By the time we landed, we were deep into discussing vital information about our operational area and came up with a plan for communication between our posts. We got the green light from my beat detachment to set up a voice communication line between Tanfur and Camo. It was just for sharing information, not for commands. With that in mind, we got to work.

In 3 days, we installed an enl/grac9 radio at Tanfur, linking the special forces and the MAG. I spent two days at Camo coordinating the setup and getting the radio, which I then took back to Tan Fu for installation. Rocky planned to come up to Tanfu for a visit. He wanted to see what was going on and help coordinate future exchanges.

Earlier that day, we had briefed his senior adviser about the situation at Tanfu. When the adviser asked if Rocky had been sent out to coordinate, I said no. So, he decided to send a chopper to pick Rocky up. Just a couple of hours after the colonel left, Rocky showed up. Rocky, Al, and I stepped through the gate into the main camp.

We saluted the seriousl looking guard as he stood tall with his carbine. We walked past a clothes line sagging under the weight of wet uniforms. Big Boy, our Vietnamese laundry man, was trying to dry the freshly washed clothes before the humid, rainy season turned them moldy. With the sunlight moments being brief, it didn’t take long for the clothes to get a fuzzy coat of light green or dull orange.

Pluto, our team’s dog, lounged in the sun, soaking up the warmth, while a Vietnamese chicken pecked at something interesting on Pluto’s tail. They both seemed indifferent to each other. Inside the team hut, Rocky met everyone and put his bag and weapon on the bunk that Al showed high.

The dirt floors and thatch roofs were a stark contrast to the solid buildings with cement floors and screened windows back at Camo. This made Rocky remark, “Why don’t you guys spruce this place up a bit?” He pointed to the stacks of cement bags. “You have all this cement, so why not use it to build proper floors and walls?” His questions got some heads turning and the team members looked at him as he critiqued our living conditions.

I felt I had to speak up since he was my guest and nobody else would respond. We have other priorities for construction. Rocky, the cement is meant for projects with our Vietnamese friends. We can’t use it to make our space nicer until we finished the sanitation and construction in the villages. Rocky nodded.