HAYCOOK - "Jeeps" & Guarding Greeks

When I first got there, the pound was being expanded. The work was being done by Greeks who were "supervised" by day shift operations people, usually "Jeeps." We were handed an M1 carbine, a clip of bullets to be kept in shirt pocket, and shown to the chair against the compound wall.

On the other side of the wall was an R-390 radio tuned to AFRTS or Radio Luxembourg or one of those other "English speaking stations." It was attached to speakers that ran outside and cranked up as loud as possible. The idea was to drown out any sounds from within the 'pound. The nearest operator position was perhaps 15-20 feet away. So we sat there watching the workers for a couple of hours at a time before the next guy came out. Sometimes we'd do a "changing of the guard ceremony" just to impress the locals and make it all official. It wasn't bad duty -- just kind of boring. It did get us out of the funny farm for a little while though.