"David R. Birch" wrote in message
...
On 1/3/2015 11:00 PM, John B. Slocomb wrote:

I think that you are confusing "needs" and wants. Needs are food,
clothing, lodging and medical care. And the Air force feed,
clothed,
and housed me and supplied free medical care when necessary, and
demanded that I perform "work" in compensation.

Which is, amazingly, just how communism worked in the so called
"Eastern Block".

If you were like many in the military, you did as little as possible
to to get those needs supplied.

Which is also much like the Eastern Block version communism:

"They pretend to pay us, we pretend to work."

David

My situation was unusual, the on-call repairman for a computer
network. I could only be assigned extra duties that I could drop on a
moment's notice to hop on a helicopter, like post photographer and USO
and chaplain's assistant, or helping in the motor pool. I was the
obvious choice for odd assignments like meaningless special classes to
show we were taking action against problems like drug abuse, and
meet-the-locals visits around the area. I did enjoy being the token
enlisted man at a banquet the officers held at Heidelberg Castle. I
was almost the only enlisted GI who could be trusted to operate
independently and not cause trouble out alone among the Germans.
-jsw