My Reservation-Work Story

 Early in my Air Force career, I worked in civil engineering and was assigned to McChord AFB, WA.  Around the 3rd month, it came up that the fence 'line' on the reservation (not the base) was rusted up and they wanted a team to run around 5,000 ft of security fencing (fresh new wire, posts).   None of us had ever been out to this area (it was off the base by a quarter mile.....to the entrance).

So Monday came, and a civilian in our shop led me and two airmen.  We started at 7:30 AM to gather tools required, and had a vehicle ready by 7:45.  Then we drove.  

You had to exit the base and drive about a mile on some public road....to a gate with a lock.  We had the key....we entered.  From that point, it took 45 minutes to reach this 'end' of the reservation.  

The journey?  As urban as Tacoma was....this was like some 'lost' situation.  We'd come to a fork in the road, and the civilian would say 'turn-here'.  There were probably 20 of these forks.  By the end, I had no reference in my head.  

Gravel/dirt trail.  No signs.  You could never get above 20 mph because of trail conditions.  

So it's about 8:55 AM when we arrive at the site, and yes.....it's probably 1940s fencing there.  Dirt-motorcyclists had discovered the reservation and illegally used it.  It made sense to replace the fencing and put up 'forbidden' signs.  But I looked at the immense journey it took to get there.   

The dozer guy cleared the whole path for us to put up the new fence.  

But the issue is....we basically work from 9 AM to 10:45 AM....then leave for chow, return at 1:15 PM...to work until 3:30 PM....for a grand total of 4 hours of actual work a day.  

Whatever the planning people had suggested for four weeks of work, would never be resolved with four people pulling with only 16 man-hours a day.   We were wasting half the work-day in driving out to this remote site.  

After two weeks of working on this, I was shaking my head.  I was sitting in a marginal Chevy 1.5 ton seat for about 4 hours a day.  Nothing much on the fence was advancing.  So I begged off the crew and just said give me the worst job left in the shop....tar-crew for base streets.   

I suspect that the fence crew was still working the issue three months later. 

The reservation thing comes up the year after I left McChord.  One of the guys from our crew sent me a note (with a pic) over a new 'adventure'.  This reservation thing attracted his attention, and he convinced his GF, and another airman couple....to do a camping trip out into the reservation.  

They camped for a whole weekend....somewhere near a stream.  Whole place was full of mosquitoes.  He sent me a picture of the four (at the conclusion of the trip).....each person had at least 100 mosquito bites.