encore Piece of Cake U 80 MILITARY OFFICER MAY 2011
An Army lieutenant assigned as his unit’s mess offi cer comes up with a plan to ensure the noon meal is delivered on time — and literally accomplishes his stated goal.
Upon graduation from infantry OCS at Fort Benning, Ga., I, like almost every new infantry lieutenant, was transferred to an intermediate post before ultimately ship- ping off to Vietnam. My assignment was to Fort Lewis, Wash., in an advanced infantry training company. As with every military unit, there were
numerous extra duties for offi cers: unit fund offi cer, morale offi cer, savings bond offi cer, etcetera. Even with a seeming sur- plus of lieutenants, we all had at least four extra duty assignments, and one of mine was mess offi cer. Almost immediately a problem arose. The company mess section was chronical- ly late delivering the noon meal to distant fi ring ranges, causing disruptions in the training schedule. This would be my fi rst test in problem-solving as an offi cer. I met with the mess sergeant to dis- cuss the situation, and we agreed on a measurable goal to better accomplish the mission. Taking into account inclement weather (the norm at Fort Lewis), me- chanical failures, and personnel issues, we reasoned the truck carrying the noon meal must depart the mess hall for the fi ring range earlier than was customary. My fi nal directive to the mess sergeant was, “Starting tomorrow, the chow will be on the road by 11 a.m.” I decided to enlighten one of my col-
leagues by explaining the problem I had faced and the steps I had taken to solve it. To reinforce the lesson, I invited him to
accompany me on the last step of the lead- ership process — supervision. The next day, we arrived within view of the mess hall at 10:45 a.m. An Army stake- bed truck feverishly was being loaded by cooks, overseen by the mess sergeant who frequently looked at his watch. Finally, a metal container holding 10 thick aluminum trays of cake was loaded on the rear of the truck. But the cooks, obviously in a panic, failed to place the rear stake on the truck bed behind the container of cake. The driver quickly backed the truck onto the company street and — just in time — fl oored the accel- erator in triumph.
As the truck lunged for-
ward, the door of the metal container swung open and the 10 trays of cake fl ew out onto the company street. The driver, unaware, sped out to the range to feed the hungry troops. My colleague, clearly im-
pressed with my leadership skills, shook my hand and said, “Well done, lieuten- ant. Mission accomplished. The chow is on the road by 11 a.m.”
MO
— James Lockhart is a retired Army major. He lives in Huntington Beach, Calif. For submission information, see page 18.
Tell Your Story Share your service- related adventures (or mishaps) by e-mail to
encore@moaa.org or by mail to Encore Editor, 201 N. Washington St., Alexandria, VA 22314. All submissions will be con- sidered for publication.
ILLUSTRATION: DAVID BUSBY
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