We are now back in Tom Clancy world. Here are some questions I have:
What was Captain Clements's specialty? What value was in the briefcase and computer? How did this person KNOW that Clements was in the water?
This is very, very weird.
Other guesses....
Perhaps he recalled the advanced training course he took at Fort Sill shortly after graduating from the West Point Academy in 1991. Perhaps his thoughts drifted to his new promotion to major, due this week, or his newly acquired master's degree in systems acquisitions from the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, Calif.
Being a family man, he must have thought of his wife and four children, who were waiting for his Monday arrival in Woodbridge, Va., where they would live while he worked for the U.S. Army Test and Evaluation Command in Alexandria, Va.
Or perhaps he was just calming his German Shepherd, Asta, and cat, Tasha, as they rode with him on his cross-country trek.
Like the others who suddenly fell to their deaths Sunday, Clements surely didn't see the bridge collapse in time to stop.
Clements, 34, was the first to be identified as one of at least 14 victims. Unlike the others, who died of drowning, officials said he died from blunt head trauma.
"The Army and the nation have lost a fine soldier in a tragic accident," said Maj. Gen. John J. Marcello, commander of the test and evaluation command. "Captain Clements had a great military record and we were all looking forward to him becoming part of the ATEC team. At this time, our concern is for his family and many friends, and I offer my heartfelt condolences."
Army Maj. Darryl Stephens of the Pentagon pondered the odds of making a 2,929-mile drive and landing on a 500-foot stretch of bridge that, in the most bizarre of accidents, plummeted precisely as he crossed it.
"If you just stopped at a rest stop or stopped to get gas," Stephens said. "There's just so many variables -- and the timing."
He also noted the similarities between them. Both were captains about to be promoted to majors. Both were field artillery officers who trained in Fort Sill.
Most of all, Stephens thought of Clements' family. Among his four children was a 9-week-old son named Andrew.
"It's just a very, very sad thing," Stephens said. "His family, I know they have to be devastated. There's a spouse out there who doesn't have a husband, and children who don't have a father."
Clements had flown May 23 with his wife, Nicole, and their four children to Woodbridge. He flew back to Monterey to gather their dog and cat and other belongings. His plan was to drive cross-country and arrive Monday in Woodbridge.