- Not too surprisingly, the Army had its own way of
doing things. One of the more interesting programs was labeled "DX" for
"Direct Exchange." The idea was that damaged or worn out equipment could
be turned in for new or serviceable equipment. And, it could usually be
done fairly quickly and with a minimum of red tape.
- Our 5-man team didn't have a lot of clout when it came to procuring
equipment and supplies so we sometimes had to resort to other, unofficial,
methods such as "liberating" certain items. The primary and only generator
for our radar system was really marginal in capacity and it occasionally was
temperamental and difficult to start. Technically, we were authorized to
have a backup generator, but that never materialized. The only alternative
was to trade in the cranky little 2-cycle 1kw generator for a nifty 4
cylinder, 4-cycle 3kw generator. But, there was a catch. To qualify for
DX, the item turned in must be unservicable. In other words, broken or
worn out. The 1kw generator in question still ran. What to do, what to
do... we came up with a plan. Early one morning, shortly after shutting
down the radar system and generator, we "accidentally" refueled the
2-cycle machine without adding the required oil mix to the fuel. We
cranked it up and then stood back and waited. Surprisingly, that little
sucker ran for several hours before the piston seized up. In fact, in
our impatience, we removed the aircleaner and "accidentally" kicked a
little dust and dirt into the carburetor in an attempt to speed up the
process a little.
- After the 1kw generator became one piece of metal, we loaded it into
the 3/4 ton truck and drove to the DX area where we filled out some of
the infamous Army forms and picked up our new 3kw generator. One of
our team members had a slip of the tongue and mentioned to the supply
sergeant that the little 2-cycle generator ran longer than we expected
with no oil. The supply sergeant gave us a funny look as we drove off,
laughing with our new machine. Hey, you've got to do what you've got
to do!
Copyright © 1995 David C. Stafford
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