Interesting Experience

One of the most interesting experiences that I have ever had was also one of the most terrifying. I was eighteen years old, and about to graduate basic training. One of the more insane drill sergeants - I'll call him DS Luke for privacy - hated females. I don't know why, but he did. One afternoon, I was a battle buddy to a fellow basic trainee. Again, for privacy, I will call her PVT Thomas. PVT Thomas had a medical appointment for a hip fracture she had incurred on Warrior Tower. The only staircase that was navigable at the time was the staircase outside of the drill sergeant's office. So, in order to get out of the building, we had to go down the staircase and go through the drill sergeant's office. Needless to say, it was not pleasant to request permission to intrude upon a drill sergeant's space. On this particular day, DS Luke was in an extremely bad mood - even worse than usual. PVT Thomas and I knocked on the drill sergeant door and waited. When DS Luke opened the door, PVT Thomas froze, so I took the initiative and requested permission to speak. DS Luke didn't mind me, but hated PVT Thomas. That happens a lot in the military; even if a soldier is injured through no fault of their own, fellow service members tend to look down on him or her. He granted me permission to speak, and I informed him that PVT Thomas had a medical appointment. I will probably never know for sure why he slammed the door in our face, but I assume it was because she had not spoken for herself. Whatever the reason, PVT Thomas didn't appreciate DS Luke interfering with her medical treatment. So, in the boldest move I have ever seen from a basic trainee, PVT Thomas picked up her crutch and banged on the door. When DS Luke told her to go away, she got even bolder. She told him in very colorful language that she wasn't going anywhere except to her medical appointment. After this outburst, it got very quiet on the other side of the door. I literally thought for a moment that the last thing I heard before I got killed by a rampant drill sergeant was silence. All of a sudden, the door to the drill sergeant's office flew open, and DS Luke came through that door like a bull on steroids.
DS Luke was not small by any definition of the word; at well over six feet tall, he had to have weighed two hundred and fifty pounds at the least. But make no mistake - DS Luke was not fat. DS Luke was built like a bulldog that had been given growth hormones as a puppy. When this man came through the door to the drill sergeant's office, my first instinct was to run like my life depended on it because I was pretty sure that it did. Unfortunately for my fight or flight instinct, I knew that I couldn't leave PVT Thomas alone with this crazy drill sergeant. So, I stayed there at parade rest hoping that whatever happened would be quick. I didn't even bother hoping for painless because it was DS Luke, and I knew better. PVT Thomas wasn't intimidated by DS Luke, because by this point she was really angry. After a few choice words to DS Luke, I guess he had had enough. He swung at her, and had she not ducked at the last minute, he would have demolished her face. Behind the place where PVT Thomas' head had just been was the freezer door to the drill sergeant's refrigerator, and when DS Luke hit that, it bent in the middle badly enough that it would not close again. Then and there, I realized that DS Luke really was out for blood. I grabbed PVT Thomas, and pushed her towards the staircase. I told her to crutch her way up the stairs as quickly as she could. Meanwhile, I stayed there in the stairwell with an insane drill sergeant like I had some neurotic hero complex. It took me all of ten seconds to realize that if I didn't get out of his way, he was going to go through me to get to her. So I did what any sane person would have done, which was just the opposite of what I had done in trying to distract him. I moved. In about three seconds flat he had caught up to PVT Thomas, and was screaming in her face. PVT Thomas was backed in a corner, and looked like she was going to wet herself. For some reason, DS Luke decided that he wanted to kill us with the flagstaff, and he told us not to move.
The moment he turned the corner, I told PVT Thomas to get on my back. I was not about to wait around for death to come knocking at my doorstep! She jumped on, and for whatever reason, she kept her crutches in her hands. As soon as she was on, I made a run for it. I was down the stairs, through the (still open) door to the drill sergeant's office, and out of the building. In my defense, I was running with the weight of two people, and DS Luke was in really good shape. At any rate, before I even got to the end of the building, PVT Thomas was screaming that DS Luke was behind us. Just like in the movies, I turned my head just enough to see him. It was almost like I had to confirm that this crazy person was gaining on me. When the confirmation was made, even though I did not think that it was possible, I started running faster.
By this point, I could see the Alpha Company building, and from the sounds, I could tell that there was a formation there. Now, let me clue you in to the thought that was going through my head at the time; "I'm going to run until my heart bursts, because if the running doesn't kill me, HE WILL." I managed to get within earshot of the formation, and although I was unable to breathe enough to get any attention, PVT Thomas was on my back screaming like a banshee. So, Alpha Company got an extremely odd picture. Here was a 4'11" private with a 5'4" private on her back with crutches flung out like wings. Behind us was a crazy drill sergeant chasing us down with a flagstaff. I don't know if the angels had laced up their Nike's that day, and were running with us, or if we just had extremely awesome karma, but whatever it was I appreciate it. The command sergeant major of the battalion (I will call him CSM Santa for privacy) was outside of Alpha Company at that particular moment. As soon as I saw him, I had a new target. DS Luke was not going to attempt to impale us with the flagstaff when CSM Santa was anywhere near us. While I attempted to catch my breath, PVT Thomas told CSM Santa what had happened, and I just nodded along, still winded. At the end of the day, reports had been taken and DS Luke was in serious trouble. The rest of this story is boring, but I hope that I have entertained you up until this point!