Gulf Run by David Sherman

Author:David Sherman
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780345472021
Publisher: Random House Publishing Group
Published: 2003-12-29T16:00:00+00:00

“Tell us about him,” Fletcher said to Spinner and Haft when he and the sergeants returned a bit later.

So they did. Rammer listened, and pitched in a couple of times himself.

Sergeant Rammer was a grizzled veteran of a decade and a half as a Frangerian Marine. The men who served under him may have loved him or hated him, but they all believed he knew everything there was to know about fighting and being a Marine. Rammer could have been an officer if he’d wanted, but he didn’t want to be an officer.

“I’m a sergeant, so no officer expects me to kowtow to him in proper courtly manner,” he said about it. “If I was an officer, every officer of higher rank would expect me to kowtow in proper courtly manner. I know more about leading Marines and fighting than any lieutenant or captain who never served in the ranks, and more than most field grade officers.” He paused in reflection, then continued, “I know more about fighting and handling junior Marines than any officer who never served in the ranks. What officers know that I don’t won’t help them get a frightened Marine to go over the side or win fights. Officers have to put too much time and effort into courtly matters. It doesn’t matter how courtly you are, there’s nothing courtly about fighting.”

Most of the junior men who served under Rammer in ship’s detachments believed the officers gave him command of those small units that went far away from Frangeria for long periods of time just so he wouldn’t be in any of their units, where it would be obvious to everybody that this sergeant knew more than they did about the important things. Privately, though he’d never admit it, Rammer thought the same thing. He didn’t mind. He got extra pay for being a detachment commander—and he hadn’t had to put up with officers when he was in command of a detachment on a cruise.

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