encore Impaired Reply
A young Army offi cer assigned as fi ring range offi cer-in- charge experiences a work-related hazard that hinders his ability to impress his senior brigade leadership.
I
In August 1964, I had just graduated from the Infantry Officers’ Basic Course and Airborne School at Fort Benning, Ga. My orders assigned me to the 1st Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division located in Schweinfurt, Germany. After meeting my company com-
mander, I was assigned temporary duty as the known-distance range-pit officer, a task relegated to new junior officers. The mission of the pit crew was to put sticky patches on the target holes after each vol- ley of rounds was fired from the firing line. I wanted to show I could be the best pit officer-in-charge ever to assume these (mundane) duties. I ran to and fro all 24 lanes of targets, shouting and directing all day long, and by mid-afternoon, I was temporarily deaf from the noise of the thousands of rounds fired overhead. That might not have been a problem if I
was to just go to my barracks that evening and recover. However, I was advised by the brigade adjutant that all newly assigned of- ficers on their first evening were to join the brigade commander and his staff for dinner in the commander’s mess. Now, the brigade commander was a gruff, seasoned senior officer who had served with distinction in Korea and was respected, albeit somewhat feared, throughout the brigade. After meeting him, and through read- ing his lips since I couldn’t hear a word he or his staff was saying, I briefly discussed my background as requested. As the meal went on, I was asked other questions that
120 MILITARY OFFICER MARCH 2016
I could not hear, but to most, if not all, I merely replied, “Yes, sir” or nodded in agreement. I somehow made it through the dinner meal and, with ears still ring- ing, was given my leave. I hit my bunk and wondered if I had just ended the shortest career of any second lieutenant. The next day, the adjutant saw me at
the range, and he said he hoped I enjoyed the meal with the CO. I said I did, and I hoped I made a favor- able impression. To this he responded: “Well, I think the colonel liked you, but he was concerned about your responses to several of the questions. Among them: ‘Do you think the Soviet Union would ever break through our defenses in the Fulda Gap?’ and ‘Regarding a bri- gade officer who was hav- ing an affair with a German fräulein while his wife was in the U.S., did you think the situation should be ig- nored?’ — to both questions you responded ‘Yes, sir.’ After you de- parted, the colonel relayed to his staff: ‘We better keep an eye on that Lieutenant O’Donnell; he does not appear to be one of the brightest bulbs on the tree.’ ”
MO
— Robert “Bob” O’Donnell is a retired Army colonel. He lives in Destin, Fla. For sub- mission information, see page 6.
Tell Your Story Submit your humorous true stories (approximate- ly 450 words) of service- related experiences by email to encore@moaa .org or by mail to Encore Editor, 201 N. Washington St., Alexandria, VA 22314. All submissions will be considered for publication.
ILLUSTRATION: DANIEL GUIDERA
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