The Missing Sleeping Bag
Lieutenant Gray Story #7
During one of our winter trips to the field the entire weapons platoon stayed in two big tents. There were about twenty guys in each of the tents. There were close to a dozen officers in our tent and ten enlisted joined us there. There were two rows of cots from one end of the tent to the other.
The weather in that part of Texas could get fairly cold on some nights. There were some nights that it was below freezing but most of the time it was just above freezing. The weather during that trip stayed right around the freezing mark.
We were at the range during this trip so we didn’t have to be real tactical. The range firing went well into the night with some of the crews not finishing until one or two in the morning. As the instructor pilot I normally would be out until the last crews finished.
The move to the field had been done during the day and we had set up the tent and our equipment in the daylight. Then whenever crews finished shooting they could return to the tent and retire for the night. It was typical that some of the people went to bed by ten or eleven at night.
When the platoon leader and I came into the tent at one in the morning most of the folks were sound asleep. There were very few lights to see by but we found our way to our bunks in the dim light. And to be considerate of the fellows that were asleep we spoke only in hushed tones.
After a few minutes one of the fellows that had come in with us came over to tell us that his sleeping bag was missing. He had left it on his cot and now there was just an empty cot there. It would be a very cold night without a sleeping bag so we took our flashlights and went to look too. We looked in between cots and every place else we could see. The sleeping bag could not be found. After ten minutes of looking we decided we were not going to find the sleeping bag.
Each soldier was issued two wool blankets besides their sleeping bag. Most of the time we used one blanket under the sleeping bag and one on top when it was really cold. The platoon leader and I felt we would be fine without our blankets so we gave the guy who didn’t have a sleeping bag our blankets. We were so tired we just wanted to go to bed.
In the morning most of the pilots went off to breakfast but the platoon leader decided to stay and follow-up on the missing sleeping bag. When we returned from breakfast the platoon leader was not a happy camper. He had not found the sleeping bag. He had kept the enlisted guys there to conduct a search through their things in an attempt to find the sleeping bag. He had chewed the enlisted guys out and said that stealing would not be tolerated in his platoon. The platoon leader had kept them so long that they all missed breakfast.
After we got back to the tent we sat down on our cots and started talking about the day and night of flying that was ahead of us. As we sat there with the ends of the tent open giving us light someone noticed Lt. Gray’s cot. On the end of an Army sleeping bag were four strings to hold it when rolled up. There seemed to be many more than four strings hanging down from Lt. Gray’s bag. The pilot got up and went over to Lt. gray’s cot and pulled up on some of the strings. There two sleeping bags on his bunk.
The platoon leader shot to feet and rushed over to look at the two sleeping bags. Lt. Gray was not in the tent at that moment and so the platoon leader stormed out of the tent to find him. It had to be the missing sleeping bag.
Ten minutes later the platoon leader returned in even a worse mood than when he had left. He didn’t say much. He just threw the sleeping bag over on the empty cot and told the other pilot that he had found the missing sleeping bag. Then the platoon leader headed out the door to apologize to the enlisted guys.
Later that day the platoon leader had calmed down enough to talk about what had happened so I asked him about his conversation with Lt. Gray. He said that he went up to Lt. gray and asked him if he knew he had slept on two sleeping bags the night before. Lt. Gray said he did. When asked why he had two sleeping bags, Lt. Gray said that some of the guys were playing cards on the cot two down from his and they had thrown the extra sleeping bag over on his cot. The platoon leader asked him why he hadn’t just tossed the extra sleeping bag back on the other cot or some other cot if they were still playing cards when he went to bed. Lt. Gray said that he hadn’t thought of that. When the platoon leader told him that one of the pilots didn’t have a sleeping bag last night, Lt Gray said, “All somebody had to do was ask me for it and I would have let him have it”. Anyone but Lt. Gray would have thought that somebody would be short a sleeping bag and would be looking for it in the middle of the night and not want to be disturbed. Or, they would have thought that someone would be cold without the sleeping bag. It never entered Lt. Gray’s mind. That boy was never was able to connect the dots.
There are times we all make the mistake of thinking that someone stole something when it was just misplaced or overlooked. The platoon leader was like many of the rest of us and suspected that the sleeping bag had been stolen. The enlisted guys were innocent but became the prime suspects in a crime that had never happened. Too often we suspect the worst and are ready to blame the wrong folks. Probably most of us have something that we have misplaced or lost and have always wondered if that prime suspect in our mind took it. The best policy is to give everyone the benefit of doubt. It’s better to think the best of other folks and find we are only disappointed on rare occasions than to harbor suspicions. It’s easier on us and makes us happier! The same is true of offenses. Most of the time others don’t mean to offend us. It’s better to think that someone really didn’t mean to offend you and just let it go than to take offense and bear the burden of being hurt! Besides, if they want to offend you it’s much more fun to make it impossible or at least very difficult for them to offend you. It’ll drive them nuts!
During one of our winter trips to the field the entire weapons platoon stayed in two big tents. There were about twenty guys in each of the tents. There were close to a dozen officers in our tent and ten enlisted joined us there. There were two rows of cots from one end of the tent to the other.
The weather in that part of Texas could get fairly cold on some nights. There were some nights that it was below freezing but most of the time it was just above freezing. The weather during that trip stayed right around the freezing mark.
We were at the range during this trip so we didn’t have to be real tactical. The range firing went well into the night with some of the crews not finishing until one or two in the morning. As the instructor pilot I normally would be out until the last crews finished.
The move to the field had been done during the day and we had set up the tent and our equipment in the daylight. Then whenever crews finished shooting they could return to the tent and retire for the night. It was typical that some of the people went to bed by ten or eleven at night.
When the platoon leader and I came into the tent at one in the morning most of the folks were sound asleep. There were very few lights to see by but we found our way to our bunks in the dim light. And to be considerate of the fellows that were asleep we spoke only in hushed tones.
After a few minutes one of the fellows that had come in with us came over to tell us that his sleeping bag was missing. He had left it on his cot and now there was just an empty cot there. It would be a very cold night without a sleeping bag so we took our flashlights and went to look too. We looked in between cots and every place else we could see. The sleeping bag could not be found. After ten minutes of looking we decided we were not going to find the sleeping bag.
Each soldier was issued two wool blankets besides their sleeping bag. Most of the time we used one blanket under the sleeping bag and one on top when it was really cold. The platoon leader and I felt we would be fine without our blankets so we gave the guy who didn’t have a sleeping bag our blankets. We were so tired we just wanted to go to bed.
In the morning most of the pilots went off to breakfast but the platoon leader decided to stay and follow-up on the missing sleeping bag. When we returned from breakfast the platoon leader was not a happy camper. He had not found the sleeping bag. He had kept the enlisted guys there to conduct a search through their things in an attempt to find the sleeping bag. He had chewed the enlisted guys out and said that stealing would not be tolerated in his platoon. The platoon leader had kept them so long that they all missed breakfast.
After we got back to the tent we sat down on our cots and started talking about the day and night of flying that was ahead of us. As we sat there with the ends of the tent open giving us light someone noticed Lt. Gray’s cot. On the end of an Army sleeping bag were four strings to hold it when rolled up. There seemed to be many more than four strings hanging down from Lt. Gray’s bag. The pilot got up and went over to Lt. gray’s cot and pulled up on some of the strings. There two sleeping bags on his bunk.
The platoon leader shot to feet and rushed over to look at the two sleeping bags. Lt. Gray was not in the tent at that moment and so the platoon leader stormed out of the tent to find him. It had to be the missing sleeping bag.
Ten minutes later the platoon leader returned in even a worse mood than when he had left. He didn’t say much. He just threw the sleeping bag over on the empty cot and told the other pilot that he had found the missing sleeping bag. Then the platoon leader headed out the door to apologize to the enlisted guys.
Later that day the platoon leader had calmed down enough to talk about what had happened so I asked him about his conversation with Lt. Gray. He said that he went up to Lt. gray and asked him if he knew he had slept on two sleeping bags the night before. Lt. Gray said he did. When asked why he had two sleeping bags, Lt. Gray said that some of the guys were playing cards on the cot two down from his and they had thrown the extra sleeping bag over on his cot. The platoon leader asked him why he hadn’t just tossed the extra sleeping bag back on the other cot or some other cot if they were still playing cards when he went to bed. Lt. Gray said that he hadn’t thought of that. When the platoon leader told him that one of the pilots didn’t have a sleeping bag last night, Lt Gray said, “All somebody had to do was ask me for it and I would have let him have it”. Anyone but Lt. Gray would have thought that somebody would be short a sleeping bag and would be looking for it in the middle of the night and not want to be disturbed. Or, they would have thought that someone would be cold without the sleeping bag. It never entered Lt. Gray’s mind. That boy was never was able to connect the dots.
There are times we all make the mistake of thinking that someone stole something when it was just misplaced or overlooked. The platoon leader was like many of the rest of us and suspected that the sleeping bag had been stolen. The enlisted guys were innocent but became the prime suspects in a crime that had never happened. Too often we suspect the worst and are ready to blame the wrong folks. Probably most of us have something that we have misplaced or lost and have always wondered if that prime suspect in our mind took it. The best policy is to give everyone the benefit of doubt. It’s better to think the best of other folks and find we are only disappointed on rare occasions than to harbor suspicions. It’s easier on us and makes us happier! The same is true of offenses. Most of the time others don’t mean to offend us. It’s better to think that someone really didn’t mean to offend you and just let it go than to take offense and bear the burden of being hurt! Besides, if they want to offend you it’s much more fun to make it impossible or at least very difficult for them to offend you. It’ll drive them nuts!
posted by Bruce | 6:31 PM
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