Writing about slim-Jim, roll-up antennas made me think about my time in the Army. I worked on aircraft radios as an avionics tech. I once set the woods on fire after deploying a long wire antenna for my HR radio bench. Sometimes we’d wrap the antenna wire around a florescent light tube so it would light up while we were transmitting.
When back on base the semi-trailer shops that we worked out of we backed into a roofed, enclosed walkway that had maybe 6 inches of clearance on either side. The flight line side was easy; nothing in the way. The grass side had fences, concrete drainage culverts, fire hydrants and telephone/power poles to dodge. You get good at backing up when you grow up on a farm, so it was my job was to back them all in. The long-wire antenna for my trailer ran down the peak of the roof for the walkway. My “new” platoon sergeant was all about improving our work conditions. He found the materials to enclose the walkway. One of his projects was to install intercoms in all the trailers. Of course, the shortest distance to run the wires was the underside of the peak of the roof. Two or three weeks went by before the stars aligned and I was transmitting, and he tried to use the intercom. Thankfully we didn’t burn out the intercom, but he did get some burns on his lips.
This is the M373A2 Mobile Electronic Shop. (or what's left of one)
A similar story happened while we were undergoing an inspection. I had a very large caution sign on the door stating to remove jewelry, dog tags, and metal rank and insignia. The inspection team we announced as they came in the door and told us to continue working. I stopped them and pointed out the caution sign. I had zero fucks to give after they finished chewing me out and so I silently went back to work. Once I keyed the mic they learned why I had that sign on the door. I was like I hit them all with a taser. The Spec-4 mafia always has the last word.
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