The Military Sacrifice

I must give the navy credit for their safty procedures.  There were very few accidents either on the ground or in the air. When one did happen the reason was pursued vigorously. After a particular crash, the reason was determined to be a missing safety wire. When the had plane left A & R, a yellow sheet was signed by a petty officer stating the plane was ready for flight. I never heard what, if any thing, happened to who ever signed it, but now they wanted a double check. A second yellow sheet was to be signed by an AMM (aviation machinist mate) from the flight line.

The base commander's order was passed down to the chief petty officer of the flight line.  The flight chief in turn called muster and read the orders to the squadron with the following precaution, "Who ever takes this responsibility is putting their ass on the line. If any accident should occur, you can bet it will be your fault."

Do I have any takers?

No Takers!

"With this", continued the Chief, "goes every night liberty and no morning musters."

From the back row stepped a military sacrifice, a glory hound who never heard the phrase,

DON'T VOLUNTEER!

"All right", the Chief said, "Its all yours Coogan."

That presence still rode my shoulder.

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