Three Guns - Looking Down the Muzzles

First Gun - 1964...

He had just turned eighteen.  A brand-new Air Force Airman Third Class, he was a medic, a Preventive Medicine Specialist stationed at Cannon Air Force Base near Clovis, New Mexico.

There wasn't much money floating around at the time so the junior enlisted men would often pool theirs and buy some liquor to party  in one of the barracks rooms during their nights off.

One weekend night a handful of them were partying in a room and were all pretty drunk. The discussion had turned to marksmanship when one of the airman bragged he could shoot an apple off the top of another's (my) head. A .22 rifle was produced. They were illegal to have in a barracks at time. All weapons were supposed to be checked in for safe-keeping with the Base Air Police.  Nevertheless there it was.

He sat in a chair with an apple on his head while across the room the self-proclaimed marksman aimed his rifle and pulled the trigger.  There was a pretty loud noise, the apple split and behind it appeared a hole in the metal wall locker.  There were some complimentary remarks made and they carried on with the party as if that were a normal occurrence.

Second Gun - Ten years later...

He was a brand new Lieutenant in the Air Force Medical Service Corps.  First job...Hospital Squadron Commander  at Mountain Home Air Force Base, Idaho.  Just a few months in, the base commander had called an early morning shakedown inspection beginning at 5am.  After a short night's sleep, he and his First Sergeant and a couple other senior NCO's assembled at the squadron barracks and began a room-to-room search for contraband; primarily drugs and weapons.

After a few rooms were complete, he knocked on a door announcing their presence.  The door suddenly opened and the Lieutenant was staring down the barrel of a shotgun.  The airman inside insisted they would not be confiscating his weapon.  Before the Lieutenant could react, the First Sergeant stepped between them.  The First Sergeant knew the airman well and quickly diffused the situation by explaining they would just have the airman's shotgun stored in the base armory for safekeeping.

Third Gun - Seven years later...

He was a junior Captain less than a year into his job as Hospital Administrator at Malmstrom Air Force Base near Great Falls, Montana.  He had a lot of hospital experience by then, as enlisted man and officer.  He loved the job and spent a lot of time out and about in the hospital, seeing if staff needed anything to help them do their jobs better. Often, he could offer assistance and sometimes, with medical funds limited, all he could offer were condolences.

One evening around dinner time, he was talking with the staff in the Hospital Emergency Room when he noticed a button under the reception counter.  He asked the NCO in charge what the button was for and the NCO said; "I'm not sure. Let's press it and see what happens."  So he did (Let's add a little emphasis on "naive" right here okay?).  The ER phone rang almost immediately and one of the staff answered it.  Part of the conversation mentioned the "button" and the calling party then asked to have the Administrator put on the line.  It was the Security Police announcing they had received an emergency signal from the ER and asking if everything was "all right.'

The Administrator, now realizing it was a 'panic button' said it had been pushed by mistake.  The caller said; "Sir, please open the emergency room door and step outside with your hands raised.  He complied with the request and as soon as he was through the door, looked to his right toward the entry ramp.  There were two Air policeman there, backs against the wall with their revolvers aimed at him.  He explained the situation and all three went into the ER.  After satisfying themselves there was no emergency, the police left and the Administrator suddenly knew a lot more about hospital operations.