FREE BOTTLE OF SCOTCH

 

Early one morning, I always worked the night shift in the Avionics complex, we were told to secure our test benches and  report to our hootches.  We were about to undergo a contraband search and seizure.  As I was just about  to get off work anyway, it was no inconvenience.  As we reached our area, several staff NCO’s and officers were arousing the sleeping troops and they were gathering buckets and boxes to sit on during the wait outside.  Several even carried liquid refreshment out to the very informal formation.  Everyone knows that the conditions were bad enough without harrasment and many times formality was ignored.

 

My hootchmate had a quart of Cutty Sark stashed in his footlocker and as the Gunny (I believe GunnerySgt Martin of H&MS-15) went through his gear, he found a pilot’s pencil flare. ( We were not aircrew, but the small red tipped fare with a smallspring loaded trigger is what I think it was called)  The Gunny, also being an avionics person, accidently discharge the flare into the liquor storage cabinet and destroyed the bottle.  When nothing else was discovered (we all had to learn how and where to stash hide illegal stuff) the search was terminated.  By that time, the whole avionics shop was trashed from sitting in the morning sun and passing assorted bottles during the wait.  No one was allowed to go back to work that day and the Gunny showed up after his next liberty with an apology and a replacement bottle of scotch  Not everyday was terrible, what I remember of that day was very good