WeTried Translations

Translator: Coughing Baby

Editor: Coughing Baby

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

Chapter 441: Stuffed Paradise (3)

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A few days after receiving advance notice, Gyeoul was informed that his promotion to colonel had been confirmed. The notice instructed him to complete the necessary training before the U.S.-Russia joint emergency response system was established. Under the Field Promotion officer qualification supplement program set up by the Department of Defense, he would only change his rank insignia after completing six months of intensive education at the U.S. Army War College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania.

It was a standard that only applied within the military, but by then, his academic qualifications would also be recognized as equivalent to a bachelor’s degree. He had completed the Joint Professional Military Education (JPME) course at the National War College in D.C. in the past, and the combat experience he had accumulated as an officer was more than enough to substitute for education. His decoration record counted as extra credit here too.

There had already been cases like former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff John Vessey, who had started as a Private with only a high school education and risen all the way to General, so Gyeoul was not receiving any particularly unusual treatment.

Local media in the West showed deep interest in the emergency response system that would soon be created.

『You Can Now Call Airborne Troops With 911!』

『Analysis of the Effect of the Federal Government’s Emergency Response System Plan on Housing Prices and Transaction Volume in the Three Western States.』

『Benefit or Loss? Amid Concerns From Some Scholars, the Overwhelming Majority of Residents Welcome It.』

『There Must Not Be Another Crisis. A Bold Decision by the Kramer Administration.』

Judging by the headlines alone, many media outlets were broadly supportive.

Once he actually read them, though, there were still voices worried about federal interference in state governments. The argument was that in an emergency, the official in charge of a zone would also seize control of local law enforcement and administration, making it effectively no different from permanent martial law.

Gyeoul’s name was naturally mentioned there too. The articles said local governments in the West were fiercely competing to host the 201st Independent Battalion’s new base. The analysis was that the Independent Battalion had higher name recognition and public trust than the other units that would make up the response system, and since the issue was directly tied to residents’ sense of safety, it had naturally become a sensitive matter for local politicians as well.

Senator Talton Brennan was among the people often mentioned in connection with this. They said he was exerting great influence over the citizens of San Diego based on a past deal.

“......”

Gyeoul studied the name he had not seen in a long time. Brennan probably had not predicted things this far ahead with perfect accuracy when he made that strangely kind offer, but as a seasoned politician, he must have smelled opportunity.

Was it because his subscribers were so interested? There were also many articles covering Gyeoul’s future path.

「Now that his promotion to colonel has been confirmed, even if he builds only an average career from here on, there is a high chance he will rise to Brigadier General or Major General before turning thirty. Many people predict that he may enter politics, but if he chooses to remain in the military, he will be able to establish an extremely solid position within the armed forces. He would serve more than thirty years as a general officer alone. After all, there is no way he would be forced out by mandatory rank retirement.」

「......Based on years of commissioned service from the date of his first commission, Lieutenant Colonel Han Gyeoul’s retirement age is fifty-eight, but under related laws, it can be extended to sixty-six by order of the Secretary of Defense and to sixty-eight by presidential order. Lieutenant Colonel Han is someone who will have a positive effect on approval ratings no matter what administration comes into power, so the possibility of his service term being extended is extremely high.......」

「......Considering that expertise as a soldier and expertise as a politician lie in completely different fields, Lieutenant Colonel Han Gyeoul stands to gain considerable benefits by insisting on the path of a soldier. This is even more true when one considers that, due to his background, a presidential run is impossible for him.......」

It was a view worth considering. Either way, Gyeoul had been given a future. It was necessary not only for improving the treatment of refugees, but also for planning a life with Anne. He would go on living as Gyeoul himself. Yet it was hard to feel any solid sense of reality in that future.

‘At this rate, will that spring ever come?’

The spring Gyeoul thought of was the spring Anne had mentioned in her letter.

「I believe that spring will surely come. The first spring we will greet as one inseparable whole.」

Those words had comforted Gyeoul when he left for Zero Ground. The folds of the letter had now begun to wear thin. When he first received it, he had vaguely thought that once he came back, they would get married right away.

But Anne had returned to work as Deputy Director of the FBI without even using all of her scheduled vacation. The chances that she could request another vacation or leave of absence in the near future had to be considered extremely low. American society would be noisy in many ways for a while.

Simply becoming legally married was easy. They only had to visit the city hall or county office with jurisdiction, make their vows in front of the official in charge, pay a set fee, and receive a marriage certificate. All they needed was about half a day.

Even then, the fact that it would be difficult for them to live together as a married couple would not change. Nothing would change in practical terms. Anne, with her strong sense of responsibility, would have to travel back and forth between D.C. and the field as Deputy Director, while Gyeoul had his own education to receive and missions to carry out. On top of that, he wanted the wedding to remain a beautiful memory for both Anne and himself.

Needless to say, that did not mean Gyeoul could ever abandon his own responsibilities.

‘Somehow, I feel stuffed up, like I have indigestion......’

Gyeoul’s sighs had long been something of a habit, but lately their frequency had sharply increased. Even after returning from what was effectively the final battle, his heart did not feel light at all.

Knock, knock.

A polite knock on the door drew Gyeoul’s attention.

“Come in.”

The opening door let in a blade of sunlight. The person who entered was Major Singh, the deputy battalion commander. Gyeoul’s gaze lingered on the file folder Singh carried.

“Is that it?”

“Yes. I attached the finalized list.”

The Major handed the documents to Gyeoul.

After checking the list, Gyeoul said,

“Thirty-one additional medical discharges...... Objectively, that’s few. Subjectively, it’s a lot.”

It was the list of soldiers whose medical discharge was unavoidable due to symptoms of radiation poisoning. Thirty-one out of the entire battalion was hard to call a large number, but there were also personnel who had already been discharged earlier due to more direct injuries or psychological problems, so the overall loss was fairly heavy.

Major Singh offered comfort.

“Even so, they say the losses are light for a unit returning from an operation where strategic nuclear weapons were used. Please do not take it too much to heart.”

“Well, it can’t be helped, but......”

As he turned through the list, Gyeoul muttered,

“Thankfully, Captain Park isn’t on the discharge list. Though I’m not sure if I should call that fortunate.”

Since returning, Jin-seok had lost so much hair that radiation poisoning had been a concern. But the examination results showed it was stress-induced hair loss. The medical opinion also stated that Jin-seok would have difficulty performing duties for the time being due to a gastric ulcer and duodenal ulcer, likewise presumed to be caused by stress.

Then again, Jin-seok was the type to push themself to the limit, so it made sense.

Angry about this as well, Jin-seok had shaved off all their hair. The soldiers whispered that the company commander had ended up that way from too much disappointment. After hearing that, Yura, who had long been designated as the next company commander, began worrying anxiously that she might start losing hair too.

This turn of events made Jin-seok even angrier.

Gyeoul signed the personnel order that included Yura’s promotion and reassignment. Watching him, Major Singh asked,

“How are you doing?”

“What do you mean?”

“Your health.”

Gyeoul shrugged.

“There’s nothing seriously wrong right now, but they told me to get checked often from now on.”

That was also something most members of the battalion had been told. Even if they had not received medical discharges, after experiencing a battlefield where nuclear weapons had detonated, it was only natural that they would need to pay attention for the rest of their lives. To feel safe, they would have to get through at least two or three years without incident.

Gyeoul changed the subject.

“By the way, there’s a lot of talk about filling the vacancies...... Sorry, but I want you to keep an eye on it while I’m away, Major. You’re still one of the people who understands our battalion’s character well.”

Adding up all the vacancies across the Independent Battalion, they came close to an entire company’s worth. But under the newly decided policy, the personnel who joined from now on would no longer be limited to refugee-born recruits.

It was one thing for officers, whose backgrounds had been diverse even before. But recruiting ordinary soldiers that way ran counter to the battalion’s original founding purpose. The independent company that had been the battalion’s predecessor had been created specifically to use refugees as military manpower.

‘In some ways, this is normal......’

Whatever its beginning had been, the Independent Battalion was now a proper special forces unit. It was more natural to accept outstanding personnel regardless of origin.

Within refugee society, including the Gyeoul Alliance, concerns were spreading that there might be some hidden intention behind this measure. Some said it was part of a process to separate the image of the Independent Battalion, and beyond that Gyeoul himself, from the refugees. Some even called it a new form of whitewashing.

There was also speculation that designating the Independent Battalion as special forces in the first place had itself been a political move.

Major Singh nodded slowly.

“I know what you’re worried about. Alpha Company is a little better, but it seems all sorts of complaints are coming out among the other companies.”

“Until now, each company has had a strong sense of unity in terms of background. In that sense, complaints are unavoidable. But please make sure they understand that this change is inevitable given the nature of the unit, that refugee-born volunteer recruitment is not being stopped, and that this change is advantageous for the future of the remaining soldiers as well.”

“I’m already taking care of it. I’ll manage things so nothing happens while you’re away.”

Major Singh had fought alongside them for a long time, so the soldiers would not see the Major as an outsider. This was the right person for Gyeoul to entrust with such a request.

Truthfully, Gyeoul was not without that suspicion either.

The commander of Fort Roberts had already been replaced by someone else. Since Gyeoul had been away for more than a year, it would actually have been stranger to leave him as acting commander even now.

It had happened because there were so many places where Gyeoul was needed, and it was also far better treatment than leaving him abandoned in a minor post, but in the end, it was true that Gyeoul had been separated from the refugees for a long time. At this point, depending on the tendencies of the policy officials, there was plenty of room for other designs.

Even so, what Gyeoul could say to the soldiers as an officer was all but fixed.

Major Singh checked the time.

“How about departing a little early?”

Singh was talking about the joint U.S.-Russia memorial service scheduled for an hour later.

If he went early, there would be many people who wanted to speak with Gyeoul.

“Let’s do that. I can also look around the new residences in the city.”

A funeral was bound to be a somber event to begin with, and remembering the CIA’s request when he thought about facing Russian officers left Gyeoul feeling a little complicated.

In downtown San Diego and its suburbs, there were residences that had been purchased or leased under the name of the Gyeoul Alliance. Even while Gyeoul had been away, the deal Brennan had proposed had proceeded normally.

Jang Yeon-cheol gave a favorable assessment of Baek San-ho’s work.

“To be honest, because of the bad incident before, I didn’t really trust him, but he handled the work very faithfully. I was surprised. It was like he had become a completely different person.”

Since Jang Yeon-cheol did not know the background, that was a natural assessment.

When Baek San-ho visited the base to report on business, it was clear how the Intelligence Agency had been handling people. He could not even properly meet Gyeoul’s eyes.

Gyeoul leaned his head against the car window. In the passing scenery, yellow ribbons tied to roadside trees sometimes slipped by. In America, a yellow ribbon tied to a tree in front of a house was an old symbol meaning a soldier from that home had gone to war. Among the knots Gyeoul saw, some would never be untied.

Footnotes:

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