Chapter 12

At home that evening, I gave Tweed a general outline of what went on during our meeting with Colonel Page. I didn't disclose what was in the letter or who it was from, as the Major had asked me not to.

"So what did you do all day besides wait for us to get back?" I asked, as I finished my explanation.

"Oh, I spent some very informative time with Sergeant Daniels. I originally went to see him to find out what he might have of local interest. I got more than I bargained for," Tweed told me with a smile.

"As in?" I asked, wondering what he had learned.

"Remember that you said that you wondered how they found out that we were setting up camps on the Salween?" Tweed asked, playing with me.

"Yes, I remember. I still don't know how they knew."

"I do!" he told me with a huge grin on his face. "That's why they put me in one of the Intelligence Sergeants slots."

"Okay! You've had your fun. Spill it," I told him.

"You remember that E-6 who was the Commo Chief here?" he asked.

"Was?" I asked, confused. "But yes, I remember him. So?"

"It seems that he came from the B-Detachment in Chiang Mai and resented Captain Richardson bringing him out here to the hinterlands, and away from his fun in the big city. He was the one feeding the B-Detachment information about us," Tweed told me.

"That makes sense. It would have had to be someone with access to a radio. So what is this WAS part?" I asked.

"According to Daniels, he went out last night looking for a little strange (Pussy). He didn't find any, but something found him - a couple of Kamois (thieves) to be exact. They beat the crap out of him, and took his wallet, his money and his clothes," Tweed told me.

"Serves him right!" I said.

"You haven't heard the best part yet," he told me. "It seems that he had his copy of their current SOI in his pocket and they got it!!"

"WHAT??" I shouted in shock, as I jumped off the chair. "Has that compromised all of our SOIs (Signal Operating Instructions)," I asked, very upset.

"No! Broyles and I have already compared our SOIs with theirs, and they are different. Captain Richardson alerted the local police, and also the Thai Military Police when that sorry SOB dragged his naked ass back into the compound this morning. They found the SOI. It was all torn up, but it was all there. Apparently the Kamois couldn't make heads or tails out of it, and just ripped it up and threw it away," Tweed finished. I was relieved at this news.

"After he recovers, he is in for an Article 31 hearing and probably a court martial. At the very least a very hefty Article 15. Captain Richardson is also sending him back to Lop Buri under guard, and not to Chiang Mai and his friends," Tweed finished with a huge grin. His grin was getting infectious.

"Does the Major know any of this?" I asked.

"I believe that Captain Richardson will be informing him tonight," Tweed told me. I noticed that my amulet had been warmer than usual during this explanation. Later in our bedroom alone, Suenee had a question for me.

"Was the letter enough to convince your Colonel Page?" she asked.

"You know about that, too?" I asked.

"Yes, the Amulets told me that they arranged it," she answered.

"Is it a real letter?" I asked in surprise.

"Yes, it is a real letter. The General may not be aware that he signed it though. Apparently the Amulets slipped it in with other things that he needed to sign," Suenee told me.

"That could be trouble if they check on it," I said.

"The Amulets have assured me that the possibility has been considered and taken care of," Suenee told me before she slipped into my arms, and we forgot about everything, but each other for the rest of the night.

The next morning, the Major was surprised when I told him that I already knew about who the leak was, and explained about Tweed.

"It looks like we have the right man in the Intelligence Sergeant's slot," the Major quipped. This was followed by a meeting with the three Thai Captains and our operation's people. They were all brought up to speed with the unclassified version of what had happened in Lop Buri yesterday.

"We need to get those Klong Jars on order, and see about the purchase of the pumps, pipe and hoses," the Major told them after the explanation.

"Yes, sir, we'll get right on that," Captain Tamusarit told him.

"We'll also need to setup a guard on the supplies when they begin to arrive. I was assured that it would be soon," the Major told us.

"Where will they be kept, sir?" Captain Paribetra asked.

"The Airbase will be the best place. There would be the least amount of handling and moving that way. As the supplies come off the planes, they can be prepped for shipment out to the camp on the helicopters. The materials shouldn't be staying long at the Airbase - at least the materials for the first camp. I suggest that Captain Pengdith's 3rd Company have the guard initially, as it will be their equipment that they will be guarding, and that would be a great incentive to make sure that none of it disappeared," the Major said with a smile.

"Now, what is the status of training on the Army stoves?" he asked next.

"Sir, there are three men from each Team and three from each Ranger Company mess section out at the Aviation units for training on the stoves. They have another day of instruction before they are certified as competent on the assembly, maintenance and use of the stoves. The cooks at the Aviation units were ecstatic to have someone to do the maintenance and cleaning of the stoves," MSG Sorenson informed us.

"Good. Those things are dangerous if not properly cared for," the Major stated with a smile. I left to tend to commo business after that. Broyles filled me in on what happened during last night's report to the B-Detachment.

"Desk Jockey 6 came on the air after we made contact, and he was real apologetic about the problem that his Three had caused. He tried to excuse it by saying that his Three was just being cautious, but that they understood our mission better now," Broyles told me.

"Someone must have really chewed those assholes out good," he added after that with a smile on his face.

"Yes, Colonel Page was very surprised when the Major explained things to him," I told him, but that was all.

"With all that has been going on, I haven't been able to talk to the Commo people in the Ranger Companies yet," I told Broyles next. "You watch things here. I'm going to get Sergeant Moun and head out to the Army Camp to check on the Ranger's Commo people and make sure that we're all on the same page."

I found Sergeant Moun, Captain Tamusarit's senior Commo man, quickly. We got a jeep and drove to the Thai Army Camp on the west side of town. The Ranger Companies were billeted in typical Thai Army barracks, they being long two-story wooden buildings. The ground floor was concrete and mostly open so that the troops could attend classes, eat, and do other things there during the rainy season. The actual billeting area was on the upper floor.

We soon gathered the commo men from both Companies under a tree near their barracks for a class on commo procedures and gave then the proper SOIs for the coming operation. My Thai was good enough to give most of the class myself with Sergeant Moun's help at times. After the class, we had some practical applications of the training. It was late afternoon before we returned to the Team House.

That night, I stayed to do the report to the B-Detachment. During the report we were informed that the supplies we had ordered would begin arriving the next day, Saturday the 25th. The Major got a hold of MSG Sorenson and Captain Tamusarit that night to advise them about the arriving supplies and the personnel that would be needed to receive them.

I walked home alone that night with my pistol in my hand. I had showered earlier that evening and left immediately after shutting down the radio and locking up the Commo room. We were all a little more careful now after the incident of the attack on the Team House Commo man. Again, I didn't see anyone on the way home.

At the unscheduled formation on Saturday morning, not everyone was as chipper as usual, some of them having been out very late last night. The Major explained about the arriving supplies and the need to supervise the people doing the unloading so that things were well organized for reloading the supplies on the helicopters later.

Captain Tamusarit had sent an NCO out to the Army Camp last night to alert the Rangers to the arrival of supplies today. Both Teams arrived at the Airbase about 0830 hrs. The Major and Captain Tamusarit went to notify the Aviation units and the Thai Base Commander about the arrival and storage of the equipment and supplies. The rest of us just cooled it, and some of us went in search of coffee in the combined Aviation mess hall here. Part of the 3rd Ranger Company arrived while we were waiting. The remainder arrived on the second truck convoy from the Army camp.

The C-130s began arriving just after 0900 hrs. Thanks to their internal roller system they were easy to unload, but it required considerable manpower to move the supplies and equipment away from the ends of their ramps. The Airbase had only a couple of small forklifts, as they weren't used to receiving large quantities of supplies. Everyone was soon sweating from the physical exertion of moving everything.

There were a number of CONEX containers with equipment in them and many pallets with tents and other large equipment. The last shipment to arrive that day had pallets of concertina wire and sandbags on it.

The Officers and Senior NCOs spent considerable time going over the manifests to check that everything was here and determining exactly where it was. Some of the items had to be separated into shipments for the different camps which required even more moving of material. Both Teams ate lunch in the Aviation units' mess hall. The 3rd Company brought out food for their people from the Army camp.

By that evening things had been pretty well organized and the supplies for each camp separated. Nearly everything needed for the first camp at Nawng-awn was here and about half of what was needed for the second camp was also here now. The 3rd Company left a platoon on guard at the Airbase to insure that nothing disappeared.

Broyles took the report to the B-Detachment that night. Tweed and I took a long hot shower at the hotel that night, as we really needed it today. We left our dirty clothes at the hotel to be laundered. After dinner that night, I took Suenee aside to talk to her about upcoming events.

"We will be moving Captain Tamusarit's Team and the 3rd Ranger Company to Nawng-awn in a day or so. I will be going with them while they set up camp to impress on the people there that Captain Tamusarit is my good friend and to be trusted," I told her.

"Yes, that is a good idea. The Amulets told me about what happened when you went there. When will the other camp be started?" Suenee asked.

"Only after the camp at Nawng-awn is up and operating," I told her. "Will you be all right while I'm gone?"

"Yes, Phesila and I have our classes and the children. There are not too many ladies yet, but the number is still increasing," Suenee told me before coming into my arms for a little hugging and kissing. When we came up for air, Lesia was there and wanted some hugging and kissing too.

Sunday morning we learned that more planes were due in today with the remaining supplies. Today both the 3rd Company and part of the 2nd Company were on hand to help with unloading and moving the material. By mid-afternoon the last plane was unloaded, and there was now a huge amount of supplies on hand. Guards from both Ranger Companies were on hand to guard everything that night. There was a brief operations meeting before everyone went home for the night.

"As far as we can tell, all of the supplies that were ordered have been delivered except for the gasoline, ammunition and explosives. There are some supplies of gasoline and oil on hand here already which should be sufficient for the start of operations," the Major said at the start of the meeting.

"What is the situation in the Ranger Companies on ammunition?" he asked next.

"We brought a basic load of ammunition and grenades with us, sir," Captain Paribetra told him.

"Yes, so did we. That should be sufficient while setting up camp. I'll check tonight on when we can expect more. What is the status of the Klong jars and the related equipment?" the Major asked next.

"The merchant expects them to arrive on the train tomorrow, sir," Captain Pengdith told us.

"The pumps, pipe and hoses were purchased today and will be delivered tomorrow," Captain Tamusarit informed us.

"Excellent!" the Major said. "How do you feel about starting the move to Nawng-awn tomorrow?"

"Yes, if the helicopter company can start then, that would be fine," Captain Tamusarit agreed.

"I'll need to split my Company," Captain Pengdith told us. "I'll leave a platoon to clean up our area at the camp and the remainder will go to Nawng-awn. The cleaning platoon can guard the remaining supplies that night."