Gus, great story.
Team Snake have deployed to GW1 and having helped mantle the lynx its all gone boring just before Christmas 90. We are on the scrounge. Down to the docks we go and chat to the marine equivalent of Sgt Bilko. Yes, he will give us some camo sets, but the price is a litre of bacardi, scotch and vodka. What is the problem? We had been there for about 6 weeks, and we hadnt seen or sniffed any booze at all. The shampoo hadnt started arriving by then. So we go back to our little expat hutted camp and ponder the problem. That evening I goes to the camp office and was chatting to the indian gent that ran the place. We get around to talking about the lack of alcohol and he simply says how much do i need. oh just 3 litres and i give him the order. no problem he says, come back the next night.
The next night he was a happy little chap as i handed over some shekels and compo (he wasnt sure what babies heads were, but i made them sound good) and he gave me a 2 litre bottle of clear liquid. I enquired to the lack of different flavours and he simply smiles and says put it in a dark bottle with a good label, and they wont know. Clever bugg_er he was too. He says cut it down at least 3 times, its potent stuff. Back to the hooch, and I put some on a spoon, and it burnt nice and clear (old trick my dad taught me when drinking photocopier fluid) and we cut it as he said. Out come the plastic water bottles and we have six litres of the damn stuff.
Down to the docks with it and for the kit exchange. Marine Bilko turns up, he has a truck full of goodies for us, but not before the ceromonial tasting. His 2 henchmen looked were the other tasters and it was clear which one of them liked whiskey. This wasnt going to be easy. So they stand there, all 3 of them, salivating and off come the tops. Noses in, smiles so far, and sip it they did. All 3 to a man complimented me on how fine the liquor was. I was gobsmacked and the rest of team snake just looked at each other and their own water bottle pouch. I can only put it down to the fact that i hadnt had booze for 6 weeks, they had been on the docks without it for way longer. We all parted company after negotiating how much they would need for a Humvee; that never happened though, as my CO couldnt make up his mind as to which model he wanted and chickened out in the end
Jeep