Having been a Specialist 5 during my first enlistment, I lost a grade when I reentered military service after a nine month lapse in service. Our parent headquarters, the 8th Radio Research Field Station, had some ten promotion slots to Sergeant and Specialist 5. Some eight of us from 101st Airborne were selected to appear before the promotion board competing with a large number of candidates from the 8th Field Station.
The candidates from the 8th Field Station held a greater advantage over us from the 101st Airborne. Their fatigues were starched and pressed and boots spit shined by maids servicing their mobile homes. None in our group even owned or had access to an iron. Besides, we had electricity but for some two hours nightly. The best we could do with our boots was to lob some shoe polish on them and brush them. Someone in our candidate group learned that our competition had promotion study guides and were even rumored to have a pirated list of the promotion board’s questions. To a man, our group didn’t seem to be fazed by the disadvantage. We just went about our business.
On the day of the promotion board, we all loaded onto a two and a half ton truck and drove ourselves in convoy to the 8th Radio Research Field Station at Phu Bai to appear before the promotion board. We compared quite unfavorably to the spit and polish of the 8th Radio Research Field Station candidates. One of our group members had a friend who had a friend who spirited a study guide and promotion board questions for us. Not having any place to study and with the promotion board about to start interviewing candidates, we settled in at the Enlisted Club and tried to study. Right away someone in the group ordered a beer, then someone else and eventually all eight of us were drinking, telling stories and totally disregarding the study guide and cheat sheet.
We had some three from our group appear before the board by lunch. One of them came back and shared his experience saying, “Man, what a bunch of bullshit! Would you believe they actually asked the distance that you swing your arms in a normal march?” None of us knew the answer. “How do these assholes come up with that stupid shit? They should be asking real-
The rest of us were scheduled throughout the afternoon hours, and the longer the waited, the less we cared about the board. By the time my number came up, I just didn’t care anymore. We all in our group felt doomed expecting the board made up of 8th Field Station officers and NCO’s to select their own candidates over our 101st Airborne group. I was up next. I chugged the rest of my beer and left to report to the president of the promotion board.
Captain Delaney was the board president. I entered, saluted and took a seat. Captain Delany said “Yes, sergeant. Go ahead and take a seat.” The rest of the board members chuckled. He then asked me to tell them something about myself. I was very brief and left out major parts of my qualifications and training. I just wanted it to be over so I could get out of there and go back to Eagle base. Captain Delaney asked me how long I’d been in-
He asked “How many months altogether?”
“Approximately twenty seven months altogether,” I replied.
He continued “And have you been a radio systems repairman all along?”
I went on to give them a litany of assignments I’d had as admin clerk, classified records custodian, PX manager, air traffic controller, security guard, radio operator and psychological operations.
Chuckling, one sergeant on the board suggested “So you couldn’t hold down a job, huh?”
Pissed, I answered, “Not that at all. In Advisory Teams working directly with the Vietnamese infantry units, one does whatever the requirement calls for. And if you don’t know how to do that job, you learn quickly and on-
“I didn’t mean what it seemed,” he said apologetically.
Another sergeant asked me the velocity of M-
Captain Delaney asked “And how far is three hundred meters, sergeant?”
“That’s a bit over three hundred yards. A bit over three football fields,” I replied.
There were still two other board members scheduled to ask me their questions; however, Captain Delaney thanked me for appearing before the board and wished me well. I stood up, saluted and left the room.
I went back to our group and shared the questions and answers with the other two or three candidates still waiting their turn. I also shared that only three of the five members asked me questions. One man suggested, “Well, that says it all. We’re screwed! They don’t even care enough about us to give us a chance. We might as well just pack up our shit and go back to Eagle.”
Once all our men had appeared before the board, we went to the mess hall, had dinner then went back to the club and drank leaving Phu Bai just in time to reach Camp Eagle before 2100 hours when the gates closed down for the night.
Surprisingly, all eight of us were promoted. Apparently, Captain Delaney had special consideration for us 101st Airborne troopers. About five weeks after we were all promoted, Captain Delaney joined us as our 265th Radio Research Company commander. Captain Delaney did not make military service a career. He retired from military service at twenty years. Last I heard he was a justice on the North Dakota Supreme Court.
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