Chapter 4

When I came out of the Major's office, the First Sergeant was waiting for me.

"Baker, you will report to me every morning at 0730 hours. I will assign what work is to be completed each day. Basically, you will see that the maintenance of the area is performed and insure that the houseboys are doing their jobs. Your duty uniform will be fatigues. Do you have any of the light weight fatigues for this area?" he asked.

"No, First Sergeant. I don't have any of those. I do have several sets of tiger fatigues."

"Those are NOT authorized here and you will NOT wear them. Do you hear me?" he demanded very upset. I simple smiled.

"Yes, First Sergeant."

"The clerk will show you where supply is and they will issue you the correct fatigues and boots. Turn your medical records in at our dispensary. That's all for now," he told me then added, "Oh yes, move your uniforms into room 316. I want to see them there tomorrow."

The clerk took me over to the unit supply. The supply sergeant wasn't happy to see me. They never seem happy to see anyone.

"Hey, Sarge," the clerk shouted, as we entered, "you got a customer."

"What the hell do you want, Ear?" the Supply Sergeant, an SFC, demanded in a grumpy voice.

"The new man needs fatigues and boots, LBE and a helmet linen," the clerk told him.

"I need orders," the Supply Sergeant told me. I handed him a set of my orders, and he read them before getting anything out.

"What's this about a radio?" he asked after a time.

"It's in the S-2 vault," I told him.

"Does it go on our TO&E?" he asked.

"No, it's assigned to me personally."

"What?" he asked and I showed him the orders.

"OK, as long as I don't have to sign for it," he told me.

He started pulling things out of bins and putting them on the counter. Following that he filled out an issue form and I signed it. He also issued me a weapons card and a gas mask card.

"When can I get a look at the weapon?" I asked him. He seemed surprised.

"Come in some afternoon later this week. You can clean it then if you want," he told me.

I started gathering up the things I had been issued.

"I'll give you a hand," the company clerk said, and picked up part of the items.

"Room 316 is this way," he told me and led me up to the third floor and down an open balcony to a door marked 316. The houseboy saw us coming and had the door open for us. The room was fairly neat, of course it only had one occupant. Sgt. Bailey wasn't in at the time.

"Bailey's at work," the Ear said, and dropped my things on the unused bed.

"They call you 'Ear'?" I asked.

"Yea, the NCOs all think that I spy for the First Shirt. Actually, he can hardly stand me. He would probably get rid of me if he could type," he said before turning serious.

"You really need to be careful, man," he continued. "The CO and the First Shirt really don't like people married to Thai women. They're going to fuck with you."

"I've been fucked with before," I told him. "The last ones to try it were the North Vietnamese, and they didn't come out very well at all."

"Yea, well if they get your security clearance pulled, they'll get you shipped out of here and probably back to the states," he told me. "Without your old lady," he added. I noticed that my amulet turned very cold at those words.

"I don't think that will happen," I said very quietly, then changed the subject, "So, does everyone around here have a nickname?"

"Yea, most everybody. It's just one of those things," he said before leaving.

I put most of the equipment in the empty wall locker there and made up the bed. I put the new boots under the bed. I took all of the fatigue shirts and one pair of pants with me to get stripes, patches and name-tags sewn on them. It was a good thing that I had gotten all of those earlier.

I still had my medical records to turn in and asked a passing GI where the dispensary was. He pointed me in the right direction. There was a Thai nurse at the desk when I entered.

"I need to drop off my records," I told her. She took them and said, "Doctor will see you in few minutes."

"I don't need to see the doctor," I said.

"Doctor see all new men," she informed me. A few minutes later an older man in a white coat came out.

"Sergeant Baker," he called, and I got up and followed him to the back.

"You just coming in?" he asked.

"Yes, sir."

"With TWs?"

"I've been in Thailand for some time, sir."

"Oh, where were you? There isn't a notation in your medical records."

"I was at a Special Forces camp in Upper Cambodia."

"Really?' he asked, stunned.

"Yes."

"Any complaints?" he asked.

"No, I'm fine."

"I'll determine that," he answered. The nurse came in then and took my temperature, blood pressure and pulse. She weighed me and checked my height. The Doctor listened to my heart and breathing then thumped me on the knee and elbow.

"No drip?" he asked last.

"Drip?" I asked.

"From the women," he stated.

"No, I've been with the same girl the whole time here. We're married," I told him.

"To a local?" he asked.

"Yes, why is everyone so surprised at that?" I asked.

"Because the Commanders discourage it," he answered.

"Well, I'm married and to one of the sweetest women around, too. I found out late last week that she's pregnant."

"Whoa there, son," the Doctor said, "how pregnant?"

"A little over a month," I told him.

"Are you going to be stationed here? In Bangkok?" he asked.

"Yes, as far as I know," I answered.

"You need to put in for 'Command Sponsorship' then. Were you married before you signed in here?" he asked.

"Yes, almost a month," I told him.

"Check the regulations and put in for Command Sponsorship. That way your wife can get proper care at 5th Field Hospital," the Doctor told me. "Don't mention my name to your commander though. He doesn't like me already, but it doesn't do him any good, as I have date of rank on him," he told me with a smile.

I left for the house after that carrying the shirts and a set of pants. The trip up the entrance road was almost longer that the walk from the entrance to the house, and I was soaked when I got there. Suenee was waiting for me.

"Do not worry, my husband," she said softly, as she came into my arms. "The Amulets will take care of things."

"You know!?" I asked.

"Yes, my amulet told me of the people there. It will be all right soon," she assured me with another long kiss.

"What must we do today?" Suenee asked when we came up for air.

"I need to get name tags, patches and stripes sowed on these," I said holding up the shirts. "Plus I need to move most of my other uniforms to the barracks" I told her.

"Yes, there is a woman near here that can do the sewing. Then you can move the other clothes," Suenee told me.

By 1830 hrs, I had the clothes that I intended to keep in the barracks hung in the wall locker there. They were mostly clothes that I wouldn't need here. Sgt. Bailey had come in while I was working. He hadn't been happy to see me.

"You're on the First Sergeant's shit list," he started, "that means he is going to be checking up on you a lot. I don't need him in here seeing what I'm doing," he finished, unhappily.

"I won't be here much. I'm living off post. I'm married," I told him.

"Yes, that's why you're on his shit list," Bailey remarked.

On returning home, Suenee had a very nice dinner for me, and a surprise.

"I have a sorng lor (bicycle - literally - two wheel) for you to ride to the Army place," she told me. I gave her a kiss. That would certainly make the trip faster.

The next morning, I reported to the First Sergeant and started on the things he had assigned me to do that day. They were mostly mundane, routine tasks that could have been done by anyone, and didn't require a lot of time or effort. During the afternoon I was approached by Short Round and several other men.

"Hey Sarge, you got a minute?" Short round asked.

"Sure, what's up?" I asked.

"We've been talking," Short Round said, "and seeing as how the CO and the first shirt dislike you so much, we figured you must be an OK guy. I mean you just got here and they're shitting on you already. So we thought we would lend you a hand and keep you informed," Short Round finished as he pushed another man forward.

"Tell him what you heard, Squirrel," he prompted the other man, a short rather bookish looking man with large glasses.

"I ... I work next to Willie's office and I heard the Major in there today. He was trying to get Willie to cancel your security clearance. Willie told him that he didn't have the authority and he would have to go to ASA Headquarters to get it canceled. The Major wasn't happy about that," Squirrel told me.

"Yes," I said, "I heard that they might try that."

"The Major went out to the site right after that," Short Round told me. "I heard from another guy that he sent a message back to the states."

"We'll have to see what happens I guess," I told them and thanked them for the information.

"Any time, Sarge. Let us know if there is anything we can do," Short Round told me.