the debriefing

a.”please state your name & rank for the record.”

b.”private first class xxxxx xxxxxx, sir.”

a.”are you aware of why you’re here, private?”

b.”no, sir.”

a.”you’re here because of a matter of vital importance---one of which, unfortunately, you seem to have come to the wrong conclusions about.”

b.”sir?”

a.”private, do you recall what time you returned to the barracks in the early morning of june 22^nd?”

b.“well sir, i suppose it was around 0200, give or take a few minutes.”

a.“why so late, private?”

b.”sir, it was a weekend.”

a.”i see.  anything special happen earlier that evening?”

b.”i don’t recall sir.”

a.”bullshit, private.  you don’t recall, or you don’t want to recall?”

b.”sir, i’m sorry, but i don’t distinguish between the two.”

a.”private, what we are concerned with here is not exactly what you did during that

evening, but yet what it is that you told others that happened when you returned to the

barracks, & what you have continued to inquire about publicly since then.”

b.”sir, if you are speaking of what i think you are speaking of…”

a.”yes?”

b.”sir, if you are speaking of what i think you are, i honestly cannot think of anything else that it might have been.”

a.”private.  the world is full of possibilities.”

b.”well, if that is the case, then it is quite possible…”

a.”possible?  what is possible?  you’re a solider, private.  “possible” to you is what gets handed down, via the chain of command.  understand?”

b.”sure.  certainly.  yes sir, i understand.”

a.”good.  because for a second, i thought i was going to have to address some form of what seemed like insubordination.”

b.(quiet, attentive)

a.”private, you are to cease all talk, public & private, concerning whatever happened on the night of june 21^st, 2012, extending into the early morning of june 22^nd.  do you understand?”

b.”of course, sir.”

a.”that’s good.  i’m glad the both of us are on the same page again.  you’re a good kid, a decent soldier, private.  i wouldn’t want to see your military career go down the tubes so early on.  i see no reason why you will not excel to great heights, as long as you respect the chain of command.”

b.”of course sir.”

a.”now, say it with me, should you ever be asked again what exactly happened on the given evening by a person of rank…”

b.(quiet, anticipating)

a.”w-e-a-t-h-e-r b-a-l-l-o-o-n.  that’s what you saw & that’s what you told others about.  go ahead, say it.”

b.”what i saw on the evening of june 21^st & the early morning of june 22^nd was a weather balloon, sir.”

a.”great.  & nothing more.”

b.”& nothing more, sir.”

a.”glad we had this little chat, private.  dismissed.”