encore Just the Ticket M
My first assignment, as a young Air Force captain, was as chief of security and law enforcement at James Connally AFB in Waco, Texas. I was a stickler for enforcing base traffi c regulations and vigorously backed my patrolmen on every ticket they wrote. One frequent violator was the base civil engineer, a major. As a result, I was especially ex- asperated when the base commander, who just happened to be the major’s next door neighbor, would call and instruct me to give the major a break due to the unusual requirements of his job as base civil engineer. My men would continue to write the major tickets, and the base commander would continue to call and instruct me to “take care” of them. The major drove a vintage Volkswa-
gen Bug, and he felt he had not only the privilege but also the sworn duty to park wherever he pleased on base. We recently had experienced a spate of automobile thefts on base as a result of drivers leaving their keys in the igni- tion of their vehicles when they left them unattended. To eliminate this black mark from the theft-and-recovery por- tion of my yearly law-enforcement re- ports, I instructed my patrolmen to be especially vigilant for this infraction. Of course, the major continued to be a frequent violator. One morning, arriving early for the
Monday staff meeting, I was quite ir- ritated to fi nd the major’s Volkswagen,
88 MILITARY OFFICER JANUARY 2012
An Air Force captain serving as chief of security and law enforcement realizes he might have gone a step too far when he has a frequently ticketed car moved to the base dump.
with the keys in the ignition, parked in the base commander’s parking space. It was too much for a young captain to bear. I called the security police desk and requested that a patrolman meet me at the base dump, which was located on the back side of the base. I drove the major’s car there, parked it in a prominent location, and put a parking ticket on the windshield. I then had the patrolman take me back to base headquarters in time to take my seat, just as the staff meeting started. My assigned seat was next to the base civil engi- neer. As I sat down, he handed me a note: You don’t have to
worry about my Volkswa- gen anymore. I sold it to the base commander. Needless to say, I missed the rest of the Monday morning staff meeting. MO
—Robin Wayne Edwards is a retired Air Force lieutenant colonel. He resides in Texas. 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: DAVID CLEGG
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92