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Sean swung the door wide. Laura Lee took a deep breath for courage and then she marched into the office. She came to attention before Lieutenant Colonel Bayles and the unknown female captain. “Lieutenant Saxton reporting as ordered, sir.”
“At ease, Saxton,” Bayles said. “This is Captain Miller. She’d like a word with you. I suggest you carefully consider her offer. It’s the best one you’re going to get.”
Captain Miller was a blond-haired, blue-eyed woman in her mid-thirties. She wore her dress uniform better than Laura Lee ever could. How did she look so good in her uniform? Laura Lee was confused as she watched Bayles leave the office, closing the door behind himself.
Captain Miller stepped over to the small conference table on the left side of the office. She took a seat. “Please join me, Lieutenant Saxton,” she said.
Laura Lee crossed the room and sat across from the captain. To say she was nervous was an understatement. A file folder sat on the table. The captain opened it and flipped through a few pieces of paper.
“Your performance evals are top-notch. You know your shit. So, why have you been passed over for promotion again?” Captain Miller asked.
Laura Lee knew her eyes went wide at this question. She had a moment of indecision. “You’ve read the reviews, I’m sure. I’m not sure what you want me to say.”
Madison Miller’s lips tipped into a grin. “How about your opinion as to why?”
Saxton glanced away for a moment. She could be committing career suicide with her answer, but she fully intended to transfer out of this unit before it deployed, and she only had two years of service left. She could tough anything out for two years. “Permission to speak freely, ma’am?”
Miller nodded.
“The other criteria used to rank my progression for advancement are, in my opinion, subjective. I am not claiming blatant bias or discrimination by my commanding officers, but I will say that personality should not be factored into ranking up and that is what I believe is happening. The other engineers in my unit are all male and they are all tight, the boys club. And Lieutenant Wallace in my unit, the other electrical engineer, is Lieutenant Colonel Bayles’ golf buddy. The two of them and our unit head, plus one of the other men in the unit, are a regular foursome. Wallace pulls lead on all projects. I’m not saying he isn’t a competent engineer; I’m just saying that the assignment of project lead is always his and I don’t believe it should be.”
“May I call you Laura?”
“I go by Laura Lee.”
“Laura Lee, I don’t doubt for a second that the glass ceiling is still in place in many Army units, yours included. I’ve reviewed your college transcripts and all your military records. You’ve requested a transfer. I’m recruiting for a special unit, and I need the very best engineers who are flexible and will step up and take on additional responsibilities as needed. I need people who will work their asses off to accomplish the mission on a very small team that will work domestically to ensure our power grid is secure from cyber-attacks. Further education in addition to a full-time work schedule will be required.”
“Is it with another division within USACE?” she asked.
“No, it’s not associated with the Army Corps of Engineers at all,” Miller replied without elaborating. “Your unit was just notified it would deploy before you put the transfer request in.”
Laura Lee nodded.
“Was that part of the reason you requested a transfer?”
“This unit, when I accepted the assignment, was not a deployable unit. We were to work on domestic projects only.”
“If you take the transfer into the unit I’m recruiting for, you will never deploy.”
“Can I get that in writing? I’m sorry if I don’t take your word of not deploying in this other unit at face value.”
“So the upcoming deployment was one reason for requesting the transfer,” Madison said.
It wasn’t a question, so Saxton didn’t answer. She didn’t like how this was going. The captain had not introduced herself with her location of assignment. If this was an interview for a transfer, she should at least know what unit Captain Miller was with, even if it was just the office of personnel.
Madison Miller waited, watching Saxton saying nothing else.
Madison knew her return stare turned harsh. She took a second and purposefully softened it. “We do have deployable units within our team. For this project, we have a long-term contract with the Department of Homeland Security that covers only U.S. installations. It will be years before we’ve completed the contract. And I see you have two years left of your ROTC obligation. I was in the ROTC as well. I’m, of course, past my original obligation, which I’ll tell you I wouldn’t be active duty at this point if I wasn’t in this unit. It’s a great team. We work hard and accomplish a lot of important functions, but we’re uniquely relaxed. We don’t wear uniforms most of the time. And there is a camaraderie between the members that transcends rank.”
Laura Lee wasn’t sure what that meant. “No uniforms even when you’re onsite at an installation?”
“That’s correct. We go in as government contractors, not active-duty military personnel.”
Laura Lee thought about that for a moment and was even more confused. But it sounded like an attractive proposition.
“At this point, I have to ask if you are interested in hearing more about the unit,” Madison said.
Laura Lee nodded she was.