Chapter 5
Exoneration
Captain Ericson stared out the small-pane window onto the drill area in front of the grouping of K-Span buildings that housed the administration officers. His eyes were vacant. After a minute of this, he abruptly turned and walked briskly to his desk. Next to a box filled to the brim with papers needing attention was the manila envelope that held the results of the investigation. He opened the envelope and slid the papers out in front of him one more time. This was the fourth time that he had examined the contents of the envelope.
Since the meeting with Lieutenant Commander Stevens, Ericson had made several phone calls and considered his options for both Lawrence and Bryant. It was an easy, obvious decision that, at the very least, both would have to be transferred and to different units, if not different teams. One of the other officers he consulted suggested that he discharge Bryant but agreed it didn’t make sense, given his stellar military record. The other three he consulted with recommended that both Bryant and Lawrence be placed on probation with a reduction of pay for three months, then transferred. That was assuming Lawrence was not interested in filing charges against Bryant and that he substantially agreed with the other information in the report. If he objected or claimed to be the victim, the outcome would likely be turned over to a court-martial process. Captain Ericson briefly thought that would be the easiest thing to do, but Captain Stevens’s report regarding Bryant’s premilitary history gave him pause.
It had been a week since Ericson received the investigation results on Bryant, and he was now waiting for a report on an interview with Petty Officer Lawrence. Ericson had learned a long time ago that it didn’t pay to hope for a particular outcome, and this time was no exception. If Lawrence insisted he was attacked by Bryant without provocation or denied other parts of the story, he would have to remand the case to a court-martial process. Were that to happen, he would appoint a legal team to prepare for the military court. It would be out of his hands after that. From what he had gathered from the anecdotal information on Lawrence, he expected this as an outcome. The interview was held yesterday, and he expected a report on the interaction with Lawrence soon, possibly today.
If, for some reason, Lawrence corroborated the story offered by Bryant and the other unit members, the captain could decide and expedite the change. He knew that both parties would be transferred to another unit, and Lawrence would be sent to another SEAL team. That was assuming one would take him.
The following day, Captain Ericson made his way toward his office. A rare November rain had fallen on the base in the early morning hours, and his shoes bore the evidence. When he reached his office, he cursed and asked seaman Chris Ballmer, his administrative assistant, for a towel to wipe the mud from his shoes. While cleaning his shoes, Ballmer approached him and cautiously informed him of a call from the team investigating Lawrence.
“Lieutenant Baker said he could bring the report over as soon as you arrived today. What would you like for me to say in response?”
The captain paused to consider what he had been told. Then he responded, “Tell him to bring it to my office at ten hundred hours.”
Ericson had a mixture of emotions. Despite his years functioning as a legal services supervisor for the Navy in Afghanistan, there were times when his emotions became entangled with the process. This seemed to one of those times.
“One more thing, sir,” Ballmer added.
“Go on,” Captain Ericson said.
“Captain David Fredericks of SEAL Team 8 just called a few minutes before you came in. He wants you to call him back. Wouldn’t say what it was about.”
Ericson finished cleaning the Afghan soil from his shoes and, with a nod toward Ballmer, walked to his office, hoping he didn’t leave a muddy trail behind him.
As soon as he was seated, he grabbed the phone and dialed a familiar number. Captain Fredericks was one of the people he had consulted with when he was considering the disposition of the case regarding Bryant and Lawrence. He was also an old friend. He had participated in many legal processes in prior years and was disappointed when Fredericks was assigned to another region.
“Captain Fredericks’s office,” a young female voice answered.
“This is Captain Ericson.”
Before he could add anything, the female voice said, “Oh, yes, sir, Captain Fredericks is waiting for your call. I’ll let him know it’s you.”
A deep, gravelly voice came on the line, “Hey, Cap, thanks for calling back so quickly.”
“No problem, Fred,” he answered, using his nickname for Captain Fredericks.
“What do you have for me?” Ericson continued.
“Well, something came across my desk yesterday, and I thought of your investigation. I know it’s a long shot, but if it doesn’t go to court-martial, I might have something that would work for both of us.”
“Hmmm, what’s that, Fred?”
There was a pause, then, “This is just between you and me at this point,” Captain Fredericks explained.
“Okay,” Captain Ericson drawled his puzzlement.
“So there has been some scuttlebutt about an Army infantry unit that has been involved in drugs. Not just using it, but the latest is that some of the unit members have been involved in moving opium poppies or at least protecting a warlord who was moving them into Kabul,” Fredericks revealed.
“That’s big,” Ericson acknowledged.
“Yep, really big. And we need someone who is not a familiar to help with an investigation before it goes any further. I remember what you said about Petty Officer Bryant, and I thought that if this didn’t go to court-martial, he could be perfect for this assignment.”
“I can see why you would think that,” Ericson said. “Okay, I will keep that in mind. It’s too early to commit to transferring anyone yet, but I will let you know as soon as I know. Thanks, Fred.”
Captain Ericson was relieved that he had a ready-built solution for one of the SEAL team members if court-martial could be avoided. Bryant would require some training specific to this assignment, but Captain Fredericks could make that happen.
It was 0953 hours when Ballmer arrived at Captain Ericson’s office.
“Lieutenant James Baker is waiting to see you, sir,” he announced.
Ericson looked up from his office and said without enthusiasm, “Send him in.”
Ballmer escorted Lieutenant Baker through the door into the captain’s office. Baker strode in and stood at attention with his cap under his left arm and a manila envelope held by his right hand.
“This is the report on our interview with Petty Office Casey Lawrence and the rest of the SEAL team unit in question, sir,” he stated stiffly.
Captain Ericson responded, “Thanks, Lieutenant. Just put it on the desk. I assume the report discusses Lawrence’s perception of how the incident began and who he thought was responsible.” While awaiting his response, Ericson studied Baker’s chiseled face and cleft chin, imagining him as a superhero.
“Yes, sir, I did include Casey Lawrence’s response, but it doesn’t include my thoughts on him. So I thought I would tell you informally and let you decide what to do with the information.”
“Okay, have a seat, Lieutenant.” After Lieutenant Baker was seated, Captain Ericson said, “So since I haven’t looked at the report, could you fill me in on his response and your subjective impressions?”
“Certainly, sir.”
Lieutenant Baker cleared