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Episode 8: What to do with a security risk
Life on an Army base as a security risk was not all that stressful.
I was assigned to a barracks where other people on TDY were staying. I was given a bed, unpacked my stuff, and settled in.
This was now my home.
There were no drill sergeants. No one yelling at us. No military formations and marching.
Our routine was fairly simple.
We got up, took a shower, went and had a leisurely breakfast in the mess hall, then reported to a place where the guy in charge of those of us on TDY told us what we were to do that day.
Sometimes the job lasted all day (8 hours), but usually if was over much sooner. When we were finished with the job we were done for the day. The rest of the day was ours to do whatever we wished to do.
And the weekends?
They too were ours to do whatever we wanted.
It definitely was different than Basic Training.
Different, but not at all like the Army I had chosen to become a part of.
And I have to admit I did not like it.
The jobs we were given weren’t difficult and usually we were left on our own to do the work, which was nice.
Let me give you a couple of examples.
POLISH THE BRASS
One day we were loaded onto a truck and driven across the base to an old building. It was the headquarters of something. I remember it had a large circular staircase and a number of weapons on display in the entry area.
The sergeant in charge of us explained our job for the day.
We were to polish all the brass in the building.
He gave us the supplies we needed to do the job, and then left.
We polished the brass railings on the circular staircase.
We polished the brass cannons on display.
We polished the brass doorknobs. There were a lot of brass doorknobs.
If it was brass, we polished it.
Around noon, the sergeant returned and checked our work. He thought we had done a good job so we were done for the day.
We were driven back to our “home” and the rest of the day was ours.
I could now add polishing brass to the skills I learned in the Army.
HAVE YOU EVER USED A SCYTHE?
Another day we were driven to a part of the base that had a lot of rolling hills. It was actually very pretty. The sun shone on the hills. Tall grasses waved in the gentle breeze.
When we got out of the truck, the sergeant handed us these things called scythes. I’d seen pictures of scythes in old books, but I don’t think any of us had the slightest idea how to use a scythe.
The sergeant pointed to the hill and said our job was cut the tall grasses with the scythes.
He was kind enough to show us how to hold it and demonstrated a couple of sample swings.
Then he drove away.
We walked up the hill and began swinging our scythes back and forth. We spent a couple of hours cutting those pretty tall grasses. Then the sergeant returned, said we did a good job, and drove us back to our home.
We didn’t wear the uniform of the guy in the picture above. We were real soldiers after all. We wore our olive drab uniforms.
I now added using a scythe to my list of skills learned in the Army.
DOG TAGS
On another day, the sergeant asked if anyone could type. I raised my hand.
I was taken to a small room and introduced to a strange looking device. I was told it was a special typewriter that created dog tags.
Every soldier I knew was given a set of dog tags. They were small metal tags worn around the neck that contained information about the soldier — name, blood type, religion, ID number.
So even if you were blown to little pieces, all a fellow soldier had to do was find the dog tag and they would be able to identify the body.
Apparently some soldiers had lost their dog tags so they needed new ones.
I was shown how to use the special machine — place the blank metal tag in a special holder and then type.
I was given a list of names with the information needed for each soldier and went to work creating dog tags.
Yet another skill added to my growing resume. I could make dog tags!
HOSPITAL ADMITTANCE
And then the post hospital said they needed someone to help with admissions in the Emergency Room.
This job lasted several days.
People would be rolled into the ER area on a gurney. While the nurses and medics worked on them, my job was to take their information.
There was a little admission form I filled out — name, religion, blood type, stuff like that. Often the soldier would hold up their dog tags that had all the information, but I wasn’t allowed to use the dog tags. I could only accept their verbal statements.
Yet another valuable skill I could add to my military accomplishments — I could fill out a simple one page form.
LET ME OUT OF HERE
In case you haven’t picked up on it, I was not a happy camper.
Two years of doing this type of work seemed unthinkable. I asked around and found out the Army had an office that handled assignments and I went to visit them several times.
I pleaded with the guy who worked with low level enlisted men like me. I explained that I wanted to be sent to a school for Advanced Individual Training — any school, anywhere.
He was a very nice and tried to make me feel good by saying I was lucky. There was no way I would be going to Vietnam.
I explained I didn't mind going to Vietnam.
I think that took him back a little bit, but he said there was nothing he could do.
I hadn't passed the security check and his hands were tied.
PRAYER
I remember every night pleading with God to get me out of this temporary duty situation I found myself in.
But every morning after breakfast the sergeant would give us our TDY job for the day. Day after day.
I spent a lot of time in prayer each night.
We’re talking hours.
I had memorized the Sermon on the Mount before going into the Army and one of the things I would do at night is recite the passage silently to myself as I prayed.
Pray?
Beg might be a better description.
I decided that I needed to persuade God that He had to answer my prayer. He couldn’t leave me stuck here in Fort Polk, Louisiana.
I remember the night that I determined to pray all night if needed.
I began by going through the Sermon on the Mount in my head.
When I came to this portion of Jesus’ teaching, I realized it was for me.
“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened.”
Matthew 7:7-8 (ESV)
Ask. Seek. Knock.
That’s what I needed to do.
I determined that’s what I would do.
I began pleading with God again to get me out of Fort Polk.
After several minutes of praying, I resumed going through the Sermon on the Mount in my head.
And there was this passage …
“Or which one of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!”
Matthew 7:9-11 (ESV)
For some reason this was a revelation to me.
I knew the words.
God was my father.
God loved me.
God would give me good things.
I knew those words, but at that moment, I felt those truths, and I was overwhelmed.
It was almost like I got a glimpse of God.
God was my Father.
God did love me.
God knew what I was asking for.
I didn’t have to worry. I could trust him.
It was amazing.
All I could do was praise God and thank God for loving me.
I was overwhelmed.
I tried to pray for my Army situation … but I couldn’t.
I realized who God was and all I could do was praise Him and thank Him for loving me.
I remember several times that night trying to ask God to take care of my problems but I never got very far.
I understood that God loved me.
Finally I gave up trying to convince God to do what I wanted Him to do. He loved me. He was my father. He would give me whatever He thought was right.
I didn’t have to worry.
All I did the rest of the night was praise Him and thank Him for loving me.
It was so peaceful.
I went to sleep, totally content, and enjoying the fact that the God of the universe loved me.
HOW MUCH MORE
The next morning I woke up happy, ready to face the job I would be assigned on TDY. I wouldn’t be upset with any assignment given to me, or worried about my next two years in the Army.
God loved me.
What else mattered?
After breakfast I went to find out what my assignment for the day was but the sergeant said I was to report to that guy I had seen earlier.
I walked into his office, he smiled and told me my security problem had been resolved. Not only was I not a security risk any more, but I had been given a Top Secret security clearance.
He handed me my new orders.
I was being sent to Fort Sill, Oklahoma, to be trained in something called “Fire Direction Control.”
LESSON - God loves me.
This had to be one of the most important lessons I have ever learned. God loves me. It’s easy to say but the reality is that God is my Father and I can completely trust Him and rest in Him.
Thanks for listening to this episode.
If you enjoyed it, please share it with your friends.
In the next episode, I’ll take you on a trip to Oklahoma where I received my Advanced Individual Training (AIT) as the Army sought to teach me something they called Fire Direction Control (FDC).
Now before I go, I'd like to share a blessing with you from the Old Testament.
“May the Lord bless and protect you; may the Lord’s face radiate with joy because of you; may he be gracious to you, show you his favor, and give you his peace.”
Numbers 6:24-26 (The Living Bible)
BOOM Episode 8 "What to do with a security risk"