A US Air Force C-141 is scheduled to leave Thule Air Base, Greenland at
midnight. During the pilot's preflight check he discovers that the
latrine holding tank is still full from the last flight. So, a message
is
sent to the base, and an airman who was off duty is called out to take
care
of it. He finally gets to the air base only to find that the latrine
pump
has been left outdoors and is frozen solid so he must find another one
in
the hangar, which takes even more time.
He finally arrives at the aircraft and is less than enthusiastic about
what
he has to do. Nevertheless, he goes about the pumping job deliberately
and
carefully (and slowly) so as to not risk criticism later.
As he's leaving the plane, the pilot, an Air Force Major, stops him and
says, "Son, your attitude and performance has caused this flight to be
late,
and I'm going to personally see to it that you are not just reprimanded,
but
punished."
The poor guy says, "Sir, with all due respect, I'm not your son. I'm an
Enlisted Airman in the United States Air Force. I've been in Thule,
Greenland for eleven months without a furlough, and reindeer are
beginning
to look pretty good to me. I have one stripe, it's two thirty in the
morning, it's twenty degrees below zero and my specialty here is to pump
shit from an aircraft. Now just what form of punishment did you have in
mind?"
--
Timothy P Ward
12 Waiwetu Street,
Fendalton,
Christchurch,
NEW ZEALAND
Ph. 0064 03 3515166
email ward.t@xtra.co.nz
Mobile 025 2649325
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