Chapter 54: Orientation
I had lost, but then quickly gained, an ally.
I had mentioned to Colonel Abad that I would be needing more senior officers. The very next day, he introduced me to Faustino Roque—the father of Teofilo Roque, one of the four officer cadets.
Señor Roque had been present during the meeting I convened last year, though he hadn’t had the chance to speak. I didn’t know him well—just a casual acquaintance—and I wasn’t aware of his opinions regarding the Revolution or the Republic.
The tall, lean man, another coconut baron like Pedro, turned out to be an undiscovered supporter. He told me how honored he was to learn that his son had been selected as a cadet. And when Maximo approached him with the offer, he accepted it without hesitation.
He was a no-nonsense, straightforward kind of man—just my type.
"I’m tired of giving a portion of my money to the coffers of foreigners," he said with a chuckle during our talk in the sala. "They don’t look like us, and they don’t even bother to learn our language. The Americanos will be no different. In the future, if anyone wants to tax me, they better be speaking Tagalog."
Needless to say, I promptly wrote him a commission with the rank of Captain and issued him a rayadillo uniform. I promised his shoulder straps would follow soon.
After the officer cadets’ physical training in the morning, I conducted my first lecture that afternoon. Along with the cadets and the two lieutenants, I included the three senior officers—now with Captain Roque—in the class. Of course, this would be irregular in the modern military, but our senior officers, including Colonel Abad, knew little to nothing about commanding troops.
The conference room became our classroom. I had one of the chalkboards from the escuelahan brought in and installed in the far corner. On the adjacent wall, I pinned a few maps I’d fished out of dusty, web-covered cabinets. In the end, the room looked decent enough.