The Messenger

Here. Right here.Just wait.

Sorry. I'm late. I-

I ain't dead yet.

It's also for healing.

And celebration, you know?

Hey.

Yeah.

- Thank you. - I'd like to sit at that table.

- Why? - I'd like to sit at that table.

- I know, but they're still eating. It's fine- - I can see that.

I don't know, I think-

I think in, like, a year or so, you know, I think I'll be ready...

but, you know, I really- I want to get married.

I just- like, eventually, you know. I don't-

I just don't want to right now.

Plus, we're kind of on this, like, cruise control, you know?

Which is normal. I mean, it happens to every couple. It happened to us.

Where did you tell him you were going?

- To visit you. - Yeah, right.

To visit my dad.

- And he believed that? - I invited him actually, but...

it turns out he was really, really busy.

You always were a terrific liar.

That's not fair.

- I really do love him, you know? - Well, I do.

He's the right guy for you.

I mean, what do you want to do?

Are you thinking... family? Bachelorhood?

College?Job?

You don't have to worry about me.

The world's my fucking oyster.

Thanks for coming.

I really wanted to see you.

I'm glad you came.

Say hi to Alan for me.

I don't think so.

Somewhere you gotta be?

No, sir.

How long has he been waiting?

Seventeen minutes, sir.

Send him in.

Yes, sir.

Come in.

Sir, Staff Sergeant Montgomery reports.

At ease. How you getting on, Montgomery?

- It's going well, sir. - I have an assignment for you, Montgomery.

It so happens that over the few months you have left on your enlistment...

you will get your chance to render some of your most valuable service to your country.

I'm assigning you to a Casualty Notification team.

Sir?

Captain Stone will show you the ropes.

He is the expert.

But until he does, I just want to make myself very clear...

that although most of your time will remain occupied by your other duties...

CNO is to be your absolute priority.

This mission is not simply important.

It is sacred.

- Sir, if I may? - Go ahead.

I've never received any grief counseling, let alone given it.

I'm not a religious man, sir.

We're just there for notification.

Not God. Not heaven.

Montgomery...

this job is about character.

Now I have had soldiers go out on notification and break into a stutter.

Men so nervous they read from a script or get the name wrong...

or the address.

Too many tears.

I need men of solid stature.

Now you are a model soldier. Hell, you're a goddamn hero.

Casualty is a soldier who's been killed, wounded, missing...

captured, beleaguered or besieged.

Of course, our job's mainly about killed.

What you actually need to do is pretty simple-

read the guidebook, learn the script...

stick to the script, fill in the blanks from the casualty report.

- Can you do that? - Yes, sir.

Can you look at me when I speak with you?

Much appreciated.

Never say stuff like lost or expired or passed away...

things people misunderstand.

I knew this guy once told this old lady that her grandson was no longer with us.

She thought he had defected to the enemy, started calling him a traitor.

We need to be clear. Need to say killed or died.

What we don't say is the deceased or the body.

We call each casualty by name. We honor them. You with me?

- Yes, sir. - Then look at me, Sergeant.

You do not speak with anybody other than the next of kin.

No friend, no neighbor, no coworker or mistress.

Hours of operation are 0600 to 2200 hours.

We don't want to wake anybody up in the middle of the night...

though if you ask me, hitting them with the news at the crack of dawn...

is not exactly a great way to start their day, breakfast wise.

What do we do if the next of kin isn't around?

We leave. We don't wait. We don't lurk. We come back later.

This is a zero-defect mission. A pure hit-and-git operation.

Is that it, sir?

One more thing. You do not touch the NOK.

Avoid physical contact with the next of kin...

unless it's a medical emergency, like if they were having a heart attack or something.

You're representing the Secretary of the Army, not Will Montgomery.

So in case you feel like offering a hug or something, don't.

It'll only get you in trouble.

I'm not gonna be offering any hugs, sir.

- Is that's it? - No.

These are the rules. It's not the job.

The job is about...

something else.

You gotta do it before you can understand.

You a head case?

No, sir.

I surely hope not.

Then that's it. You can go.

Sergeant, one more thing.

We make it our business to deliver the news within 24 hours of positive ID.

The ideal is within four.

We're racing FOX, CNN, Drudge Report, what-have-you.

Not to mention any soldier with a cell phone or a webcam.

The whole point is we gotta be first.

So, if you're in bed...

or church or the ballet, this baby stays on.

Yes, sir.

Tried and true.

A long battery life too. Can't be beat.

I know what you're thinking.

You're thinking- "Shit, I'm a goddamn decorated war hero...

with three months left to serve and they draft me into the Angels of Death squadron.

I get a beeper, a canned speech...

and a lunatic commanding officer to surf a fucking ocean of grief."

Am I right?

More or less, sir. Am I right?

It's the middle of the fucking night!

Turn that fucking music off!

There's your problem.

Attention to detail, Private!

Read the fucking manual!

You have 130-degree heat. You have sand blasting.

It's baked the hose right under the housing.

Break the suction.

Every second you're on the side of the road...

increases your chances of getting shot...

your boys shot, your boys blown up.

No haji armor's gonna protect you.

Plus you're fucking up a five billion dollar a week operation...

because you don't have a 25 cent cooling hose.

So you think ahead. You have 10 in the back.

You think ahead. You prepare. You think ahead.

Yeah, well, should be in the next couple blocks.

We should just ask someone.

No.

First of all, men don't ask for directions, much less soldiers.

Soldiers on a notification, definitely, positively do not ask for freaking directions.

No GPS. No MapQuest. We navigate.

Second, you never wanna park too close.

They hear a car park, go to the window, see two soldiers getting out...

it's just a minute of torture.

Now I should warn you some of them do have guns.

Knocking is ominous, but ringing is jarring.

Or worse, sometimes you get one of those god-awful chirping doorbells...

some singsongy shit throws you right off your game.

Yankee Doodle went to town A ridin' on a pony

And "Sorry your husband is dead" doesn't flow. So I knock.

I don't really like to say good morning or good afternoon either.

There ain't nothing good about it.

I used to introduce myself, that's standard, but now I think it's rude.

It ain't about me. Lose the shades.

We're looking for Mrs. Tina Burrell. Is she in?

Is Leroy in trouble again? I'm his girlfriend.

We need to speak with Mrs. Burrell.

Okay, Come in. Come in.

Please, sit down.

I just made some tea.

Do you want some?

Ma'am, could you please get Mrs. Burrell?

Yeah, she's down the block. She just called. She'll be back in a minute.

I thought you said we don't wait.

If she's not here in 30 seconds, we're gone.

Sit.

I'm Monica. I'm Leroy's girlfriend.

And this is his baby. He's a boy.

But he don't know that yet, so don't tell him because I ain't calling him Junior.

Two cellphones.

One was $209.75, and the other-

What did he do?

I'm sorry, ma'am. Our orders are to speak with Mrs. Burrell.

Well, I am too. I mean, I was gonna be.

We were supposed to get married, but then my father got laid off and-

Look, I know Leroy's always saying the wrong thing, but he's a good man.

Please,just tell me.

I got an envelope with these sheets of paper.

Could I see those papers, please?

We'll be back.

You sent her the money and this envelope came with these two pictures-

Sir, tell me.

Oh, why? Oh, no, please, God, no! My, God, why?

- What's going- - I have bad news, Mrs. Burrell.

The Secretary of the Army has asked me to express his deepest regret...

that your son, Private First Class Leroy Burrell-

No, no, no! You got to go! You got to go!

- I'm very sorry, Mrs. Burrell. - No. Listen. No!