Tract D-Under Attack

By M.E. Blackburn

I was with the MP's and we provided two men for the security of Tract D. It was dick duty. We played hearts and spades most nights or helped the Stratcom guys QSY this and that. On the way out we would stop at the Ethiopian army post and pick up our approx. 9-man field team. These clowns were to provide outer security. Hell for all I know they played cards and screwed the local sheep. These guys would get on the bus in various degrees of military dress, with a mix of weird looking weapons and hand grenades hanging on their web gear. About a 1/4 of a mile before the Tract D gate we would drop these guys off. We were always afraid that one of those clowns would get a grenade hung up on one of the bus seat backs and ruin our weekend plans. They would leave and then we would enter the site. After checking with our two local special gate guards we would then go inside and break out the cards.

Now do you remember the soda-can cannons? This was seven-soda cans taped end to end loaded with lighter fluid and then set off with a lighter. A loud bang would erupt accompanied by a very large flash. This thing would launch tennis balls. One night another MP and I sneaked up to the gate and fired this thing off. It was loud and the flash lit the gate with the two gate special guards jumping all over the place. My buddy and I ran back to the Com Center entering from the side door. We were falling all over ourselves laughing our asses off. At this time we noted that the card table was knocked over, chairs upset and spilled coffee and that the main door was wide open. We then ran out the door at the same time the Stratcom guys were running back in. "We're under attack...call HQ..get the Re-Act force..fire up the chopper!!!!!". The bastards took our cannon away...no frickin' sense of humor.