Chapter 14 - The Paradigm Shift
I held up my hand, gently signaling for the crowd to quiet down so I could finish my address to the staff.
"Under my command, there will be no barriers between military personnel and civilian contractors," I announced firmly.
"Death does not check an organizational chart before walking through our trauma bay doors, and neither will our care."
"If a civilian nurse sees a patient crashing, she has full authority to perform life-saving interventions immediately."
"We are one team, with one mission: to keep our service members and their families alive."
"Effective immediately, all of Colonel Pike's ridiculous time-clock penalty rules are permanently abolished."
The auditorium exploded into another round of deafening applause, with staff members hugging each other in the aisles.
After the ceremony concluded, I walked through the main hospital corridors, feeling the energy of the facility completely transformed.
Nurses walked with their heads held high, physicians smiled warmly at civilian specialists, and morale shot through the roof.
I walked into Operating Room 4, finding Dr. Miles Carter preparing a sterile tray for an upcoming orthopedic procedure.
He turned around, saw my Colonel eagles, and raised a playful, warm salute.
"Good morning, Commander Holloway," Miles teased with a bright smile. "Or should I still call you Grace?"
May you like
"Call me Grace, Miles," I replied with a warm chuckle. "We bled in the trenches together three days ago."
"I'm appointing you as Chief of Surgical Operations starting tomorrow morning."
