I knew when I resigned from Officer Candidate School that my next assignment would be Vietnam.  I was not disappointed.  Got an assignment to the 89th MP Brigade.  I spent December 1966 in San Antonio with family finally January 1967 flying to Oakland the Army processing point for Vietnam.  I had a friend stationed at Fort Baker California and he came by the post to pick me up and spend the day with him and his family.  The fort is on the other side of the Golden Gate Bridge.

When I returned I learned that I had Charge of Quarters duty that night.  Gruesome discovery.  I was instructed to turn off all the lights at 10.  Well.  One of the soldiers that worked there did not take kindly to that so when I knocked on his door he threw the boot at me.  Fortunately it bounced against the wall.  I just said something like “fuck you” and kept on going.

In the morning we were processed and got on board some unknown airline chartered to take us to Vietnam.  Landed at Ben Hoa.  Taken to the 90th Replacement Battalion at Long Binh for processing onward.  Kind of.  Got there and found out that my orders had been cancelled.  Seems like someone wanted to promote their man and I was going to take the billet so it was a clear send him away.  Which they did.  I waited for a week at the 90th waiting for someone to tell me something.  Finally, this sergeant comes to me and asks me how long I had been there and what duties I had.  One week and none was the answer.  Wrong answer.  He informed me that I was going to be Commander of the Relief.  Transients did the perimeter defense and that is what I had to do. Deliver the guards to their post and make the rounds to make sure all was well.  And everything the sergeant explained would have happened except for a minor detail.  While he was talking to me my named was called out and I was admonished for not being in the bus.  Apparently, someone was supposed to notify me to get in the bus.  So I boarded the bus and off into the wild yonder we all went.  Along the way I learned that I was going for an interview at Hq USARV.  We parked at the transient tents and were told to visit the offices and look for a job.  I started at the Personnel place and went from office to office.  I was told the same thing at each place that had my specialty.  Saving the billet for my soldier.

Finally I stumbled into this Master Sergeant.  He just pointed at a Sergeant and told me to watch what he did because I would replace him when he left.  Until then I was shuffled from one desk to another doing odd jobs.  Mostly typing.  Lots of it.  They all knew that I was a clerk typist, they just did not know how good I was.  They found out.  In between I saw what the sergeant was doing.  Finally the day arrived he was to leave.  He called me to the window handed me a sub-machine gun and a 45 pistol with a beautiful western holster.  He explained the keys.  Somewhere in Saigon was this apartment.  The keys were for the apartment.  In the apartment was this beautiful French Vietnamese lady.  She went with the apartment.  He also gave me the keys to a 21/4 ton navy truck. 

All this in exchange for doing people favors.  Like letting them return 60 days early and getting credit for the tour.  You had to spend ten months in country in order to get credit for the tour.  Otherwise, you would be return to Vietnam for another tour.  You did this until you got it right.  Curtailing the tour by 60 days was an authority that I had and no one above me had to approve anything.  I was in contact with Department of the Army in Washington and I took all my orders from them.

My title was NCOI Personnel Management Division.  I had four people working for me.  I knew what I had to do.  I just did not know what the four under me did.  I really never found out.  My hands were full with just my job. 

Ton Son Nhut Airbase and had to be bussed to Saigon at midnight.  Not bad for traveling the most dangerous highway in Vietnam.  All we had was a military police escort.  A Caliber .50 mounted on the top of the jeep.  We made it to Saigon.