Eggs to Order

Due to a reorganization in the military, I was promoted to S4-Major of the 128th FA BN. That put me in charge of seeing that all the men in the battalion, especially the front lie troops were provided all the beans and bullets they needed along with other stuff that makes a GI's life a little less miserable.

The new organizational structure called for a consolidated mess operation. That meant that instead of each battery commander being responsible for hauling around their own mess hall, the food would be prepared in a central location (LOC) and delivered to where ever the unit might be at any given time.

Prior to departing to the field, the Battalion Commander said it was his desire to see to it that all the front line troops were provided with eggs to order each morning. This meant that I would have to have the LOC personnel pack up the portable stoves on a 2 1/2, take them to the designated site, un load the stoves, get them fired up, and as each troop came through the serving line ask them how they wanted their eggs prepared.

I thought this was a little inefficient given the fluidity that the modern army was supposed to have at the time. It seemed to me much more logistically sound to cook all the eggs back in the LOC, put in containers and delver to the units. This way they were able to feed when it was tactically advantageous and not worry about the LOC being able to find them all the time. When the next meal came around we would deliver new containers with hot food, pick-up the old containers and just repeat the process each meal time.

From my point of view the Battalion Commander had made a suggestion of sorts and not given an order. My thought was if he did not like the way I had interpreted his desire then he would let me know. I also thought it a wise idea to not seek him out or be in the same place he was if I could help it. To insure that I would be hard to locate I let the Captain in charge of the Service Battery use my jeep with the only radio assigned to the LOC, or at least the only one that worked.

I was doing fine keeping away from the LTC. The troops were being fed on time, the food was hot, no one complained,God was in heaven and all was well. But then I turned left and I should have turned right. The LTC was waiting for me at an intersection.

"Young man," he began while going into a low hover, "What is it about eggs to order that you don't understand?"

"We have eggs to order every morning sir, I order scrambled."

The portable stoves were not as heavy or as cumbersome when delivered to the unit site from then on it seemed.