Operation Military Run (In Progress)

(6) Mountains and Tennis Balls

"There's no way were going to make it up that mountain in a matter of five hours, Major."

"Then what do you purpose we do then, Corporal? If you think that this is going to be easy, then why did you sign up to be in the Marines?"

Corporal Kent Reynolds stayed extremely silent after that remark, not saying a single word.

"Because let me tell you Corporal Reynolds," Major Hamilton got in Reynolds face, "as soon as Mohammad Uday blows you and your entire squadron up because he catches you guys on the side of the mountain and you're not in any sort of cover, its not going to be my fault, because the goal is to make it over in the time span of five hours and if all of you are not capable of doing that, then I want to assign a new squadron to this mission."

I had no words to say or any input. I was on board with everything that the Major was saying, I just didn't want to say anything as I folded my hands onto my lap.

One thing about Reynolds that I had discovered in my time with him (which wasn't long at all), is that he was stubborn and it took a lot to make the kid to shut up. I knew that when the Major made him silent, he knew that he was correct and he needed to say no more.

"Any remarks, Sergeant Kendall?" Hamilton looked me dead in the eyes as my hands were folded together on top of the table. My heart was pounding as I shook my head.

"I'm not concerned with anything other than the fact that there's going to be a dog with us. Do you feel that will affect the performance and the timing of making it up the mountain side, sir?"

"No. If the dog is as extraordinary as other platoon leaders have said, your dog should be fine. He's a strong willed dog from what I've heard and I also hear he's agile and quick."

"He is indeed, but that mountain is steep."

"Then worst case scenario is you guys will have to carry him up. You need Zipp whether the squad wants him or not. There's IED's everywhere around this area," He said moving his hand around the map, pinpointing the whole other side of the mountain, "and if he isn't going with you guys, you might as well say goodbye. As soon as you clear the mountain, on the other side is a long clear shot of the town you guys need to investigate and from what I have heard, that opening is a minefield. You have a 50/50 chance if you go without him of dying. With him, your chances are slim."

I nodded my head continually through his speech he gave about Zipp. He made it seem like I've never worked with him before.

Zipp had been my partner since I had gotten out of boot camp, and from that day forward, he became my sideman. Where ever I went, he went, and wherever he went, I was right behind.

One day through, they ended up sending him to Russia while I went to Iraq, and it broke my heart entirely because we had never been apart from that point. I trained him from a puppy and hearing that he was going to be away from me for a year was completely soul crushing. When I heard that I was going to be assigned to a completely new dog and to a completely new area in which I had never been, it brought a new pain I had never felt before.

Although I did come home alive, I still felt completely wrong.

It took me a while to get used to the new dog they had put me with. She was a smaller German shepherd named Maine. She was mostly black with a small brown patch on her chest and dark brown eyes. Although her small stature made her look weak (which I thought at first), that dog had seen and was more experienced than Zipp and I combined and she was a trooper.

During our time, she didn't have to kill anyone, but by god, she had the keenest sense of smell that I think a dog could ever have. We were paired for eight months, and in that eight months, she found plenty of IED's and a ton of illegal weapons in houses we raided.