Ordnance Corps

NIKE AJAX AND HERCULES ORDNANCE SUPPORT UNIT SHORT, TALL STORIES

Air Defense Artillery

Ft. Sheridan was a great assignment. Most of my time was as a member of the Ordnance Spot Check team. Once a year the 5th Region would put us on orders to them to conduct an annual CMMI (Command Materiel Maintenance Inspection) on all the Nike firing batteries in the Chicago IL, Gary IN, Milwaukee WI and Minneapolis MN defense. The team composition had a member to inspect each area, i.e., Arms Room, Motor Pool, Mess Hall, Launching Area, IFC Area, etc. When we arrived at the Battery we would always be taken to the Mess Hall for introductions and assigning of escorts for each area. The Mess Hall was the first opportunity for the Battery to make a good first impression. Of course all Batteries served us coffee, but we had a guy (Arms Room Evaluator) on the team that if the Mess Hall didn't serve donuts, it got him in a bad mood. Often it was down hill from there for the Battery. Would he really give the Battery a bad rating just because they didn't serve donuts.....everyone knows if you look close enough and hard enough you can always find something wrong in an Arms Room.