Padhist, CO's rants to errant aircrew seem to be a cosntant in every war. Sorry if some might consider this thread drift, but below is virtually the same story - but from another (almost) war.
THIS IS THE REAL THING - THIS IS WAR!
Ubon is very close to the Laotian and Cambodian borders with Thailand, and the local Thai communist guerrillas at that stage (mid 1960s) were very active, so there was some reason to take Base security seriously. The CO decided that the troops should be reminded of this, so one day he called a practice dawn alert in full battle gear. The Airmen were dragged out of bed by the NCOs, where they stood, (literally) dressed to kill, ready to do battle with the enemy.
The CO then realised that his pilots had not surfaced, so with singular lack of humour, he ‘requested’ their presence immediately on parade. After fifteen minutes, a very motley crew were on parade behind him, most of them with towels around their waists or in underwear, looking for all the world like survivors of a shipwreck. Many were also suffering - and showing - severe symptoms of a very late night.
The sight of the gathered officers would not have helped the CO’s case with the Airmen as he harangued them about the need for vigilance in a war zone, but what really blew his credibility was the helmet he wore on his head as he spoke. Emblazoned across the standard American issue steel helmet immediately above his blazing eyes was the word ‘BACK’.