Sobel swung the can of peaches in his hand, while Lieutenant Winster, Lieutenant Nixon, and several other officers stood there awkwardly.
Lieutenant Nixon paused for a moment before hesitantly saying, "Captain, that's a can of peaches."
"Lieutenant Nixon thinks this is a can of peaches," Captain Sobel sneered, then said loudly, "That's incorrect, Lieutenant. Your weekend pass is canceled."
Captain Sobel stepped forward, pointing at the can of peaches with his finger, and said sternly, "This is U.S. Army property, taken from our mess hall without permission.
And I will not tolerate anyone stealing items in my company."
Then he turned to Winster and asked, "Whose locker is this?"
"Private Parks', Captain," Winster hesitated for a moment but answered truthfully.
"Parks?" Captain Sobel was taken aback for a moment, but then he said very firmly, "Dismiss him from training.
All weekend passes, including those for officers, are canceled."
After saying this, he gave Winster a meaningful look.
Winster heard Captain Sobel's order and couldn't help but frown, then, as if having made up his mind, he said, "Captain Sobel, request permission to speak."
"Speak!" Captain Sobel was expressionless, turning sideways to give Winster a profile, and handed the can of peaches to his orderly.
"Your request is granted."
"Parks is a good soldier," Winster said.
"A good soldier can steal canned goods from the mess hall? Winster, it seems your judgment is flawed."
Captain Sobel said coldly, "Do you think dismissing such a soldier from training is a wrong decision?"
Lieutenant Nixon spoke up at this point, deciding to help Winster: "Captain, this can of peaches is not from the U.S. Army mess hall.
Although they look somewhat similar in appearance, I can assure you, this is absolutely not U.S. Army property.
Furthermore, we all know Private Parks very well; he is a very upright person and trains very diligently, he is the best performing soldier in E Company."
Captain Sobel glanced at Lieutenant Nixon: "Your meaning?"
"Why not let Winster investigate the matter thoroughly before making a disciplinary decision?"
Lieutenant Nixon looked at Captain Sobel without any fear, "I think if a soldier makes a mistake, he must be punished.
But if he hasn't made a mistake!" He shrugged his shoulders, his meaning very clear, and Captain Sobel understood.
Captain Sobel looked at Winster, then at Lieutenant Nixon, said nothing, and turned to leave.
If he was indeed wrong, he couldn't dismiss Parks for this, unless he found another reason.
Otherwise, this would be an act that would shake morale, and Captain Sobel was no fool.
Winster and the others followed him out of the tent.
"Alright, dismissed!" Captain Sobel had lost all interest.
Lieutenant Nixon, Winster, and the others saluted, then turned to leave.
"Lieutenant Winster!" Captain Sobel called out.
Winster stopped and turned to face Captain Sobel.
He looked at him in confusion.
"Colonel Sink thinks you're promotable," Captain Sobel walked up to Winster, took a silver bar from his pocket, and pinned it to Winster's collar.
"As a Lieutenant, you will serve as my Officer of the Day.
Congratulations!"
"Thank you, sir," a slight smile appeared on Winster's face.
But he remained calm.
"Also," Captain Sobel said as he walked, and Winster quickly followed him, "to test your organizational skills and leadership potential, I am now assigning you as Mess Officer for the day."
"Tomorrow there will be some light indoor training," Captain Sobel stopped, "Go prepare!"
Winster saluted, then turned to leave.
"Lieutenant Winster," Captain Sobel called out to him, "Perhaps we can have a special lunch tomorrow noon.
I like spaghetti."
After he finished speaking, he no longer looked at Winster and left directly.
However, Captain Sobel's words from that morning had already spread, and everyone knew that Parks was in trouble, and might even be transferred out of E Company to another unit, or even discharged from the U.S. Army.
"Parks, don't worry, we all know those cans were given to you by Jennifer from the Town,"
Inside the tent, Heffron patted Parks on the shoulder.
Parks knew that he had originally been dismissed from training because of this incident.
However, this incident had clearly deviated; these two cans of peaches were not stolen.
Moreover, because of his outstanding performance in training, he had left a very good impression on Winster and others, so things might not be as bad as they originally were.
Despite this, Parks was still a little worried.
He didn't want to leave this company.
Because he already felt integrated with this company and the brothers in it.
"If Captain Sobel insists on dismissing you from training, I'll quit with you."
White also walked over and patted Parks on the shoulder; he could see that Parks was not in high spirits.
At this moment, several more people entered the tent door; they were Martin, Landers, and Lipton, all brothers from Second Platoon.
"Don't worry, it's not that bad!" Parks didn't want these brothers to worry about him.
Although he also didn't know if things would ultimately take a turn for the better.
Captain Sobel was too self-important.
Parks saw David Landers, and to lighten the mood, he couldn't help but smile and say, "Hey, Sergeant Landers, it seems Winster was wrong, Captain Sobel doesn't hate you, he hates me!"
When everyone heard this, they all remembered the conversation between Landers and Winster that night, and they all started to laugh, and the atmosphere relaxed slightly.
"He hates everyone in E Company!" Landers clearly had too much dissatisfaction with Captain Sobel in his heart, "Parks, you are a brother of E Company, no one can make you leave."
Just then, the tent flap was lifted again.
"Attention!" Martin shouted.
Everyone in the tent stood up straight.
Entering were Lieutenant Winster and Lieutenant Nixon.
"At ease, Soldiers!" Winster glanced at Parks, "Gentlemen, I have something to discuss with Parks."
Upon hearing this, everyone quickly exited the tent; they all knew it must be about the canned goods.
"I hope Winster can save Parks!" White exited the tent, sighing outside.
To be honest, in E Company, his relationship with Parks was currently the best.
"Don't worry," Heffron said from the side, "Winster is a good person!"
At this moment, Martin suddenly interjected from the side: "Was what you said inside just now true?"
"What did I say?"
"If Parks gets dismissed from training, are you planning to leave your brothers too?"
White looked at Martin, then nodded very firmly: "Yes, that's what I'm thinking, is there a problem?
Although leaving the airborne unit would be painful for me, I'd rather prioritize brotherhood."
Then he shrugged at Martin and emphasized, "Is there a problem with my decision?"
Martin, who had been looking seriously at White, suddenly laughed: "Nothing wrong with it.
I just want to tell you that no matter what decision you make, you will always be a brother of E Company."
"Thank you!" White breathed a sigh of relief.
"Alright, let's ask Parks himself later if Winster has a way to save him!" Lipton said from the side.
Honestly, Lipton felt very uncomfortable.
Having spent some time in E Company, he couldn't imagine how he would feel if a brother just left like that.
Inside the tent.
"Parks, can you tell me about those two cans of peaches?" Winster looked at him somewhat seriously.
Parks was the most outstanding soldier he had seen in training, and he was also very well-liked.
Officers liked such Soldiers, of course, except for those with strong jealousy like Captain Sobel.
Winster absolutely did not want Parks to leave the paratrooper unit because of this.
Parks understood Winster's situation; he didn't blame him at all.
It was all Captain Sobel's doing, driven by jealousy.
He wanted to cause trouble for Second Platoon, which Winster led, to get revenge for Winster stealing his thunder when Colonel Sink came to inspect that day.
So Parks recounted the events of his outing that night, then said to Winster: "That's what happened, Lieutenant Winster.
I think if Captain Sobel is determined to dismiss me from training, I won't make it difficult for you, Lieutenant."
"Do you think I'm in a difficult position right now?" Winster looked at Parks strangely, "No matter who it is, as long as he's a brother of E Company, if he hasn't made a mistake, I will try my best not to let them be punished for no reason.
The same goes for you!"
At this point, Lieutenant Nixon spoke, smiling at Parks and saying, "Relax, Private Parks.
This matter isn't as serious as you think.
It's just a misunderstanding; I believe that even if Captain Sobel misunderstood, as long as it's explained clearly, there should be no problem."
"Thank you, sir!" Parks knew that since Winster and Lieutenant Nixon said so, this matter would probably end here.
Even if Captain Sobel was unhappy, he would absolutely not get into a conflict with Winster and Lieutenant Nixon because of his misunderstanding.
Parks' guess was not wrong; the next morning, the outcome of the two cans of peaches was announced: Parks, White, and Heffron, who had gone out together, were punished with sweeping toilets for one week.
When Captain Sobel handled it, the reason he gave Winster was: The canned peaches were too similar to those in the mess hall, causing a misjudgment by the superior officer.
This reason was absolutely brilliant.