DURING OPERATION DESERT STORM I was part of a field-hospital team stationed in northern Saudi Arabia. One day, I noticed a small rip in the canvas vestibule of our hospital laboratory and asked the section sergeant to fix it. He put a strip of heavy tape on the wall to seal the tear until he had time to stitch it up. A month later, the tape was still there — now deteriorating from the desert heat and sand. I called the sergeant over. “Sarge,” I said, “I don’t want to see that old tape up there the next time I’m through here!” Walking to the hospital lab the next day, I saw how the sergeant had followed my orders — a new piece of tape was stuck across the wall.

–Contributed to “Humor In Uniform” by Maj. John R. Forney