I heard about this story second-hand when I reported in to Charlie Company.

One day, the post commander, Major General Hines, is driving by the company tool rooms. Most of the Earthmoving Platoon is standing outside, relaxing and shooting the bull.

Only a handful of them notice that the general is driving by in his staff car...and the vast majority don't notice...nor do they salute like they are supposed to.

The vehicle stops.

The general gets out.

The general chews some backside.

Not very long afterward, our company commander, CPT Trimble, is summoned to post headquarters.

This was only three days after he took command from the previous commander, who had been relieved of duty by the battalion commander for cause.

After getting his backside chewed, CPT Trimble makes the whole platoon take a refresher class on military courtesy and protocol. And the post brass remembered that incident for a while...Charlie Company already had a wild reputation, and this incident did not exactly endear us to the post community at large.

We were the bad boys of Fort McClellan until some members of the 365th Transportation Company got wild and crazy and participated in a riot off post...and when the 365th shortly had a health and welfare inspection...I can only imagine that commander's thoughts as he learned that more of his soldiers were in deep fecal matter for possession of guns, drugs, knives, and other assorted contraband. It did not help that the whole affair made it onto the front page of the post newspaper.

In fall of 1992, at the captain's "hail and farewell," Earthmoving Platoon presented him with a plaque depicting the two stars of a major general on a red field, like a general's flag. The plaque commemorated the captain's first meeting with the post commander.