehicle were actually still alive and were also airlifted to the field hospital at camp Bastian. Robbo was declared fit to return to his unit after a medical assessment he had only suffered a few cuts and bruises in the incident. Archie, however, would be relocated to Selly Oak, alongside the other two survivors. Robbo felt he had let down his mates by mistakenly thinking they were all dead.

Matthew realised that Robbo was blaming himself for the incident, and went to see him as soon as he returned to the unit.

Robbo stood and saluted Matthew as he walked in. Matthew said, “At ease.”

Matt sat next to Robbo and said, “You did a very brave thing today mate. You held off those bandits until we could get to you.”

“I don’t feel brave. I spotted Harvey and Alan and I thought they were goners. I had no idea they were just unconscious,” Robbo said.

“Look, there is no harm done Robbo. Come on, they are still alive and Archie is ok, which is thanks to you,” Matthew said.

“Yeah, I know sir. I just wish James was here to talk to,” Robbo said.

“Oh, who is James?” Matthew asked.

“Umm just a friend of mine,” Robbo said blushing.

Matthew smiled and put his arm round Robbo and said, “Robbo, I don’t care if you are gay. You know that, don’t you?”

Robbo looked shocked and said, “Umm, I didn’t know you knew I was gay sir?”

Matthew smiled and said, “I need to tell you something. I was brought up by my dad and his gay partner.”

“Oh wow,” Robbo said.

“My dad met my mother and started to date her when he was 16. They later married shortly after my uncle, my dad’s older brother, died out here. I was born a year later, and was named after my uncle. Dad caught my mum two timing him and threw her out. She took me with her, but a month or so later dumped me on my dad. My dad met Shaun, his partner, at work after Shaun started to work at the hospital, and they fell in love. Soon I was being brought up by my two dads, and you know, I love them so much,” Matthew said.

“Wow, that must have been fun sir,” Robbo said.

“Yeah it was hard sometimes, especially in school. I used to get called names, but you know I used to just ignore it, and eventually they gave up. I really think that is why I am such a strong person now. It never harmed me, despite what some people think, including my bitch of a mother. I used to get those idiots who thought because I was brought up by a gay couple, that I was gay. But I am not. There is nothing wrong with being gay. I will support you through any shit you get off the guys. You know that, right Robbo,” Matthew said.

“Oh you don’t see your mother then?” Robbo asked.

“No, and to be honest, the last time I saw her was when she was arrested for abducting me. And if I never see her again, it would be too soon. I doubt she even knows I am in the Army,” Matthew said.

“Oh wow, I doubt I could imagine living without my mum,” Robbo said.

 “Well, I feel the same way about my two dads, Robbo” Matthew said.

“My dad died when I was young, so I never really got to know him that much,” Robbo said.

“That can be difficult too. My cousin lost both his parents when he was young, but luckily for him, he was adopted by my late uncle’s best friend and his husband. He is now following my dad into nursing, with his partner, who has now started to also train as a nurse. After he had a bad time trying to follow his mum becoming a doctor, he switched to nursing,” Matthew said.

“Sounds like your family has been through the wars in recent years” Robbo said.

“Yeah, it has and that is why I want you to know, if anyone gives you shit, I will support you all the way,” Matthew said.

“Thanks sir,” Robbo said.

“Well Robbo, I am going to keep you on base for a couple of days to recover. Then we will get you back in the thick of it, ok?” Matthew said.

“Ok Matthew, thanks” Robbo replied.

Matthew left the tent

Robbo finally got in touch with James via the internet and Skype. After talking to James for around 15 minutes, he was getting ready to log off and said “Well babes, see you soon.” He blew James a kiss, unbeknown to Robbo, this was seen by his nemesis in the unit, fellow Lance Corporal Wayne Turner. Wayne had been looking to get one over on Robbo ever since Harvey, the unit’s Corporal, was injured. He was hoping that if he could cause a problem, that the Captain would choose him over Robbo, to act in Harvey’s absence.

Matthew, however, didn’t rate Wayne. In fact, if he had had anything to do with it, Wayne would have never have been promoted.

Wayne soon started to put his plan into action.

Private Jason Green is a bit of a hot head in the unit. In fact, he had been demoted from Corporal to Private a year ago, after hitting his former commanding officer. Wayne knew that Jason would not like having a puff in the unit, so he decided that he would tell Jason exactly what he saw and out Robbo to him.

Jason had just come out of the shower and was sat in his tent writing an email back home to his family when Wayne came in. Wayne soon laid it on thick that he saw Robbo blow the kiss and also lied and told him he had seen Robbo spying on Jason in the showers. Jason was furious and left the tent to confront Robbo who was sat in his tent reading a book.

Jason stormed in and said “oi faggot, what this I heard about you spying on me in the showers?”

Robbo stood up and said, “I have no idea what the fuck you are talking about, Jason.”

“I’m talking about you and your fucking boyfriend blowing kisses, then you perving on me in the shower, you bender,” Jason said.

“Oh seriously, Jason. I don’t know who has said this mate, but I have not been perving on anyone in the showers. But yeah, I don’t deny that I have a boyfriend, and that conversation was a private conversation between me and him. And just like you, when you speak to your family back home, I am entitled to some privacy,” Robbo said.

One of the other lads had seen Jason storming into Robbo’s tent and had gone and got Matthew. He heard some of the conversation and walked in and said, “Private Green, attention.”

Jason stood still as Matthew walked over and said, “Ok, do you mind telling me what the hell is going on here?”

“What’s going on sir is that this pervert was watching me take a shower earlier,” Jason replied.

“Ok, well that is impossible because Robbo has been here in his tent since he has come off the internet. I know this because he is currently on tent rest and has been nowhere near the shower area tonight, so where the hell did this information come from?” Matthew asked.

Jason just looked at Matthew and stayed quiet

“Ok, I am waiting young man. Do you really want to be on a charge? I believe you are already on your last warning,” Matthew said.

Jason knew he had to say something and said, “I was told by Lance Corporal Wayne Turner. He told me he saw Robbo leaving the showers quickly when I finished my shower, so that I wouldn’t see him.”

“Oh right. Well it looks like Wayne wanted to cause some trouble, doesn’t it. And you fell right for it. He has used you because he knows you are a hot head with a short fuse,” Matthew said.

Robbo said, “Sir?”

“Yes Robbo,” Matthew said.

“Umm there is no harm done, so I don’t think Jason should be up on a charge sir,” Robbo replied.

Matthew said,  “Jason, you are free to go but don’t say a word to anyone what happened here. Ok?”

“Thank you sir,” Jason said.

Matthew then left Robbo’s tent and spotted Wayne and a couple of his mates in the mess tent. He walked over to the nearby MP’s and said, “I want you to arrest Lance Corporal Wayne Turner on a charge of inciting violence.”

The MP’s looked at Matthew and said, “Yes sir.”

They walked over to the mess tent and Wayne looked up and was shocked when he was put in handcuffs and led away to the nearby guard house.

The next morning

Matthew was up early and had his unit assembled in the mess tent by 06:00.

“Morning gentlemen,” Matthew shouted.

“Good morning sir,” the unit replied.

“Last night I had to deal with a disturbing incident here involving three members of this unit. The incident could have turned nasty if it wasn’t for the quick reaction of a fellow member. Lance Corporal Wayne Turner has been detained by the military police on charges of inciting violence, after he tried unsuccessfully to get Private Green to attack Lance Corporal Jamieson. I will not tolerate violence between unit members. We are one unit and we stick together in this unit through thick and thin. We have recently been hit badly with the loss of two fantastic guys and a further three being injured. And, of course, we have also had Gary off on compassionate leave. So yes, we have had a few blows but I never thought that I would have to deal with a case like this. Wayne has been demoted to the rank of Private, and will be shipped back to face a charge of inciting violence. He will not be returning to this unit. Private Green will not face any charges over this incident, as he was provoked by Private Turner.  I will tell each and every one of you in this unit that I will use the full force of the law to stamp out any sort of recurrence of this incident. Understand?” Matthew shouted.

“Yes Sir,” the unit replied.

“A couple of other things I need to speak to you about. First of all, some good news I received this morning from home base. Private Monk has been declared fit, and he will be rejoining us later this week. Secondly, you are all aware that Corporal Harvey Gregory is currently undergoing treatment at the hospital at Selly Oak. As a result, the unit is down its Corporal  until such time that Harvey can return, Lance Corporal Jamieson is acting Corporal . Also, when Gary returns later this week, he will be promoted formally to Lance Corporal, as he was next in line for the role. He will replace Wayne with immediate effect. Until then, Private Green will become acting Lance Corporal, and if he proves to me that he can do the job, then that role may be made permanent,” Matthew said.

Jason was shocked, and looked at Robbo, who just shrugged his shoulders.

Matthew then said “and lastly, I need to talk to you about homophobia. This subject is a difficult one to understand, but let me tell each and every one of you, that in my unit I have a zero tolerance policy against any homophobic behaviour. Last night’s incident brought home to me that despite the British Army having allowed homosexuals into its ranks, for a few years now, that there are still a lot of homophobes among its ranks. This is one thing I cannot understand, growing up in a loving environment like I did, why people think that gay men fancy every man they see. Well I can tell you that is not true in most cases. I know from my background it is certainly not true. My dad met his partner nearly 18 years ago, and has been with the same man since. He doesn’t hit on every man he sees, but saying that if he saw an attractive man, I am not saying he wouldn’t smile and think, “nice.” But that doesn’t mean he wants to perve on that man in the shower. So guys, please don’t be worried if we have gay men in this unit. One thing though, guys, just to make you aware; I am not gay, ok?” Matthew said.

Robbo was taken aback by Matthews’s speech.

Matthew then said, “Unit dismissed,” and walked out and saw Robbo talking to Jason.

Jason said, “Robbo can we talk somewhere private for a minute please?”

“Yeah, sure mate,” Robbo said.

The two lads walked together to Robbo’s tent and went in. Robbo shares his tent with three other lads but they weren’t there.

“Listen mate; please accept my apology for last night. Wayne wound me up and caught me at a bad time. You see it would have been my oldest daughters fourth birthday tomorrow,” Jason said.

“Oh ok,” Robbo said.

“Well, last year she was diagnosed with leukaemia, and died shortly after her third birthday,” Jason said with tears rolling down his face.

Robbo had tears in his eyes and saw the distressed state Jason was in. Robbo was nervous, in case Jason thought he was coming onto him, but instantly pulled Jason into a hug and said, “of course I accept your apology mate. Wayne was a prick who thought he was better than everyone else, and he picked on you because he knew of your past record.”

“You know, he was always trying to make you look crap, don’t you?” Jason asked.

“Yeah, but thankfully the Captain saw through him,” Robbo said.

 Jason said, “Yeah he sure did. I am reeling after he gave me the temporary Lance Corporal role.”

“Well, maybe he can see the good guy and not the bad guy in you, and that is why he wants to give you a chance mate,” Robbo said.

“Yeah, and I am not going to let him down,” Jason said.

“That’s good, but there again, with me alongside, you won’t go wrong,” Robbo said.

Jason laughed and said, “Yeah, and at least our commanding officer isn’t a prick like Major Harries was.”

“Oh, he was bad was he?” Robbo said.

“Yeah, he knew my home life was bad, but he kept on and on about my failures and not having the guts to stand up to people. This was around the time when Jess was really ill, and I just lost it and punched him out I couldn’t cope with him anymore. I went through to hells for the next couple of weeks, and finally lost my Corporal job. I was dropped back down to Private and shipped out to a different unit. I don’t care that I punched the twat. It is the fact that not one of my so called mates stood up for me when I was court marshaled. That really hurt,” Jason said.

“Well, Jason, they weren’t really friends because I know if I was in a unit like that, I would stand up straight away,” Robbo said.

“You know, Robbo, since joining this unit, I have felt different. Until yesterday, I haven’t felt the need to hit anyone,” Jason said.

“Well you didn’t hit me, mate. You swore and called me some horrible names, but believe me I, heard it all before,” Robbo said.

“Yeah, but I wanted to. And that scares me, to be honest,” Jason said.

“It is hardly surprising, given the circumstances; though you have been through the year of hell, mate. Wayne knew how to push your buttons. He was always a nasty piece of work,” Robbo said.

“Yeah I suppose,” Jason said.

“I take it that you didn’t tell the court marshal about Jess, and what was going on at home then?” Robbo asked.

“Well, I didn’t have the chance; Harries had so many statements from my so called mates, that the evidence against me was rock solid. The one that hurt the most was from my former best friend, who knew all about what was going on, but he sided with Harries.  I later found out why, because guess who replaced me. My former best friend was promoted to the unit Corporal,” Jason said.

“Bastard,” Robbo said.

“Yeah, but don’t worry. I had my own back on him,” Jason said.

“Oh, how?” Robbo asked.

“Well, I had some information on him about him shagging the unit Sergeants wife, but not only that, I had the photos to prove it. So guess what dropped through the Sergeants door two days later. Let’s just say he might be the Corporal, but his Sergeant makes his life hell,” Jason said smiling.

Robbo laughed and said, “So what did the Sergeant do?”

“Well, at first he confronted his wife, who after a huge row admitted it had happened. Well, he was not a happy camper. And immediately confronted Dan, who at first denied it, but after he was shown the photos told the Sergeant that he was drunk and didn’t remember much about it,” Jason said..

“Wow,” Robbo said.

“But that’s not the end of it,” Jason said.

“Oh?” Robbo said.

“Well, Dan was also a married man, and I like his wife. She is a nice woman, so I also sent her the photos. Let’s just say that Dan is now a divorced Lance Corporal, who has to pay big maintenance payments out of his wages,” Jason said.

“Oh well, he should have kept his dick in his pants, but I though you said he was the Corporal,” Robbo said.

“Major Harries got to find out about it too, and Dan was demoted back down to Lance Corporal soon after and I have heard that his arch enemy, Justin Brookfield, has been given the Corporals job. I would love to see him having to take orders off that idiot,” Jason said smiling.

Unbeknown to Robbo and Jason, most of this conversation had been heard by Matthew. For what he had heard, Jason hadn’t been given a fair hearing and it sounded like a right stitch up.

Matthew went to his tent and called Alex for some advice.

“Good Morning, Family Support. Colonel Mills’s office, can I help you?” Todd asked.

“Good morning, Todd. This is Captain Matthew Taylor. May I speak to Alex, please?” Matthew said.

“One moment, sir” Todd replied.

Alex was sat at his desk, reading through some paperwork when Todd buzzed.

“Yes, Todd?”

“Captain Matthew Taylor on line 1 sir,” Todd replied.

“Thanks Todd,” Alex replied.

“Good Morning Matthew, what can I do for you?” Alex said.

“Hi Alex. I need to speak to you about my acting Lance Corporal,” Matthew replied.

“Yeah sure, what about him?” Alex said.

“Well, before he came to my unit he was a Corporal at 12^th company under Major Timothy Harries. He was demoted after he hit Harries,” Matthew said.

“Oh right,” Alex said.

“But from what I have found out, it seems that it should have been Harries who was court marshalled and not Jason. Jason’s oldest daughter, at the time, was fighting leukaemia. Obviously that was affecting his ability to work as well as he normally would. Well, Harries didn’t let up. He constantly belittled Jason and picked on him. Well, basically, Jason lost it and punched him. Well, when the court marshal took place, Jason wasn’t given the right to give evidence. All his fellow unit members went against him,” Matthew said.

“That definitely sounds fishy mate,” Alex said.

“Yeah, certainly does. But it gets worse. Jason’s best mate was originally promoted to replace Jason, but since then he has been dropped back to Lance Corporal,” Matthew said.

Alex said, “I smell a rat.”

“Yeah well, I was hoping you could find out a bit more for me?” Matthew said.

“It will be my pleasure. I hate corruption,” Alex said.

Alex was gobsmacked when he read the report on Jason’s court marshal. The main witness was Jason’s so called best friend Daniel, who completely made Jason out to be a right nasty piece of work. Also, six other so called witnesses gave evidence against Jason. The evidence given by Major Harries was a lot of hearsay, and really shouldn’t have been used.

Alex decided that he really couldn’t deal with this case, and he immediately spoke to his boss, General Harris, who also read the report and agreed that this was a big miscarriage of justice. He ordered a full scale enquiry into the incident and the way the court marshal was conducted.

Retired Colonel, Tom Rees, was enjoying a hard earned holiday at home with Ben. Tom’s boss at the legion, Lady Jayne Dobson, had just got off the phone with General Harris. She was shocked when he asked if she could spare Tom for a few weeks, as he wanted him to head up an enquiry.

Lady Jayne agreed, but told General that Tom was on leave until the end of the week.

Tom was sat in his office at home, reading the local paper, when the phone rang.

“Hello?” Tom answered.

“Good morning, Tom. Sorry to disturb your holiday. This is General Harris,” Harris replied.

“Good morning, sir. Long time no speak,” Tom replied.

“Yes it has been a while Tom. The reason for the call is that I have been tasked to set up a team to carry out an enquiry into an incident, and the resulting court marshal, and I want you to head that team for me.” General Harris said.

“Oh, but I can’t just abandon the legion sir,” Tom said.

“I have already spoken to Lady Jayne Dobson, and she has agreed to allow you a few weeks absence to allow you to do this. Believe me, Tom, when you read the report  on court marshal, you will see why the enquiry has been ordered. In all my years in the Army, I have never seen such a stitch up of a court marshal. And believe me, I thought I had seen it all,” General Harris said.

“Well ok, as long as Jayne is ok with it, it will be an honour to head the team sir,” Tom said.

“Ok, thank you Tom. I know you will do a good job. This Corporal was totally stitched up and was demoted to Private. And knowing what I have  been told by his current commanding officer, he shouldn’t have even been on duty. He should have been on compassionate leave, but his commanding officer thought he knew better,” General Harris said.

“So, is this commanding officer still on active service or as he been removed from duty?” Tom asked.

General Harris said ,“Well at the moment, he is active but I think that will be one of the first jobs of the board of enquiry, is to get the main perpetrators of this kangaroo court on charges.”

“Ok sir, I will do my best to get this under way,” Tom said.

“I know you will Tom. So can you report tomorrow morning to Cheedam barracks?” General Harris asked.

“No problem sir,” Tom replied.

Tom put the phone down and called Ben.

Ben walked into the room and said, “Who was on the phone?”

“General Harris,” Tom replied.

“Oh, what did he want?” Ben asked.

Tom said, “I have been asked to head up a board of enquiry into an incident, and the resulting court marshal of a Corporal.”

“Oh, and I guess you are doing it then?”

 “Yeah, so I will need to make sure my uniform is ok,” Tom said smiling.

Tom came downstairs shortly later, wearing his full uniform and Ben smiled and saluted and said, “Sir.”

Tom laughed and said, “Behave.”

The next day

Tom arrived at his old base, Cheddam barracks, and was met by General Harris and two other officers, Major Gregory Arlington and Captain Ross McIntosh, who would be part of his team.

General Harris went through the full details of Jason’s case with Tom and the others and said, “Right guys, I leave you to it. Any problems, let me know.”

“Ok thank you sir,” Tom replied.

Tom read through the case files and said to the others, “so what do you think?”

Ross said, “Well to be honest, what I have just read is an utter disgrace. I can’t believe that in this day and age this has been allowed to go on.”

“Yeah, and this Major should definitely be brought into account for this” Greg replied.

“Yeah, I agree guys. First job is to relieve Major Harries of his command and put him on a charge,” Tom said.

“Do we have the authority to do that though?” Ross asked.

“Well yes we do, as an official enquiry we can charge whoever we see fit to do,” Tom said.

“Well ok then,” Greg said.

Tom said, “Right guys, Greg, if you deal with Lance Corporal Daniel Millbrook, and get him on charges as well. Ross, can you deal with this Sergeant Andrew Nixon for me? Again, charges against him will need to be brought. And then we, as a team, will start to deal with the rest of the unit. One of us will need to interview Private Green. In the meantime, I am off to relieve a Major of his command,” Tom said smiling.

Tom left Cheedam and headed to Weston Barracks.  He arrived and was met by barracks commander Lt Colonel David Matthews.

Tom explained to David what was going on, and told him that Major Harries was being relieved of his duties, pending charges being brought against him.

David was surprised but said, “I wasn’t here when this event took place, but my predecessor was the court marshal chairman.”

“Yeah, Lt Colonel Reed, but sadly he died earlier this year,” Tom said.

“Yeah, I heard he had died,” David said.

Major Timothy Harries was in his office preparing to get his unit ready for another tour of duty when there was a knock at the door.

Timothy was surprised when he saw the barracks commander and another Colonel standing there.

Tom looked at Tim who had stood and saluted and said, “Major Timothy Harries?”

“Yeah, that’s me,” Tim said.

Tom said, “I am Colonel Tom Rees, from operation Philpot. I have been tasked today to relieve you from your duties, and formally arrest you on a charge of perverting the course of justice and perjury.”  He read him his rights and the two military police officers with him led Timothy away in handcuffs.

Also, at the same time, both Sergeant Nixon and Lance Corporal Daniel Millbrook were arrested on similar charges.

The three men were place in custody in separate cells.

Lance Corporal Daniel Millbrook was led from the cells into an interview room.

Major Gregory Arlington was sat there with a military police officer.

“Interview between Major Gregory Arlington and Lance Corporal Daniel Millbrook. Also present is MP David Harrison,” Major Green said.

“Daniel, you have been brought here today to answer charges being brought against you, in relation to false allegations made by yourself and others, in the court marshal of the then, Corporal, Jason Green,” Greg said.

Daniel looked at Greg and said, “I have no idea what you are talking about. Jason deserved everything he got in that court marshal.”

“In your original testimony, you said that Jason was a hard man and a nasty piece of work that hated authority and who was a bully to everyone in the unit. Do you still stand by that statement?” Greg asked.

“Absolutely. He was a hard nut. I personally I think he should have been kicked out, not just demoted,” Daniel said.

“You also claimed that Jason had lied about his home life to try and get sympathy for his actions on March 10^th last year. Do you still stand by that testimony?” Greg asked.

“Yes I do. We all know he lied,” Daniel said.

“So what you are saying is, you really think Jason was lying about his daughter being ill?” Greg asked.

“Yes, that is what I am saying,” Daniel said coldly.

“Well, I will tell you now, he wasn’t lying. The only person I can see lying through his teeth in that court room that day was you,” Greg said.

“Bullshit! I wasn’t lying!” Daniel said, shouting at Greg.

“Yes, you were because, for your information, Jason’s oldest daughter died last year, shortly after that kangaroo court,” Greg said.

Dan looked at Greg and said, “What?”

“Yeah, you heard Jason’s oldest daughter was seriously ill when this event happened. He has never denied he punched Major Harries, and this enquiry isn’t actually about that. It is about the terrible way the case was handled,” Greg said.

“Fuck, I had no idea,” Dan said.

“Well, Daniel, I have read your statement and your evidence in court, and to be honest with you, I have read some fiction in my time as an Army prosecutor, but if this evidence had come before me, I would have thrown the case out,” Greg said.

“So Daniel, let’s start again. Tell me what actually happened on March 10^th last year, from the beginning,” Greg said.

Meanwhile in another interview room

Tom and another military police officer were interviewing Major Timothy Harries.

He too, denied any wrong doing in this case, but Tom used his trump card.

“Major Harries, as an officer with a few years experience under your belt, didn’t think it was strange that a member of your unit, who was respected and had come through the ranks, suddenly started to show signs of sloppy work, that maybe something was wrong with that person?” Tom asked.

“Not really, you see I never rated him. I really think he was over promoted,” Tim said.

“But didn’t you think that maybe there was something wrong?” Tom asked.

“Well, I did hear some bullshit about some family problems, but I heard it all before, to be honest,” Tim said.

“Well that’s the problem. It wasn’t bullshit, as you put it, Major. It was the truth,” Tom said.

“Well, he shouldn’t be in the Army if can’t cope with family issues. We all have them,” Tim said coldly.

“Have you a young family Major?” Tom asked.

“No, what’s that got to do with anything?” Tim snapped back.

“Well, because if you did, you would realise if there was something wrong at home, that no matter how much training you have had, you will still find it hard to do your job,” Tom said.

“Ok, moving on. So tell me something, why didn’t you refer Jason to the family support unit?” Tom said.

“Not my way. I don’t rate them either. They are just a bunch of do gooders who should be kicked out of the Army and let us proper soldiers get on with their jobs,” Tim said.

Tom was furious, but knew he had a charge which Major Harries could be put on. “Well Major Harries, you have just admitted to me that you are in breach of the family support act section 2 in the Army act, and therefore I now formally charge you with being in breach of that act.”

“What a lot of bullshit!” Tim shouted.

“Major Harries, I remind you that you are under caution and that everything you say here is being recorded,” Sgt Harry Anderson said.

By the end of the first day a lot of new evidence had been gathered.

Tom Greg and Ross met up and they discussed the day’s events. They also discussed who should travel to Afghanistan to speak to both his current commanding officer and Jason Green. It was decided that Tom should go. Tom was apprehensive, but agreed to do it.

Ben wasn’t happy when Tom told him about his trip to Afghanistan.

The next day

Tom arrived at Brize Norton for his flight out to Afghanistan. It had been a few years since Tom had been there, but he knew what to expect. He was on a plane with new recruits and others returning. Among them was Lance Corporal Gary Monk, who was happy to be returning to his mates.

Tom spoke to Gary on the plane and said, “Oh, so you are one of Matthew’s men then?”

“Yes sir. Do you know him then?” Gary asked.

“Yes, I know him very well. I am his adopted uncle,” Tom said.

“Oh ok,” Gary replied.

The plane landed at camp Bastian, a few hours later, and Tom was met by Lt Colonel Fred Lawson.

Fred said, “Good afternoon sir. Welcome to camp Bastian.”

“Thank you. It’s been a while since I have been here,” Tom said.

“Oh, so you have been here before sir?” Fred asked.

 “Yes, many years ago, when I was a Corporal,” Tom said.

“Oh ok, well we have set up your HQ over here sir, and Captain Taylor will be here shortly to see you,” Fred said.

“Ok thank you,” Tom said.

Tom was looking forward to seeing Matthew, particularly as he didn’t know it was Tom who was interviewing him about Jason’s case.

Matthew arrived at the makeshift interview room. He was sat there and was shocked when Tom walked through the door.

Matthew smiled and saluted Tom.

“At ease Captain,” Tom said smiling.

Matthew laughed and said, “Wow, I can’t believe they managed to get you back in uniform.”

“Well to be honest, I did think about rejecting this role, but General Harris needed someone fast,” Tom said.

“Well, I am glad you did, to be honest,” Matthew said.

“So tell me Matt, what made you ask the family support unit to look into this case?” Tom asked.

“Well, a few days ago, one of my Lance Corporals tried to get Private Jason Green to attack the other Lance Corporal. Jason didn’t actually hit Robbo, but called him some horrible names. I intervened in the row and sorted it with the original Lance Corporal being put on charges,” Matthew said.

“Ok, so what happened with Jason?” Tom asked.

“Well I let him go. The next morning I called the whole unit to the parade room and bollocked them all about being a team etc. After that talk, I overheard Jason apologising to Robbo about his actions and telling him all about the court marshal and his daughter’s death. It made me realise that he didn’t get fair hearing,” Matt said.

“So, I take it you haven’t read the court marshal report then?” Tom asked.

“No, I haven’t why?” Matthew said.

“Well, to be honest, it reads like a kangaroo court,” Tom said.

“Oh really,” Matthew said.

“Yes and Thank you Matthew. Does Jason know this enquiry is actually going on?” Tom asked.

“Not as far as I know,” Matthew said.

“Well, can you send him over to see me please?” Tom said.

Newly promoted Lance Corporal Gary Monk was in his tent with his best friend, acting Corporal Robert “Robbo” Jamieson and acting Lance Corporal Jason Green. Robbo was filling in Gary about what had happened while he was away. Gary wasn’t happy when he heard about the incident with Wayne and said, “I always hated that prick.”

“Well, he has gone mate,” Jason said.

Robbo also told Gary about the shit that Jason had been through in the last year. Gary said, “Wow, you have had a shit time, mate.”

“Yeah, and from what Robbo has told me, you have had a bad time as well, Mate” Jason replied.

“Yeah, but I will never forget her. But I need to get on with my life,” Gary said.

“Yeah, I said the same thing,” Jason said.

Just then Matthew walked in and the three lads stood and came to attention.

Matthew smiled and said, “At ease guys.”

The lads all sat down and Matthew said, “Nice to see you back, Gary. Sorry I wasn’t here when you got here. I had to go and see someone.”

“That’s ok, sir. I met your adopted Uncle Colonel Rees sir?” Gary said.

“Umm, how did you know that?” Matthew asked smiling.

“We came over on the same plane. He seems a nice guy, for a Colonel,” Gary said.

“Yeah, Tom is a good guy,” Matthew said.

“Jason, I need to speak to you in private please,” Matthew said.

“Ok sir,” Jason said.

Matthew led Jason to his tent and said, “Take a seat.”

Jason sat down and Matthew said, “Right Jason. First of all, you haven’t done anything wrong, so don’t look so worried. A couple of days ago, I overheard your conversation with Robbo about the court marshal you went through. And to be honest, it sounded like a total shambles. I asked a friend of mine, in the family support unit, to find out more information for me. Well to cut a long story short, the Army has launched a full scale enquiry into that court marshal. Colonel Tom Rees, my adopted uncle, is here in camp Bastian to conduct an interview with you.”

Jason said, “Wow, really but why now?”

“Jason, the report was buried, at the time, by Major Harries. He thought that he would get away with it, but it looks like the main perpetrators of this will face charges relating to it. Now, you never denied actually punching Major Harries, but this enquiry will need to hear your side of the story. The build up to that day, please promise me, you will tell Tom everything, including the hell at home at the time. Ok?” Matthew said.

“Ok sir, I promise,” Jason said smiling.

“Major Harries is already on a charge, as he is bound by rules that state that any case like yours should have been referred to the FSU, which he didn’t. As you know, I recently had to refer Gary’s case to them, and they do a fantastic job.” Matthew said.

“Ok sir, so when do I meet Colonel Rees?” Jason said.

Matthew and Jason left and headed over to the base camp, where Tom had based his office.

Matthew walked into the tent and said, “Colonel Rees, this is Lance Corporal Jason Green.”

Tom smiled and said, “thank you Captain Taylor, I will meet up with you later.”

“Ok sir,” Matthew said as he left Jason with Tom.

“Jason, it’s nice to meet you at last. It feels like I know you well, reading your file. How are you feeling today?” Tom said.

“Thanks sir. I am a bit shocked, to tell you the truth. I had no idea this enquiry was going on,” Jason replied.

“Well there is nothing to be shocked about, Jason. This enquiry will get to the bottom of this case and will hopefully see justice done finally,” Tom replied.

“Let’s hope so,” Jason replied.

“Ok now, in your own words, I want you to tell me everything that went on in the build up and just before the incident at Weston barracks on March 10^th last year,” Tom said.

“In February last year, my eldest daughter, Jessica, collapsed in school and was rushed to the local hospital. She underwent tests, where they found out she had leukaemia. She was undergoing treatment, which resulted in her losing her hair, and she was fighting it all the way. As you can understand, sir, I was in pieces. I couldn’t cope with the stress and went to see Major Harries on March 1^st, to ask for some time out. He refused and told me to man up.” Jason said with tears rolling down his face.

“In your own time,” Tom said.

“For the next few days, he was constantly nit picking at my work and was calling me useless and not good enough to do the job I was doing. The thing is, sir, I wasn’t at my best but his constant nit picking was making it worse,” Jason said.

“Yeah, I can understand that,” Tom said.

“You said you went to see him on March 1^st. Is that right?” Tom asked.

“Yes sir, why?” Jason said.

“Well, because Major Harries has said that he heard some rumours about you home life problems, but that you never actually spoke to him directly,” Tom said.

“Well that is bull, sir” Jason said.

“Well it looks like that is a question I need to get my guys back home to put to Major Harries,” Tom said.

“Yeah sir,” Jason said.

“Ok Jason, where were we?” Tom said.

“On March the 10^th, I was on parade with the whole unit when Major Harries, in front of everyone, belittled me about the sloppy way I run the parade. It was that, that caused me to snap and I punched him,” Jason said.

“Ok Jason, we know you have never denied that you punched Major Harries,” Tom said.

“Ok, so now we move on to March 23^rd last year and the court marshal,” Tom said.

“Reading through the official court marshal report, we see that several of your unit members went against you as prosecution witnesses. Why do you think they did that?” Tom asked.

“Well, to be honest sir, I think they all had their own agendas, like my former best mate Daniel, he was always jealous of me and he wanted my job,” Jason said.

“Yeah, and I believe for a little while he was given the job. What did you think of that?” Tom asked.

“I wasn’t happy about that, but I have moved on with my life. And to be honest, after they made me out to be a thug and a poor leader, I was lucky to be demoted and not kicked out. I was glad, as I don’t think I would have survived long out of the Army and in some dead end job in a call centre or something like that sir,” Jason said.

“Well Jason, I can assure you that reading your file, I can tell apart from what Major Harries has wrote in there, no one has criticised your work.  I can tell you are a passionate Army guy,” Tom said.

“Thank you sir,” Jason said.

“Well, Jason, you need to go back to your unit and I will be in touch. We will need you to appear at any resulting court marshals ok?” Tom asked.

“No problem sir,” Jason said.

“Thank you young man. I will see you soon,” Tom said as he stood and shook Jason’s hand.

Tom read through the statement that Jason had signed before leaving and sent it by email back to the UK for Ross and Greg. He also asked them to re interview Major Harries and ask him again if he knew about the home life problems Jason was having. After what Jason had told him, Tom was getting to realise there has been a big cover up.

Tom spent a couple of hours with Matthew before he headed back to the airfield ready for his return to the UK.

        Two weeks later

Private Carwyn Williams has been in the Army for 6 years and was present in the unit when Jason was the Corporal. He had witnessed Major Harries several  times belittling Jason in front of people. And knowing the crap which Jason’s family was going through at the time, he had felt that Harries was out of order. After seeing Jason punch Harries, Carwyn wanted to tell the court marshal everything, but Harries and the Lance Corporal Daniel had put pressure on anyone who stood out of line, as they called it, so he kept quiet. Carwyn was never called as a witness at the court marshal and as a result he wasn’t someone who the team at operation Philpot was going to interview.

Carwyn wanted to speak to the team and tell them everything that he has seen and also the terrible pressure the whole unit was put under. Daniel had threatened anyone who was going to go against their little team. In Carwyn’s case, he had threatened to tell his wife that he was two timing her, even though he wasn’t.

Carwyn spoke to his wife Donna about going to see the enquiry team and she told him to go and do it.

Carwyn’s evidence was damning, and soon three other unit members told the unit everything.

Tom, Greg, and Ross were soon ready to present the case to the Army prosecutor’s office.

Major Timothy Harries was formally charged with trying to pervert the cause of justice. Bringing the Army into disrupt and perjury.

Lance Corporal Daniel Millbrook was charged with perverting the cause of justice and bringing the Army into disrupt and was also charged with threatening behaviour and perjury.

Sergeant Andrew Nixon was also charged with similar charges.

Three weeks later

Matthew and his unit finally arrived home in the UK and were settling into life at the barracks. Robbo was now officially the unit’s Corporal and Matthew has made Jason the permanent Lance Corporal.

Robbo had met up with his partner, James, and the two were getting to know each other again after a prolonged time apart. Gary has gone home to visit his mum.

Jason was getting nervous about the upcoming court marshal, but was happy as he had his wife and family alongside him. His new mates in his current unit were all behind him.

Court marshal day

Jason arrived at the guard house on Weston barracks and felt a shiver go down his spine, knowing the last time he was here he was subjected to a terrible time.

Tom, Greg, and Ross had arrived shortly before Jason. Matthew arrived just behind him.

Jason was surprised to see Matthew and said, “Sir, what you doing here?”

“I am here to give you some moral support,” Matthew said.

He was then even more surprised when Gary and Robbo arrived.

“Wow, what support,” Jason said smiling.

“Well, like I told you back in Afghanistan, mate, in this unit we stick together through thick and thin,” Robbo said.

The court usher came out and said, “Court marshal against Major Harries, Sergeant Nixon, and Lance Corporal Millbrook, court one please.”

Greg walked in and spotted the chairman of the court marshal was General Smith and said to Tom, “oh hell, this is going to be fun.”

Tom said, “Why?”

“General Smith is a hard nut to crack. He won’t let anything hearsay to be used,” Greg said.

“Well that’s fine,” Tom said.

The court marshal went on for three days and Jason was supported all through it by Matthew, Gary, and Robbo. Jason hated having to stand up in the witness box and felt like he was on trial all over again, when the defense tried to make him out as a liar. Jason was brilliant though, and so was Carwyn, when he was cross examined, he told the defence solicitor that if he hadn’t had been threatened, he would have made a statement at the original trial.

Finally the court marshal retired to decide the verdict.

The team from operation Philpot and Jason went back in. General Smith ordered the defendants to stand.

“Major Timothy Harries, you are a bully who thought you would finish the career of a hard working young man. Unfortunately for you, thankfully you failed. We the panel had found you guilty of all charges brought before us.”

“Sergeant Andrew Nixon, you went along with Major Harries because you wrongly thought that he would help you in your future development as an officer in the Army. We also find you guilty of all charges brought before us.”

“Lance Corporal Daniel Millbrook, on the day of the original court marshal you stood up and lied your way through to get your own gains, at the cost of your best friend. We also find you guilty of all charges brought against you.”

“Major Timothy Harries, you have not only let your unit down, but you have brought the Army into disrupt. You will be demoted to Private, with immediate effect. You will also be sentenced to ten months imprisonment, for the perjury and perverting the cause of justice charges. When you are released from prison, you will be dishonourably discharged from the Army as the rank of Private.”

“Sergeant Andrew Nixon, you have been found guilty of bringing the Army into disrupt. You will also be stripped of your rank. You will also be sentenced to six months imprisonment, and on your release,  you will also receive a dishonourable discharge from the Army.”

“Lance Corporal Daniel Millbrook, you have been found guilty of all the charges which have been brought against you. You thought that by threatening your former unit members that you would get on in the Army with Corporal Green out of the way, and you nearly got away with it. For the threatening behaviour charge, I sentence you to one year imprisonment for trying to pervert the cause of justice and perjury charges, I sentence you to six months imprisonment. You will also be stripped of your rank and on release from prison; you will leave the Army dishonourably. Take them down.”

General Smith then surprised everyone when he called, “Lance Corporal Jason Green.”

Jason nervously walked into the dock and stood there shaking.

“Young man, the Army has let you down. Instead of supporting you through the difficult times, we left you to suffer your terrible loss on your own and I, for one, want to apologise for that. You at no time denied that you punched Private Harries, but the mitigating circumstances surrounding the events should have been taken into consideration at your court marshal. The panel discussed what we should do, and it was decided that we will wipe all record of that court marshal from your file and with immediate effect you will be restored to the rank of Corporal, of which you should have never been stripped.”

Jason was gobsmacked and said, “thank you, sir.”

Jason walked out of the guard room and was met by Carwyn.

Carwyn said, “Jason, I am so sorry I couldn’t help you the first time. The whole unit was threatened to go along with it.”

Jason shook Carwyn’s hand and said, “mate, don’t worry. You came right in the end and they got what they deserved.”

“Yeah, they sure did, all kicked out,” Carwyn said.

“Yeah, and they won’t get their pensions either,” Jason said.

“No bet that will hurt Harries,” Carwyn said.

“Yeah, it sure will. Just think, a Private’s wage is a hell of a lot less than a Major’s wage, so he will suffer,” Jason said smiling.

“Well mate, it is nice seeing you again,” Carwyn said.

“And you mate, say hi to the lads for me,” Jason said.

“Will do mate,” Carwyn said as he walked off.

Jason was still reeling from his promotion back to his original role, but he was worried that with him now being a Corporal, that Robbo might lose his promotion, as their unit usually only has one Corporal. Matthew, however, knew that Jason was worried and walked over and said, “Well Corporal Green, how does it feel to be back in your proper role at last?”

“Well, to be honest sir, I feel like I am an imposter and that Robbo should be the units Corporal and not me,” Jason replied.

“Oh don’t worry about that. I have already cleared it that our unit will now have two Corporals” Matthew said smiling.

“But isn’t that unusual though sir?” Jason asked.

“No, not really, there are quite a few units who have more than one, and don’t forget our unit is getting bigger with the merger between our unit and 5^th company. They don’t have a Corporal, at this time, and that role will be left vacant until the merger goes through fully,” Matthew said.

“What, are we going to get a new commanding officer sir?” Jason asked.

“Oh, no, I am heading the new bigger unit. Their commanding officer Major Greening is retiring,” Matthew said.

“Well, that’s ok then sir. We wouldn’t want to lose you,” Jason said.

“Well thank you, Jason” Matthew said.

“Well sir, I am going to meet my wife and daughter for some food,” Jason said.

“Yes Corporal, you deserve a celebration, so enjoy,” Matthew said.

Jason shook Matthews hand and left.

Matthew sat in the officers’ mess at the barracks, talking to some of the other officers about the recent events. One of Matthew’s fellow officers, Captain Harry Thompson, came over and said, “So, who’s up for a night out on the tiles tonight then?”

Matthew, and another officer Major Philip Nielson said, “Yeah why not.”

Later that night Matthew, Philip, and Harry were all enjoying a drink off barracks in a local pub. There is a large hospital nearby and while the lads were there a group of nurses came in on a night out. Philip was talking to a blonde haired nurse called Helen and Harry was dancing on the dance floor with another nurse called Sue. Matthew was talking to a dark haired nurse called Jessica and they hit it off.

Matthew and Jess enjoyed the evening and exchanged numbers and Matthew walked Jess back to her flat and then headed back to the barracks.

Matthew felt like he had known Jess all his life and knew straight away that she was the “one.”

Jess also felt the same way about Matthew.

The one thing Matthew didn’t tell Jess was that he was in the Army that first night but he soon told her on the second date. She was surprised to find out all about his family connections to the Army and was even more surprised when he told her that his dad was a charge nurse and that his uncle was a retired Colonel.

Once a year, just before remembrance Sunday, the barracks organise an officer’s ball where all the officers and the rank and file Army guys all let their hair down for a night of dancing and general drinking. Matthew invited Jess and the others were surprised when they saw her.

They walked into the room and the Private at the door shouted “Captain Matthew Taylor and guest Jessica Gregory.”

Jess smiled and said, “Wow, that sounds funny hearing them calling you as a captain.”

Matthew laughed and said, “Well, you get used to it.”

Towards the end of the evening, Matthew went over to Jess and dropped down onto one knee and said, “Jessica Gregory, would you do me the honour of becoming my wife?”

Jess screamed and said, “Yes!” as the room cheered.

Robbo and James were sat in James flat near to the barracks. James was really happy to have his man home. Robbo smiled and kissed James. James moaned as he felt Robbo run his hand over his cock. Robbo laughed and said, “Down boy”.

Robbo goes down and unzips James trousers and slowly pulls out his rock hard uncut cock. Robbo wanked the cock and then pushed his mouth down the shaft. James moaned loudly as Robbo sucked his cock.

James was soon groaning louder and louder and screamed, “fuck” as his cock throbbed,  sending a huge load of his hot sticky cum all over Robbo’s face. Robbo laughed and said, “Wow, what a load.”

James laughed and said, “Yeah, it has been a while.”

Robbo kissed James and the lads fell asleep in each other’s arms.

This story is copyrighted © to myself, its writer, and cannot be copied in any way shape or form without my express written permission. This story is fiction and any resemblance to persons or events are purely coincidental. If you are underage or don’t like stories of a homosexual nature, please leave now. Otherwise, please enjoy the story.

I welcome comments please send them to Mikkiwriter@gmail.com

Thank you Jim for all your hard work editing this story for me.

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