Sometime back in ‘68 the straight day people that worked in the Motor Pool got way behind in their vehicle maintenance. No wonder, they worked a five day week, had off on all US holidays and probably even took off for Ethiopian holidays (about one per week). When word came down that there was going to be a Command Maintenance Inspection, these guys went nuts. How in hell were they going to get caught up in time to pass the inspection?

Then along comes some PUKE that has the bright idea of having us shift workers help them out once a month on our training day. Training days came on Wednesdays during the swing shift. If I remember correctly, we started training around 1100. The idea was that we would start an hour early and spend that time in the Motor Pool pulling maintenance on the vehicles.

The first day that this occurred, we were all gathered in the Motor Pool with a Puke giving instructions via PA system (tripod mounted megaphone speakers). We went through a checklist with a couple guys assigned to each vehicle. Check the lights, tires, horns, DID SOMEBODY SAY HORNS? We blasted them for five minutes until they went crazy. One of our guys looked under the hood of his 3/4-ton truck and pulled out the coil wire. He asked me what it was and I told him that it was a redundant wire, just throw it away. By the time we left that day we had deadlined 27 vehicles. Needless to say, we were not invited back the next month.

(Editor's note: ASA Webmaster Mike Doran has told me the same story but with more graphic detail as to the destruction of government property.)