Nakhon Phanom - NKP

I was assigned to Task Force Alpha (TFA), an unusual organization. It was a very modern facility on what was called the best base in Vietnam (but not so good for Thailand.) Here's one view of TFA and here's some information on the mission.

NKP looked kind of like a scout camp, in my opinion - a bunch of dark wooden building, mostly hooches where we all lived. They were kind of H-shaped buildings with rooms on each side and a lounge and bathrooms in the center wing. We gals lived in what was called the old IBM hooch. It was at the end of the hooch area, and was different from the others in that the johns were between each set of rooms rather than the common john in the center wing. It was also air-conditioned.

The reason we got that better building, I believe, was for safety. They didn't want the gals having to go outside to get to the johns in the middle of the night lest some guy who'd stayed too long at the bar might wander in. I knew of a couple times when a drunk came over and tried to get in one of the our rooms, so I guess it was the right decision to put us in the safer building.

TFA was off by itself at one corner of the base. You could get there by base bus if you had time and the right shift hours. But we often walked, especially those of us who worked at night. Probably the best way would have been to walk along the road, but it took longer. We generally used a cement sidewalk that ran through the open fields from the base library to TFA. This sidewalk was called The Aderholt Trail, after the Gen. Aderholt, a major figure in the special operations world that NKP supported. You can see the road on this picture (borrowed from another web site); I've marked the trail and the flight line to give you a frame of reference.

Because there were snakes - bad snakes - in Thailand we always carried a small flash light to see the road ahead whenever we were out at night. So we carried them when crossing the Aderholt Trail, also. I was crossing alone one night, and realized that if I ever saw a snake ahead on the trail, I would not be able to continue on. I knew I'd turn back and go around by the road or something. Well, the moon was usually good enough to see any broken areas of the cement, so I decide to do without the flashlight. I walked really hard - we wore 'grannies' with good solid heels you could really wham down noisily. (Grannies are oxford-type shoes. Ugly but tremendously comfortable when you finally got them broken in!) I guess my technique worked - I never saw a snake on the Trail!

However I did see one at the hooch. I was working nights, so one afternoon was at home, sitting in the sun outside the hooch. The building had a raised walkway all around, I suppose because of possible flooding in the rainy eason. I happened to glance toward my room - and there was a snake looping along the concrete foundation under the walkway. It sure looked like it was trying to find a break in the foundation - and it was right under MY room. The little Thai laundry lady was there so I ran and got her, but she just smiled and said OK and went back to work.

To be continued: GG shots, the nightingale scare, New Year's Eve, the God Squad, pink baseball hats, the night the frag was cancelled, etc..