Military Officer - October 2008 - (Page 88) encore And the Winner Is Dormitory inspections are standard at military bases. But when the base commander turns a routine inspection into a competition, one officer must think fast to win. I n the early 1990s, as a young aircraft maintenance officer, I was fortunate to be given command of an aircraft maintenance squadron while stationed at Soesterberg air base in the Netherlands (remembered by many as Camp New Amsterdam). Many of the original base facilities were built through forced labor when the country was occupied by Germany in World War II, and while structurally sound, several buildings that had been converted into personnel dormitories were aging. As was the custom, dormitory inspections were carried out on a fairly routine basis to ensure quality of life and health and hygiene standards were being maintained. Shortly after arriving, the new base commander instituted a “Dormitory of the Month” competition to help keep the emphasis on high living standards. Our squadron wanted to win. After conferring with my first sergeant and our dormitory manager, we enlisted the help of the dorm residents and completed several small projects to improve the appearance and conditions in the dormitory. A day before the commander was scheduled to make his tour through all the base dorms, the “first shirt” and I conducted our own final preinspection, and we all were highly confident we were ready. The next day, the commander arrived at our front door on a chilly October morning. The inspection proceeded in an orderly fashion, with dorm residents pointing out the improvements that had been made. After a while, it was apparent 88 MILITARY OFFICER OCTOBER 2008 the commander was impressed with our hard work. However, as we neared the end of a hallway and the end of the inspection, the commander stopped dead in his tracks. As I stopped and followed his gaze upward, I saw what had caught his attention: a couple of rather large spiderwebs in a corner rafter. How could we have missed those? I thought. Looking straight at me, the commander pointed upward and said, “What’s that?” Thinking quickly, I recalled Halloween would be celebrated later in the month, and I replied, “Sir, those are just Halloween decorations.” Unsure how successful my attempt to limit the damage might have been, I thought I detected a faint smile on his face as he exited the building. Later that afternoon at the staff meeting, the commander announced the winner of the monthly competition by saying, “The competition was extremely close this month, but Captain Lynn’s Halloween decorations gave his unit the edge.” A big smile broke out on his face as he shook my hand, looked me in the eye, and gave me a wink! MO — Kenneth O. Lynn is a retired Air Force colonel. He lives in Fleetwood, N.C. For submission information, see page 18. Tell Your Story I Submit your servicerelated adventures (or mishaps) by e-mail to encore@moaa.org, or mail them to Encore Editor, 201 N. Washington St., Alexandria, VA 22314. All submissions will be considered for publication. ILLUSTRATION: ELWOOD SMITH
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