The Solider Husband - Chapter 617

10 June, Matthew’s Office, Military Base, City K

Matthew looked up from the papers on his desk with the knock on his door which slightly opened before he heard Ben say, “Boss we need to talk.”

Matthew noticed the time and was surprised at how long it had taken before the three of them came for this conversation.  He called out “Come in.”

As they came in the door was firmly shut, before Joseph said, “I told them about what happened yesterday.”

Ben quickly said “Boss, you knew and did not tell us.  That b*stard who we are meant to work with could have prevented Craig suicide?”

David nodded and added “That tragedy could have been prevented, if he knew that there was even one person who was willing to speak out about what she had done to them, he would have known he was not alone and taken that drastic step that your intervention forced him into.”

Taking a deep breath, Matthew said “You are trying to re-write history gentleman.  As I told Joseph yesterday when we had this argument, you had me, a newly appointed young officer involved.  Yes, I could make good decisions, you three are the classic example of this.  I trusted you when that incident happened at Lexi, Jessica, and Monica’s school to do the right thing.  You repaid my trust then and have repaid my trust time and time again.  But I had been trained to follow the Officer’s Manual.”

Matthew paused and looked at the three of them before saying “You know the contents of it as well as I do.  It is clear when we have concerns about the mental health of any soldier under our command the process.  The first step it to talk to them followed by getting them help.  What that help will be will depend on the availability of resources.  It may be a counsellor, a psychologist, a psychiatrist, a medic, a nurse, or a doctor.  An imperfect situation, but a recognition that we may not be able to get the exact help that is required straight away.  After that initial assessment, then additional help is sourced.”

“So what.  When do we follow it?” quickly retorted Ben.

“True,” added Joseph, with David smiling beside him.

“How many years have we all been officers?  Enough to know that the Officer’s Manual is imperfect, and in assessing the situation, we all know that we may need to reassess the procedure set out in it if the situation dictates it.  That is only something that you get with experience.  As I said I was a newly appointed officer and did not have the experience or skills to know that this I should do that, particularly when it comes to mental health issues.”

“Excuses, excuses,” retorted David.

“I am not making excuses.  It is simply an explanation of why I did what I did.  And if you were all realistic, if you had the same situation just after you had gained your commission you would have done the same thing.”

Ben, David, and Joseph all looked to each other before Joseph said, in a dejected tone “You have us there.  But you failed Craig.”

Matthew calmly said “For months I questioned what I did after his suicide.  And it did not help the investigations I went through with senior officers examining every little decision that I made.  They determined that I had done the right thing, because I had followed procedure as out in the manual.”

“Still does not explain why in the world that you are protecting that so called police officer,” spat out Ben.

“Protecting him, no.  Understanding the whole situation, yes.  Over the years I have done enough s*xual assault investigations to get the understanding that victims can be reluctant to have the matter pursued formally, no matter how much you want to support them.  All you can do is tell them you will support their choice.  Do you think I did not do that?”

Cynically David said “Yeah, right.  If he had support, he would never have done what he did.”

Matthew shook his head and said “Think about it.  He passed all the necessary screening to join the military let alone to be accepted into the Special Forces Training.  That makes him no different to John.  Something broke in him mentally at some point, tipping him over the edge.  And despite everyone’s efforts, including from the three of you as his friends, it was not enough.”

“But if that idiot had done the right thing, then he would have known he was not alone,” came the angry statement from Ben.

Matthew shook his head and quietly added “We are going to disagree on this.  John was no different to Craig.  He was her victim, and despite being able to otherwise lead a normal life he still needed to be able to deal with what happened mentally, and as soon as he has gotten to that position, he has had the matter pursued.”

Joseph said, “As I have told you, you are a traitor to soldiers, in that you are supporting trash that could have prevented the death of someone who was troubled.”

Before Matthew could respond, the door as opened, and Bronwyn was shown it.  Ben, on spotting her said “I thought he was the traitor, but then we have you who is in bed with him.”

Bronwyn looked at Matthew who nodded before saying “Excuse me for disrespect but shut up and stop blaming my fiancé.”

“Yeah, the police officer who did not pursue a criminal to have them prosecuted.”

“Colonel, you have no idea what he has been through, and I suspect he has only told me part of it.”

“So what.  Staying silent for how many years has caused harm to others.  That cannot be forgive in any way,” spat out David.

Ben stood up and said, “I cannot be in the same room as you.”  He then turned towards Matthew and said “Boss, you better think about having the police change the liaison officer, because your three most senior subordinates cannot contemplate having to work with someone who not only allowed a crime to go unpunished, but in doing so caused the death of a troubled soul.”

As Ben finished speaking, David and Joseph stood up and followed him as he walked out the door with Joseph briefly pausing to slam the door shut as they left.

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