encore Good Intentions S
Cadets at Camp San Luis Obispo, Calif., go above and beyond their typical cleaning duties to ensure the barrack is spotless before TAC offi cers arrive for an inspection.
Six years after I enlisted in the Army National Guard, DoD assigned the Na- tional Guard the task of actively operat- ing 50 percent of the Army air defense missile sites in the U.S. I took one of those jobs off ered on a site in the San Francisco Bay area. Later, after being promoted to platoon sergeant, I was asked to attend OCS. I reported to OCS at Camp San Luis
Obispo, Calif., and upon my arrival, the TAC offi cers lined us up and told us to look to the right at the man next to us. They then said, “He will not be there after next week,” meaning 50 percent of the candidates would be gone. They were right. One half of the men were gone by the next week, which caused those of us who remained to become even more seri- ous about our activities and inspections. We were in an old World War II bar-
rack. Before each inspection, every nook and cranny was to be cleaned. There were two companies occupying the barrack, one on the top fl oor and one on the fi rst fl oor. I was on the fi rst fl oor. The barrack had an oil heating system with ventilators run- ning along the length of the ceiling. There was a six-inch gap between the top of the ductwork and the ceiling. The company above us got the bright idea of cleaning the top of the ductwork on their fl oor. One of the cadets got a towel and then got on the shoulders of another cadet. The cadet on top ran the towel across the top of the ductwork and
120 MILITARY OFFICER SEPTEMBER 2011
grabbed it with his other hand. He then moved it back and forth, wiping it clean. The cadet on the bottom then would walk the length of the building so all of the ductwork could be cleaned. About halfway through the building, the cadet on the bottom tripped over a footlocker that someone had moved into the walkway. When he started to fall, the top cadet grabbed both ends of the towel, putting all of his weight on the ductwork. Suddenly the bands holding the ductwork to the ceiling broke, and down came it and the cadet.
Those of us on the fi rst
fl oor heard a crash and saw dust fi ltering down through the length of the barrack. A huge cloud of dark soot came rolling down the stairwell into our fl oor. I looked out the window and saw two black-helmeted TAC offi - cers coming up the barrack stairs for our inspection. We were doomed. With dust still in the air, they walked in
and looked around wide-eyed. They then turned around shaking their heads and said, “We’ll be back.”
MO
— Gerald F. Haines is a retired Army major. He lives in Oregon. For submission information, see page 18.
Tell Your Story Submit your service- related adventures (or mishaps) by email 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: TIN SALAMUNIC
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