Photo G0231 Courtesy of SGT Plumlee

"You Want It You Got It"

It took a little effort, but we managed to get our office (and a few others) air conditioned during my tour.

All air conditioners that the US Army brought in to the country were 220 vac. Only offices with Lieutenant Colonels (LTC) and above were allowed to have air conditioners, consequently PA&E (Pacific Architects and Engineers) only provided those buildings with LTC and above with 220 vac electrical service; all other buildings were wired for 110 vac.

The additional circuit to make a 220 vac service was already on the pole and by dropping one additional wire from the pole to any 110 vac building, you could have the appropriate service for an air conditioner.

Since the S4 Officer In Charge (OIC) was a Captain, we did not have an air conditioner and our building was not wired for one.

We set out to remedy that... The air conditioner was fairly easy to procure (if you knew who to deal with) and installation wasn't that difficult.

The boys in communications had already agreed to climb the pole and hook it up for us if we would help them with their AC projects, but when they came over to finish the job, it was determined that they could not do it because the circuit was hot and could not be shut off.

After a quick course in pole climbing, I undertook the job. My safety belt consisted of two MP belts buckled together and we found some wrenches down at the motor pool. The wiring was completed with little incident and we enjoyed our AC for the duration of my tour.

Hopefully it continued to serve those who followed us.

SGT Robert O. Plumlee, HQ Detachment S-4, 720th MP Battalion, September 1969 to November 1970.