Employed 8 part 3

l made my first trip to Camp Hill on the Sunday of our first week there, so that l could get familiar with the place before the battalion rolled in on Monday and
so l could explore it and the surrounding area on my own. For the first couple 
of hours, l did. But about 9AM, Capt. Meyer, Sgt. Vaughn and SPC 3 Williams
arrived, one by one. As they moved their office stuff into the building that
would be the S3 office at Camp Hill, l wondered as l helped them to lug some of the boxes into the office, why the Captain hadn't told me to show up on Sunday as well. And why was Lt. Goodale not there?

Just then, the dulcet tone of the exhaust from Lt. Goodale's '59 Porsche 911
grabbed our attention. l later learned that as the lieutenant greeted Capt. Meyer, he asked "You decided to have the Private come in today after all?"
"No, he came on his own" said the Capt., apparently pleased. lt was SPC-3
Williams, (first name Jamey) who had overheard the Capt. and Lt. mention me
and he told me about it as we later, in the pick-up truck he used regularly,  drove us around on the Camp as well as much of the surrounding country-side, mostly for my benefit. This being Jamey's third year at Camp Hill formaneuvers, he well knew his way around the general area, on or off post.

We approach a large clearing in the woods where four tractor-trailer rigs are
being relieved of their loads: Each tractor pulls a long, low-boy trailer with two
combat tanks aboard. Four will be parked We stop and dis-mount the pick-up
and go for the un-loaded tanks. Jamey introduces me to his friend, Sgt. Major
Bill Battle, who was in command of four of the tanks present. He was a big guy. Not very tall and not fat, but very muscular. He asked me what my job was. When l told him l was the draftsman, he looked amused and chuckled a
little. He asked if l'd like to drive one of the tanks. l said yes and he laughed a little more, and then said he'd  stop by (the office?) in a few days and give
me a driving lesson. He was still chuckling as he mounted his tank and drove off, leading his three charges, headed for the motor pool.

As Jamey  and l continued our tour l asked him why he thought Sgt. Battle
seemed so amused by me. He said the Sgt had a great sense of humor and is
one of those who always seem to be smiling or laughing. You could say that he is naturally light-hearted. Add to that, the fact that by now, he and ptetty
much everyone in headquarters company is familiar with the story connected
to you and your being with us now. l wondered if what he said was true and
asked him to tell me what he knows. "Ok, You were last assigned to work at
NSA. You have been in the Army more than two years, yet you wear no stripes. You were a Russian linguist, now you are our draftsman.

Could it be that you are one of those who are, for whatever reason, determined to fullfill your "military obligation" without the risk of finding yourself in the midst of combat?"
"Well, that's pretty much the title of my story. It figures: Parked as close as
the 6th Cav is to NSA, you gotta see situations like mine with some regularity
especially after three years. How many "titless wacs" or Monterey Marys have
preceded me?
"Lemee see, when l first got here..."
"When was that?"
"Uh, '56, April '56"
"What was your job, then?"
"Photographer,still is. But there's more to it than that. During maneuvers, l not only take a lot of stills, l also use a lot of 16mm film getting footage of
tanks trucks and soldiers playing war. And Monday, Wednesday' and Friday
we show movies in the amphitheatre: tomorrow. you will accompany me on
a trip to Richmond to review, select and transport three recently-released
feature movies which we'll show (actually a projectionist does that) thru the
week. Realize that nyou are not just along for the ride. Pay attention to all l
do, knowing that you need to fill in for me if l can't get there."
Monday morning Sgt. Vaughn gave me a number of map making assignments.
Actually, l did no map-making, though it was called that. Map preparation is
what it is. One is given a map of the relevant area. Then, following the Captains written instructions, l marked the places where actions would be taken, what those actions would be and when they would take place.

After lunch l rode with Jamey to Richmond as he went to the film distributor
and a couple of other stops. l stuck close and watched Jamey unremittingly
as he and l reviewed parts of the movies of interest and selected the three
that he thought the troops would like.

Jamey was a great buddy. One day l was trying to look busy at my desk when
Jamey came in and asked Sgt. Vaughn if he could borrow me for a bit.
"Hell yes' THE sgt. said, he might as well be doing something usefull for somebody". That, while he surveyed the top of my desk, where l has been using pieces of scrap beaver board left over from an earlier project, to paint
miniature works of art during idle moments. l hasten to note that all of my assigned work was either in progress on schedule or complete. l was hoping
that Sgt. Vaughn and l would get along better.

In the pickup Jamey asked if l was serious about driving Sgt. Battle's tank.
"Sure, but l don't think he was".
"Why do you say that?"
"Oh, just the way he was when we met. Like he thought that l was some kind of silly nut".
"Well l saw him earlier today and he aqsked me if you would really like to learn to drive it. If not, no problem.But if you do want to, he said l could bring you by today since he has a mostly free day today".

Boy! l'm telling you,Sgt. Battle and l cut us a big fat hog in the ass that day.
(his words,actually) But those words fit well with the experience and every
time the memory of that day returns it's always a treat. Just imagine it.