AJChenMPH
Forum Health Inspector
My first assignment, as a young Air Force captain, was as the Chief of Security and Law Enforcement at James Connally Air Force Base in Waco, Texas. I was a stickler for enforcing base traffic regulations and vigorously backed my patrolmen on every ticket they wrote. As a result, I was especially exasperated when the base commander would call and instruct me to give a certain officer a break due to the unusual requirements of his job. My men would continue to write the Base Civil Engineer, Maj. Annicelli, parking tickets and tickets for leaving the keys in the ignition of his unattended automobile; the Base Commander would continue to call and instruct me to “take care” of the tickets.
Major Annicelli drove a vintage Volkswagen Bug and, as the Base Civil Engineer, he felt that he had, not only the privilege but, the sworn duty to park wherever he pleased on base. We had recently had a series of automobile thefts on base, as a result of drivers negligently leaving their keys in the ignition of their vehicles when they left them unattended. To eliminate this black mark from the Theft and Recovery portion of my yearly law enforcement reports, I instructed my patrolmen to be especially vigilant for this infraction. Maj. Annicelli was a frequent violator.
One morning, arriving early for the Monday morning staff meeting, I was quite irritated to find the Major’s vintage Volkswagen Bug, with keys in the ignition, parked in the Base Commander’s parking space. It was too much for a young captain to bear. I called the security police desk and requested that a patrol meet me at the base dump which was located on the back side of the base. I drove Maj. Annicelli’s vintage Volkswagen bug there, parked it in a prominent location, put a parking ticket on the windshield. I then had the patrol take me back to Base Headquarters in time to take my seat, just as the staff meeting started. My assigned seat, as the Base Chief of Security and Law Enforcement, was next to the Base Civil Engineer. As I sat down, Maj. Annicelli handed me a note:
“You don’t have to worry about my Volkswagen anymore. I sold it to the Base Commander.”
Needless to say, I missed the rest of the Monday morning staff meeting.
R. Wayne Edwards
Lt Col, USAF Retired
Major Annicelli drove a vintage Volkswagen Bug and, as the Base Civil Engineer, he felt that he had, not only the privilege but, the sworn duty to park wherever he pleased on base. We had recently had a series of automobile thefts on base, as a result of drivers negligently leaving their keys in the ignition of their vehicles when they left them unattended. To eliminate this black mark from the Theft and Recovery portion of my yearly law enforcement reports, I instructed my patrolmen to be especially vigilant for this infraction. Maj. Annicelli was a frequent violator.
One morning, arriving early for the Monday morning staff meeting, I was quite irritated to find the Major’s vintage Volkswagen Bug, with keys in the ignition, parked in the Base Commander’s parking space. It was too much for a young captain to bear. I called the security police desk and requested that a patrol meet me at the base dump which was located on the back side of the base. I drove Maj. Annicelli’s vintage Volkswagen bug there, parked it in a prominent location, put a parking ticket on the windshield. I then had the patrol take me back to Base Headquarters in time to take my seat, just as the staff meeting started. My assigned seat, as the Base Chief of Security and Law Enforcement, was next to the Base Civil Engineer. As I sat down, Maj. Annicelli handed me a note:
“You don’t have to worry about my Volkswagen anymore. I sold it to the Base Commander.”
Needless to say, I missed the rest of the Monday morning staff meeting.
R. Wayne Edwards
Lt Col, USAF Retired
