Hokey Smoke, Bullwinkle!

Here is another Chris Snyder story from the MAAG Compound in the 1972-74 time period. 

Obviously, the WACs with whom he worked had a sense of humor. Most military installations had practical jokes, initial "welcome to" rites and rituals and anything else which brought laughter at another's expense.

Mine came one midnight shift while manning the Taipei Terminal Station (RUAGST) . We hadn't gotten the computer yet, so the machinery was chattering away with messages constantly being sent and received at 100 wpm.

Then a message arrived at the Terminal that looked quite official. It contained orders for others and myself to report to the Signal Compound immediately. We were to receive cold weather gear and be reassigned to Korea.

I was stunned and looked up eventually to see guys out on the floor, behind the send banks, howling, stomping their feet and bending over double laughing.

My reaction met with their approval, and now, I was one of the guys.

Most of us can probably relate to the man in the following story.


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A Taiwan telephone tech had the doors off the back of the operator's position patch panel which had lots of wires going to all of the patch panel jacks. 

He had the bundles of wires pushed apart to give him room to replace a jack.  He went into the panel head first with a soldering iron to get to the wiring. 

Again, I was working with the WAC when she called me over and told me to watch the telephone tech. 

She went around into the operator's side of the patch panel and blew smoke through the holes. 

The tech rapidly backed out of his cave thinking he had just shorted out everything! 

It was very amusing to all of us except him.