So there I was...

One of the things I don't talk about with everyone at work is my military service... Most people know I served for a while, but with the exception of folks with similar backgrounds who I work with I don't go into much details. Generally it's one of those things I just don't care to get into tons of "war stories" about, or try to find common ground with folks who haven't done anything beyond school and police work. There are a few coworkers who know a bit more, which has led to tonight's story...

Please note, I am not the one responsible for these events, merely sharing the tale of what was done with me as an element in the joke!

As I've mentioned before one of my road assignments for the last several years was that of a field training officer. This involved taking officers who had just graduated the academy and getting them ready for solo duty on the road. A very challenging job, in that not only are you helping someone in that "make or break" part of their career, helping teach them skills to stay alive and making sure they are a good officer; but you are also part of their first real exposure to road officers and the community. Quite reasonably these new officers tend to be a bit nervous and unsure when they first come into your car - they've spent the past seven months getting through the academy, they know the spotlight is on their performance, and they are worried constantly about the impression they are making on you and other officers.

So, one of the things I would try to do early in the first night was take a few minutes and sit down and put them at ease; I would ask a bit about their background, go over expectations and just try to get them relax some and in a learning mode. Since this was their time to shine & not mine I would tell them enough about me to remind them I was just another guy, but certainly didn't put the spotlight on myself or my background.

Well, now that you have the background, we can get on with the story... I was about halfway through the second officer I trained, and things were going so-so - he wasn't doing horribly, but wasn't shining by any stretch. Part of the problem had been that he seemed to me to be just a bit casual in some of his outlooks towards things, and I had relayed this in a private conversation with one of the senior officers who had helped trained me several years ago. The conversation in question happened at the tail end of a shift (on the last day of our week) while we were sitting at the headquarters doing paperwork, and I made the mistake of forgetting their sense of humor...

Three nights later we are back at work, and boy is their an attitude change. Not only is he taking everything very seriously, but the young man isn't even really talking as we drive around. This goes on for a little bit and I even ask if everything is ok, and he quickly answers oh yes, he's just thinking about work stuff, don't worry about it; so I let it rest. But the same thing happens the next night - it seems that all he wants to do is go from call to call, and anything I point out that could have done better he's like a scared, jumpy little rabbit. I think and think, wondering what I may be missing that has him upset, making sure there isn't something else going on in his life and all that - not only does it make for a long night stuck in a car with someone who won't talk, but I really am curious as to what has happened. Unfortunately, the whole week rolls by without me figuring anything out.

Then, when the last night rolls around again, we are at the jail taking care of a domestic assault arrest. While he's taking care of the paperwork and the prisoner I end up spending a little time talking with one of the nighttime magistrates to occupy my time. During this chat we get onto the topic of how my partner is doing, and I mention the complete change in behavior, and how I wonder what has happened to make him so quiet all of a sudden. Well, she starts laughing hilariously, and as I wonder what I missed somewhere she says obviously our mutual friend (the other officer) hasn't told me yet. This leads to a further confused look on my face as she explains, then a dawning realization...

You see, after I left the prior week, my friend had just "casually" started talking with the young man about how things were going. Then, in an effort to combine a little chance to "re-focus" him with a practical joke on me, he started embellishing a bit. You see, my fellow training officer didn't think just saying "Oh, Sean's a little frustrated with how seriously you are taking things, you might want to straighten out." would accomplish the task with quite the level of skill that he thought was capable. Instead, he worked it around in terms of a casual conversation about each other's backgrounds, then slipped in a subtle "Oh, didn't Sean tell you about himself?" Upon my young trainee saying no, not really, my friend then started a nice little bit of exageration... hinting at all the hush-hush stuff I had apparently done in the military, talking about my time overseas, and discussing how I had "never really adapted to being back in civilian life." All the while watching eyes get wider and wider, and just talking like it's all common knowledge... Then he starts sharing stories about my bomb squad time here at the department, with tales (made up, trust me!) of me assembling explosive devices from things I bought at convenience stores on slow nights when I got frustrated with things... and closing it off with tales about how I would get certain looks in my eyes at times, and people would go out of their way to avoid me... Through this all just giving more and more of these little hints that gee I had looked kind of upset lately and been making comments, and he sure hoped that my partner wasn't having problems...

Like I said, my own realization was growing as the magistrate relayed the story - because apparently my young partner had spent the whole week on edge, afraid I was about to snap on him - and telling his own classmates about it, and how he was going to honest-to-goodness try to do better, and gee he hadn't realized and all that. Along with the fact my coworker had thought it humorous to let everyone on the shift BUT me know a little bit about the tale, just to ensure they got to share in the laugh.

Well, I made sure that night to put my partner at ease - explaining that he wasn't about to get blown up, that I didn't have a case of PTSD to make the movie-of-the-week specials, and all that other fun. He went on to finish up nicely a few weeks later, and has become a good officer. Unfortunately, along with the original culprit, he took great pleasure in relaying at some point to a couple other recruits as they rode with me a tale about "One night I saw him take some duct tape and batteries, and you wouldn't believe..."