Chapter 91
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Translator: Wjin
Chapter: 91
Chapter Title: Chapter 91 - 나비가 날았다 (3)
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Translator: Wjin
Chapter: 91
Chapter Title: The Butterfly Flew (3)
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When I assessed the situation, the biggest problem with the Ukran military was the incompetence of its NCO corps.
The officer corps wasn't much better, but that was at least somewhat understandable. Officers were an elite group from the start, and you couldn't just mass-produce them before a war had even broken out.
But the NCOs?
Fact is, while there are field commanders, it's the NCOs who truly shine on the battlefield.
Just look at Claude Raine.
The skills of a seasoned, skilled NCO are something no run-of-the-mill officer could ever hope to match. There's a reason they're called the backbone of the military.
However, the Ukran rank system was rife with a tendency to look down on NCOs.
How can the待遇 for an NCO and a regular soldier be almost identical?
Just look at the attitude the soldiers showed Lumia and Bell, who were bona fide NCOs, back when we were in the 3rd Magic Battalion.
Even in the modern South Korean military, while fresh-faced second lieutenants or sergeants might get pushed around a bit by soldiers ranked corporal and above, a staff sergeant wouldn't be.
Was it because Lumia and Bell lacked experience? Because they were women? It wasn't just that. On a more fundamental level, the Ukran military itself was deeply rooted in the belief that NCOs didn't need to be properly respected.
They didn't even promote seasoned veteran soldiers to NCO.
It was incredibly difficult to rise from a soldier to an NCO, and it was practically impossible to go from an NCO to an officer.
They just kept soldiers locked in the rank of sergeant... a truly idiotic way of thinking.
This was why talented individuals were left with nothing to do and simply had to discharge, a tragedy that kept happening over and over.
What's the point of having a conscripted military system if you refuse to promote people?
So I just went ahead and did it.
From the two previous real combat operations, I selected the soldiers who had taken the vanguard or were deemed exemplary by their platoon leaders and promoted them to sergeant.
The existing sergeants were all promoted to staff sergeant in one go.
The platoon leaders in charge of each platoon were given the rank of second lieutenant via local commission. Naturally, this included some of my own squad members who had been with me since the previous battalion.
"Sergeant Bell."
"Second Lieutenant, Bell Mayer!"
"...Why are you suddenly stating your name and rank? You never used to."
"Hehe, the title of Second Lieutenant just doesn't seem to suit me yet..."
Truth be told, Chief of Staff Yosef Levandowski and the personnel from the HR department weren't exactly thrilled about promoting all the platoon leaders to officers at once.
However, they couldn't refute my argument that we would need more officers and NCOs as the entire battalion was slated to expand.
Are you crazy? Asking the new NCOs and officers we just received to take over the airborne training we've been conducting for months?
Those people will have to go through hell and back for months themselves to learn the tactics of the 8th Assault Magic Infantry Battalion.
Since all the currently assigned personnel had to serve as both training instructors and assistants, it was essential to give them the corresponding rank.
Especially in an organization as under-modernized as the Ukran military, even if you're an assistant or an instructor, you'll be looked down upon if your rank is lower than the person you're dealing with.
After I, along with Chief of Staff Yosef, completely overhauled the battalion's rank system,
The next thing I tackled was the unit organization.
I planned to insist that we were a battalion combat group while creating one, but that didn't mean we could follow the battalion's organization to the letter.
You call us an 'Assault' battalion?
Then we obviously need a supply platoon to handle the logistics for assault operations, and an aviation platoon to manage and operate the airships sleeping behind the barracks.
Right now, it's in the form of personnel dispatched from the Technical Research Department,
But it needed to be organized directly under our battalion, not as a dispatch. Unless a new Air Command or Air Support Brigade was established, but our air power is just two transport airships, so it's better for the battalion to hold onto them.
Therefore, I, along with Chief of Staff Yosef, established an aviation platoon directly under the unit commander.
The platoon leader position for this aviation platoon was left vacant for the time being; it would be a bit much to just give it to Roxana, wouldn't it?
I am a thorough meritocrat.
I will absolutely not tolerate nepotism.
In addition, we created two new companies under our command and distributed the existing battalion personnel evenly among them.
These soldiers would now serve as the senior soldiers who will lead the new soldiers and NCOs who will join in the future.
Also, the 'Medical Platoon' proposed by Bell Mayer was assigned as a special staff under the unit headquarters.
With this, the 8th Assault Magic Infantry Battalion was fully prepared to transform into the 8th Assault Magic Infantry Combat Group.
All that was left now...
Was to devise a training plan to turn those cute rookies into a terrifying airborne unit.
"Lieutenant Roxa... I mean, is Second Lieutenant Roxana here?"
"Yes."
It was called a medical platoon, but it was practically just a room with a few beds in it.
Debra Bennett, a captain from the Central Technical Research Department currently coordinating with the battalion, said she would be leading some construction engineers to the battalion soon, so this shabby medical platoon would be fixed in short order.
"How's your body?"
"Much better."
Roxana smiled, brushing her pink hair aside. Having expended too much mana during her escape from the Limansk Ordnance Depot, she had been in the medical platoon for several weeks now.
Even her assigned medical officer, Edward, had yelled at her in frustration.
But Roxana herself didn't seem to mind at all. In fact, she even said that since her sacrifice allowed the battalion members to escape safely, enduring a few weeks in the medical platoon was something she could certainly accept.
Soni Chepelin, to honor her contribution, recommended awarding her a medal, along with me.
As a result, a sparkling diamond and a silver ribbon were added to Roxana's uniform.
A Silver Medal for Military Merit.
Given the situation, a formal award ceremony wasn't held, but nonetheless, her achievements were definitively recognized.
Everyone in the battalion owed her their lives, after all.
"I want to get out of here soon."
"I'm still not sure if it's right to put you into training immediately."
"I received a medal, so I have to work even harder. My father also seemed secretly pleased to hear about it."
I heard that Roxana Elim's father was the head of a fairly large trading company in a trade city in southwestern Ukran.
His status wasn't noble, but what of it?
As the head of a trading company in a trade city, he probably had more real power than most nobles.
I was able to solve the long-held question of how Roxana was able to enlist in the first place.
It wouldn't have been possible without connections.
No matter how idiotic the Ukran military is, they aren't so stupid as to forcibly conscript a patient with a heart condition.
Anyway, for a father to hear that his daughter had been promoted to Second Lieutenant (unofficially) and even received a Silver Medal for Military Merit, it was only natural for him to feel proud.
Of course.
"I left out the part where she almost died, so that's why."
At my words, she awkwardly scratched her head.
"If I had told the truth, he would have told me to discharge immediately. Or he would have had me transferred to another unit."
"I would have done the same."
"Even if your daughter didn't want that?"
"If she were to die anyway, that would be entirely on the people left behind. What's the use of a medal or a rank if a person isn't alive?"
It was a bitter story.
In the end, it's the survivors who have to live with the burden of the dead. I can still clearly remember the faces of the soldiers who died in the last battle.
The one who would occasionally smoke and talk about the future, the one who would make a racket at the village bar, the one who would get excused from training over and over and roll around in front of me.
Their names could only be found on the memorial set up in front of the unit.
"Roxana, let's make one promise."
"Yes?"
"Promise me you won't overdo it from now on."
I extended my pinky. Roxana just stared at the gesture.
"Company Commander... no, Deputy Battalion Commander, you know this too. The reality isn't that simple. I can't promise that. I don't even know if I can keep it."
"I know. But if we promise to do so, wouldn't we at least put in the minimum effort?"
Roxana, always full of motivation. Right, that's fine. Burning herself out to sacrifice for her comrades? How many soldiers are there with a spirit more noble and honorable than that?
However, the mindset that one must always be ready to sacrifice isn't necessarily a good thing.
"Sacrifice" may seem like a noble act at first glance, but it's an extremely subjective and relative value.
Let's say a person died, blowing up a bridge along with themselves to stop the enemy's advance. But what if the enemy had been prepared to cross the river from the start?
What if the destruction of the bridge didn't achieve much?
A noble sacrifice can instantly turn into a meaningless death.
Ultimately, war is no different from anything else in the world. No, it's a world dominated by results.
Everything depends on the outcome. It's a cruel story, but that's just how it is. That's reality.
"The mindset to sacrifice can sometimes blind you. Be careful not to be trapped by that perspective."
"Captain Enok..."
"Hurry up, are you going to promise or not? If you don't, I won't replenish your mana next time."
"Pfft."
Roxana let out a light laugh. Soon, her thin, slender fingers hooked around my pinky.
"Shouldn't you be the one receiving mana replenishment from me, Deputy Battalion Commander?"
"Ahem, that was just that one time. It won't happen again."
"We'll just have to see about that."
Roxana answered with a slight smirk at the corner of her eyes. It was a sly expression I was seeing for the first time.