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Hard at work, Major?
Did you come here to say sorry?
Oh, that’s not my style. I like the indirect route of apology.
Like, you know, what happened yesterday was regrettable and I mis-chose my words.
In which case, in review, I also find that I, I could have behaved differently and in hindsight another outcome would have been preferable.
We should work in a press office.
Press office? Jesus, I drink and smoke enough as it is.
Getting some down time?
Yeah, sit.
Ten letters. This king of kings had stone feet.
So where we at?
Where we at?
Where does Weil stand?
Oh, she’s been through a lot.
You heard about her father?
I heard something.
That’s a big deal. And her husband.
Her husband was killed in combat.
Yeah, she’s been through a lot.
I have to say she’s, she's a really good shot.
But.
But?
But she’s obdurate.
Obstinate.
Obdurate, unyielding.
I know what obdurate means.
I like her. I’m just not sure the Army is the right place for her.
Have you made your official evaluation?
Personality disorder.
Are you sure?
She’s consistent with the pattern.
Which is?
Long-term maladaptive behavior –
Well 99% of these soldiers –
She experienced childhood trauma.
You know, I’m just wary that this is going to look like retaliation.
This has absolutely nothing to do with the *** assault.
You know 16% of the Army is comprised of women and yet somehow we constitute 24% of all personality disorder discharges?
It’s my diagnosis.
Well I think we should be very careful before getting into a diagnosis like this.
It’s already been made. It’ll be vetted through the proper channels but I doubt you’ll find anyone who disagrees with me, unless you do.
Maybe she’s just having trouble adjusting.
Adjustment disorder crossed my mind but this is cleaner.
Look, I know she has problems-
She has serious problems.
I don’t make this *** up.
I look at the facts, I check the boxes. I get -
Okay.
Enough hits on a diagnosis, I go with that diagnosis.
Okay.
What am I?
You serious?
I’m curious.
Am I obdurate?
You’re a little obdurate, yeah.
What is there a scale of obduracy?
Matter of fact there is. There’s the obduracy necessary to be a tough son of a *** in a hell hole.
And then there’s the sort of obduracy that can lead to consistent patterns of conflict with superiors.
You do not suffer from the latter.
But Weil does?
Yes, she does.
I got to get back to my interviews.
You realize she will be administratively separated because of this.
Not part of my job to worry about that.
My concern is that her mental health suffers as a result.
That’s not an Army issue. That’s an issue for her family.
Her family IS the Army.
You like puzzles? Here’s a puzzle for you.
Why is it that more veterans commit suicide than die in combat?
C’mon.
Eighteen veterans kill themselves everyday.
That’s a football team plus reserves every day.
Why are you bringing this up?
Because it is part of my job to think about that.
Jo, you want to protect women. That’s your thing.
It is insulting to me –
Maybe for personal reasons-
You want to protect women.
And I applaud that.
I want to protect this girl too.
By calling her crazy?
She isn’t crazy.
Kennedy, Churchill, Lincoln they all suffered from mood disorders.
It is not a test of ability.
She’s able, I’d say she’s exceptionally able.
So she’s not crazy?
No, no she is not crazy.
Then why are you doing this? Did Harold make you do this?
No! Because I’m trying to protect this girl.
I’m sick and tired of seeing people deploying for longer than they should have and losing their minds and souls because of trauma that has no *** point.
So she’s not crazy, but she could go crazy.
If she was harassed again, I don’t know what would happen to her.
Look, Jo, the psychologist I used to be would just patch them up, send them back in. That’s my job, right?
Give them happy pills put them back in the fray.
But the psychologist who stands before you now, I just want to take them out of harm’s way.
Now, she isn’t up on a mountain top, but she is in her own kind of war, and whether it’s the enemy outside or the enemy inside, this *** wire doesn’t make a god damned bit of difference.
I have to take care of my soldiers.
Sometimes that means I got to call timeout on them. I don’t apologize for that.
You don’t get to decide the course of her life.
This part, I do. And you know why.
Yeah, because you don’t want her to end up like me.
It’s Ozymandias.
What?
Ten letters, this king of kings has stone feet. It’s Ozymandias.
It’s from a poem by Shelley.
He meets a traveler in an ancient land who sees a sculpture of an emperor in the sand and it's all decayed and broken. That’s Ozymandias.
His empire long gone he’s just an empty threat in a dusty dead land.
This is Major Stone. It’s about Staff Sergeant Lauren Weil.
I’m advising administrative separation based on a psych evaluation conducted by Major Milgram.
Yes.