Alternate Memories - Ft. Meade

This was the day I was unable to switch out and so I was going to have to spend it sitting as a judge on the Special Court Martial Board.

Maribeth and I both arose early, me to do my normal five mile run and Maribeth to get ready to meet Joe Grim and Diane who had invited her to join them on a trip to Mt. Vernon while I pulled duty. This was one of the places I had considered taking Maribeth myself, but since we were running out of days, it was fine with me and I was appreciative that she wouldn't be stuck by herself in the BOQ all day.

After the run and a quick shower I dressed in my Army green uniform which I hadn't worn since I graduated from Transportation School six months ago. I had almost forgotten how to properly tie a tie but I managed. When she saw me, Maribeth seemed impressed. She didn't notice that I wasn't wearing any ribbons, since I had only earned one; the National Defense Medal, which you got just by being sworn in. I was not going to wear one measly ribbon which in any event was just a participation trophy.

We were scheduled to meet at Annabelle's for breakfast, so I drove there and arrived just as Joe and Diane pulled up. Joe was driving a silver Ford sedan that he had borrowed from some buddy, because like me his Austin-Healy 3000 was just a two seater. Unlike Sunday there was no long wait to get seated, but the place was still pretty full. Mostly regulars, I assumed.

Both ladies were dressed in long pants and blouses under winter coats. Sensible flat shoes were in order since I knew there would be a lot of walking. Joe had taken Diane to more or less the same places I had shown Maribeth in Washington on Monday, but they didn't do the Lincoln Memorial because of the rain. Most of breakfast was spent comparing things we had all seen on those visits.

I had to be at the post headquarters at 0830 because we would be convening the court at 0900, so I was the first to leave, allowing 15 minutes for the drive. I shook Joe's hand, gave Diane a hug and kissed Maribeth. I said that I thought they would be having a better day that I probably would.

At Ft. Meade all Courts Martial were held in one of three rooms at the post headquarters. Most people have heard of General Court Martial, but there are actually three different levels depending on the severity of the charges. From highest to lowest they are called; General, Special and Summary. A Special Court Martial can pass a sentence of up to one year of imprisonment, but more likely our judgements were of the demotion in rank and forfeiture of pay or in some case a bad conduct discharge.

Three officers, usually company grade (captains and lieutenants) served as judges. There is no jury in military tribunal's. The senior of the three serves as lead judge and that definitely wasn't me. Today, Captain O'Toole was lead, a first lieutenant, Dean Connor was second and I was most junior, which meant that I would be reading the charges. While there is no jury, there is counsel provided to the accused. Both prosecutor and defense counsel are officers from the Judge Advocate General branch, basically lawyers.

We were scheduled to hear five cases today, two before lunch and three after. The two early cases were both absent without leave (AWOL) infractions. Usually these are adjudicated on three criteria; length of the absence, whether the accused returned voluntarily or was apprehended and finally on the person's prior record.

It turned out that the morning cases were very similar, both E-4's, with no priors and both returned voluntarily after about a week. The decision was straightforward; demotion to E-3 and forfeiture of one month pay. We were early for lunch. We ate in the headquarters cafeteria and I got to know a little about my fellow judges since we had never served together before. Both Captain O'Toole and Lt. Connor were solicitous when they discovered that I would be deploying next week and that technically I was on leave. When they learned about Maribeth's visit, everyone agreed where "the needs of the Army" could be shoved.

The afternoon cases were more serious, but also more interesting. The first was an assault case that occured at Sledgehammer's which was, of course, off post. Apparently an argument over someone's girlfriend which resulted in the accused battering a civilian with a beer bottle. Sometimes these kinds of cases are tried in civilian courts, but because the MP's were called instead of the local police we ended up adjudicating. This was an E-5 with two priors who had been busted once. The prosecutor asked for a bad conduct discharge and we agreed.

Next was an E-4 who was a mess sergeant in the 11th Cav. He was charged with stealing almost $1,000 from the fund used to purchase food. He has negotiated a kick back scheme with a local distributor. He pleaded guilty, so there was that. No priors and his platoon leaders testified on his behalf. Normally that would have been a bad conduct discharge too, but we opted for a reduction in rank, restitution of the money and one month forfeiture of pay.

The last case was the worst. An E-6, who also happened to be an MP, apparently got drunk and beat up his wife. Her injuries were severe enough to require hospitalization and the pictures of her bruised and swollen face were horrific. We thought his excuses were lame and the prosecutor was asking for three months imprisonment followed by a bad conduct discharge. There were two DUI priors, so it appeared that this guy was heavy into the alcohol. We ruled for 30 day confinement and a BCD. And that was that.

Since I didn't know exactly when Joe would be back, we had agreed to meet at the Officer's Club. Depending on who finished up first, we could hang out in the bar to kill time. It turned out that would be me. I invited both of my fellow judges to join me, but both begged off for prior commitments. So around 1630 I was seated alone at the bar with a cold "Natty Boh," watching some game show on the TV. The questions being asked were 'trivia' and I thought they were common knowledge, but none of the contestants seemed to have a clue. For the first time, I began to wonder about the quality of our schools.

I had just finished the beer and was considering a second when I saw the Mt. Vernon threesome come through the door. Maribeth bounced my way and gave me a big wonderful kiss. Her lips were cold, so I guessed she had been mostly outdoors. Joe and Diane took two seats at the corner of the bar and Maribeth and I took the two just around the bend. Three "Natty Boh's" and a white wine for Diane soon appeared and we began sharing our day.

Joe started to describe the visit to Mt. Vernon, but very soon both Diane and Maribeth interrupted and talked over each other. Joe's eyes met mine and I gave him a knowing look, so he just gave up and let the girls continue. Diane said that from pictures, she had always thought Mt. Vernon was huge, so she was surprised when it turned out to be about the size of a lot of two story houses. I said that I thought it's placement at the top of a hill with a huge lawn made it seem bigger than it was. Everyone agreed.

Maribeth said she had known Washington had owned slaves, but she was surprised to learn that almost 300 lived and worked on the property which during Washington's time was a working farm. Mt. Vernon is on the banks of the Potomac River and Maribeth was sure that it was so wide that Washington could never have thrown a silver dollar across.

The back and forth about Mt.Vernon continued for a while until the conversation turned to my day. We had finished our drinks, so I suggested we grab a table and I'd tell them over dinner. There had been only a few people in the club when I got there, but now the bar was pretty much full and people were starting to occupy the tables too. We found a table by the dance floor and ordered another round of drinks, except Maribeth opted to change to Sangria. I didn't know if she had truly become enamored with the fruity Spanish wine, or she was just reminiscing about the times in Norfolk and Dayton when it was part of some truly memorable moments.

I covered the cases fairly quickly and as I expected the MP charged with beating his wife commanded the most attention. Joe had also pulled duty as a judge on Special's so we also talked about some of his cases. We all observed that a frequent contributor to bad behavior was the presence of alcohol. Maribeth broke up the group when she raised her glass and said, "I'll drink to that."

The Wednesday Special on the menu was baby back ribs, which both Joe and I ordered. Maribeth didn't know what she wanted, but finally decided on Salmon. Diane said she was watching her weight and ordered a chef salad. When it came, it was huge. I thought to myself that there were probably more calories in the salad than we would get with the ribs, but hey.

The big reveal was Joe's announcement that Diane had agreed to get married. Apparently this had happened some weeks ago, but supposedly they weren't telling anyone. Diane still had another year at Oklahoma State and they were thinking of soon after her graduation. Joe said he wasn't planning on making the Army a career, but he definitely wanted to get the Vietnam deployment behind him. Maribeth and I offered a toast to their engagement. Diane emphasized that it was still a secret, but I wondered who I could possibly tell that would make any difference.

The ribs were excellent and while Maribeth said the Salmon was good too, I noticed what I thought were envious glances at the racks of ribs. By the time we were finished it was past seven. On the drive to the post headquarters that morning I had passed the post theater and I said that I noticed they were showing a new movie, "The Bedford Incident" with Sidney Poitier and Richard Widmark, and I asked if anyone was interested.

Joe said they didn't have any plans for the evening and it sounded good to him. Diane gave him a funny look but just smiled. Maribeth was in, so we paid the bill and left. The show started at 7:30 so the timing was perfect. Tickets were 50¢ apiece, and of course you can't watch a movie without popcorn, so that cost another quarter.

I'm sure that both Maribeth and Diane would have preferred something lighter, but in 1965, you were limited to whatever the theater was showing. Multiscreen were somewhere in the future. After a black & white newsreel and a color cartoon featuring Roadrunner and Wiley E Coyote, the show itself began.

The black & white movie was about a fictional encounter between a Russian submarine and the U.S. destroyer, the Bedford. Essentially it depicted what could happen when tensions are pushed to the limit and people make mistakes from the pressure and fatigue. In the end, both ships are destroyed and it's left to the viewer to wonder if this was the trigger for WWIII.

Personally, I found the movie riveting and I wondered for about the hundredth time whether it had a lesson for what was happening in Vietnam today. I was hoping that I wouldn't be finding out.

We more or less convoyed back to the BOQ and we said good night to Joe and Diane at the front desk. Maribeth gushed about what a wonderful day it had been and she gave us both a big hug. I suggested that perhaps we could get together again before both girls had to leave at the end of the week and that was met with approval from all around.

The BOQ didn't have an elevator since it was only a two story building, so I followed Maribeth up the wide stairway as we climbed to the second level. I was enjoying the view of Maribeth's cute butt as she mounted the stairs. I assumed it's because women's legs are attached at an angle to their hips that they have this alluring rolling walk, but whatever the physics, I knew it was enticing.

After I helped Maribeth out of her coat we shared our first kiss of the evening. I complained that Joe had gotten one before me, but Maribeth just punched me in the shoulder. Her lips tasted a little salty which I assumed was leftover from the popcorn. The kiss was nice, but I was anxious to get my tie off and dispense with the Army green's. Maribeth helped with the tie, but soon turned to her own clothing, so as we undid belts and buttons we were watching each other.

When Maribeth was down to bra and panties, she looked at me expectantly and asked which she should remove first. She was being coy, because in Norfolk she had discovered my fetish for the "bottomless look." She hooked her fingers in the waistband of her panties and with a cute wiggle of her hips, slid them down her smooth legs. This revealed the light brown triangle of her pussy and as she kicked the panties off of her foot, it exposed the darker slit that ran between her legs. I, myself was down to underwear and Maribeth observed that there was a visible bulge developing in the front.

Bless her heart, Maribeth took the opportunity to just let me take in her semi-nakedness without pushing. Her slim waist merged with the curve of her hips to accentuate the vee that was formed where her smooth legs met. It seemed that Maribeth was enjoying her exposure, because she put her hands on her hips and pivoted them left and right displaying different views for my benefit. Once she spread them slightly which afforded a view of the gap between. I could see her watching my increasing erection as she toyed with me, and soon it became apparent that she was tiring of this and was wanting more.

Maribeth stepped forward and kneeled in front of me. Her hands reached for the waistband and began to pull down the front of my shorts first exposing the pubic hair and shortly the top of my shaft. For some reason she stopped for a moment there, seemingly fascinated at the sight of the juncture where my penis emerged from my torso. She leaned forward enough to place her nose close and took a deep breath. "Oh my," were the only words she uttered.

I know not what Maribeth was experiencing, but she resumed revealing me at an extremely slow pace, examining each inch as she continued to pull. Just before the end, she looked up and said in that confident tone that I'd come to understand was her making a declarative statement, "enjoy."

One last pull and I pretty much bounced in her face. She took a moment to survey what she had exposed and without much fanfare she opened her mouth and closed it over the head. I felt her tongue swipe over the surface and explore the small hole at the end. Looking up, our eyes met as she held me and I could see her wordless question. I said, "That's wonderful." Apparently having received the affirmation she was seeking she put her hands on my butt and pulled me forward. This filled her mouth and she gave a sigh of satisfaction.

I was buried fully in her mouth and I wanted to make sure that I wasn't going to choke her, but Maribeth seemed to have the situation in control. She withdrew slightly and I could feel her tongue going to work again. I was too far in for her to do much except caress the shaft, but that felt great. Her lips were applying pressure, so between that and the warmth of her mouth, I was becoming quite erect. Glancing down, I saw that Maribeth's hand was rubbing her pussy as she worked on me.

Soon, I watched as Maribeth's eyes looked up, as if surprised. She removed me from her mouth and looked. I could see a small clear drop emerge from my tip and Maribeth just looked too. I knew immediately that I was leaking pre-cum that usually only occured when I had been aroused for an extended period. I didn't think that was the case now, but there it was. I knew it wasn't tasteless but it also didn't have the strong musk of what would follow. Maribeth confirmed this for herself when she used her tongue to remove the drop and savor. She looked in my direction and just shrugged. As she did, more began to seep and Maribeth took me completely in her mouth again.

I could see that Maribeth's fingers were still at work and they were totally covered by a liquid sheen that I recognized as her own copious lubrication. I knew we were both ready to couple, I just didn't know if it would be orally or vaginally. I could go either way, but we hadn't fucked since Saturday, so I was more than ready to follow nature's original design.

Reluctantly, I signaled that we should move to the bed. Maribeth understood immediately what this meant and she hurried to comply. Apparently the lady was more than ready because she pulled the blanket aside and adjusting one of the pillows under her head she opened her legs to allow easy entry. It was obvious that she was more than ready, but so was I.

I moved into position and rubbed myself along her slit. Between the lubrication we were both emitting the only question in my mind was there going to be enough friction to know when I arrived. Of course this was nowhere near the case. I experienced the familiar feeling of warmth surrounding me as I penetrated her pussy. Maribeth raised her hips slightly as I slid in almost to the hilt and I could tell just by looking at her face that she was enjoying this first thrust as much as I was. She closed her eyes as if to shut off any unnecessary sensory input and rolled her head from side to side. I heard her whisper, "soooo gooood." I don't know if this was meant for me or if it was just her feelings talking to herself, but I took it as a compliment.

Maribeth was still wearing her bra that had been necessary during the bottomless "mental picture taking" that we had been engaged in before, but now I was sorry that I hadn't asked her to remove it before we got into bed. I would have liked to observe the sway of her breasts as we fucked, but I wasn't about to interrupt the mood, so it stayed on. I could still see the quiver of her skin with each thrust, so I contented myself with leaning forward to kiss her as we established a nice rhythm.

The kisses turned passionate very quickly. Maribeth was almost biting my lips as our tongues battled to achieve entry. I was aware that her hand had slipped between us and was directly fingering her clit. Her other hand was wrapped around my shoulder and was pressing on the back of my neck bringing more pressure to our kisses.

When Maribeth is this turned on, I knew from experience that she could reach a climax quickly and I was soon proven right. I felt the vaginal contractions first, followed quickly by her legs pressing me more forcefully into her. She paused her oral attack long enough to utter a long "uggggghh" sound that seemed to ride from somewhere deep inside. I had not yet reached the point where nature would take it's course and in truth I was not trying to arrive too quickly.

I was happy that Maribeth had not, in fact, lost her birth control pills, since I was finding the bareback experience to be much improved over condoms. There is a kind of liquid rough feeling to the inside of Maribeth's vagina and I was enjoying the feeling of this texture with each stroke as I was pushing into her.

Maribeth doesn't say much when we're coupled, but that doesn't mean she isn't communicating with me. We've both come to learn the subtle signals that each of use use to guide or confirm our desires. When Maribeth slightly raises her hips, I know instinctively that she is telling me to go harder, and penetrate deeper. When she drops her legs to my ankles, it's just the opposite. Hair pulling is a dead giveaway that she is right on the edge and a wave is about to break.

Since I'm generally in control of our lovemaking, there's less need for me to guide rather than be guided, but we hadn't yet experimented with other positions where Maribeth would be in the lead, so perhaps when the time came, I might need to learn some signals of my own.

After the first climax we resumed a nice steady pace, and the in and out of our coupling was just satisfying without bringing either of us to the edge. As I had these thoughts, Maribeth soon demonstrated how naive they were. All of a sudden she was climbing back to a peak and a few seconds later she arrived. I could tell that it was deeper and stronger that the first one and she was aggressively demanding more penetration as well as shifting her position so that my shaft rubbed more directly on her clit. She let out a loud "mummmffft" when it arrived, just as if I had knocked the breath out of her.