Cadet General???

by Phil Rowe

About halfway through the Aviation Cadet preflight training program at Lackland AFB, Texas, a three-month long exercise in military discipline and harassment by our upper-classmen, we finally got to the point where we could enjoy a day on the town in nearby San Antonio. This was a day we had looked forward to with much enthusiasm. It would be a welcome breather from the routine of drills, inspections and constant pressure.

The Cadet organization paralleled the regular Air Force structure. We had Cadet officers and were grouped into Flights, Squadrons and a Cadet Wing. The upper-classmen were the ranking members in charge of our very lives. We had reached the second level and some were promoted to Cadet Sergeants. One could tell the rank of cadets by the number of stripes worn on the shoulder boards (epaulets). Two stripes indicated a Cadet Sergeant, and the top rank, Cadet Colonel, wore six stripes on each board. It was all very serious, of course, and cadets with 'rank' were very impressed with themselves.

When the time came to get our passes for the off-base venture so eagerly awaited, we had to pass personal inspection by our upper classmen. Shoes had to be shined. Uniforms must be clean and neatly pressed. Even belt buckles were checked to be sure they weren't smudged or scratched. Those who didn't pass inspection could be denied the privilege of going to town. Well, our group of six or so all made it and were on our way to downtown San Antonio. We were as happy go-lucky as high school kids. We were finally able to take a break .... and we felt free as larks.

In those days, the custom was that even if you were downtown, when you passed a senior cadet, a cadet officer who ranked above you (as practically the whole world did to us ), you were expected to salute as you passed. Well, we encountered what seemed like the entire cadet officer corps. We were getting tired of saluting everyone we passed.

So, our conniving and prankful energies were determined to do something about this situation. Amidst much giggling and anticipation about our brainstorm of an idea, we got busy creating a "Cadet General". (Recall that there was no such animal). Five of us took off some of our Sergeant's stripes and put them on the shoulder-boards of one in our group. In fact, we put eight stripes on each shoulder to create our Cadet General.

With our new 'General' in front of us, we proceeded to walk about town, looking for cadet officers. Soon enough we came upon a Cadet Captain and a Cadet Major (three and four stripers), who briskly saluted our "General" with proper dignity as they passed. We could hardly contain our laughter and glee. It had worked.

Later in the afternoon, after several other encounters with similar results, we came to the ultimate test. We came to pass the top cadet himself, the Cadet Colonel. With much trepidation, we decided to see if we could pull off the impersonation of our bogus General. And much to our surprise, the Cadet Colonel correctly and very precisely saluted our "General", though there was a bit of puzzlement on his face.

When the Cadet Colonel was safely out of sight, we stopped to enjoy a hearty laugh and the smug satisfaction of having fooled the system.

Then one of our more serious members put a damper on our joy by speculating what would happen to us after we got back to the base. What would happen when the Cadet Colonel checked and found out that there was no such thing as a Cadet General? Surely, if he had recognized us, we would be in for trouble, real trouble.

I guess that thought kinda put a wet blanket on our day. The conversations ranged from "Don't worry about it." to "Oh boy, What are we going to do?" Well, we decided that what ever was done was done. "Let's enjoy our day and worry about this when the time comes."

It turned out, we had not been recognized by anyone. That night and all the next day, the rumors were flying through the Cadet Corps about the cadet General episode. No one seemed to know who had perpetrated the stunt .... that so angered the upper-classmen and wounded their dignity.