One of the Dodge 4x4 pickups was retained for the use of only the commanding officer. On two occasions I was acting in that capacity and, on one of them I took that six-pack, as we called them, up on the side of Frosty. I promptly became stuck in mud up to the axles. There were two riders with me, and I insisted they and I dig ourselves out of that mess. Although, as commander I was always in contact with the radio site via a two-way radio, I was determined not to call for help. My boss had been stuck more than once in the very same area and had called the NCOIC (Non-Commissioned Officer In Charge) of the motor pool to come get him out. Because I had made fun of the CO for doing that, I was not about to do the same thing, myself!

WHITEOUT

Another story involving one of these trucks happened during a snowstorm. I was driving one of the 4x4 Dodge pickups back to the site from town. There were four of us in the truck, two in back and two in front. About halfway to the site we ran into a "whiteout", and I could not see out of the truck in any direction. I told the guys that I was going to keep going "by feel". Boy, that was a mistake! After a few feet, the front and back driver's side wheels of the truck dropped off of the edge of the road. Applying the brakes, I stopped the truck dead in its tracks, hoping we weren't going to roll over. As we waited for the whiteout to pass, we did not move for fear we would tip and roll. When the storm passed, and we could see again, we learned that we were half on and half off of the road on the driver's side of our vehicle. We were atop a long steep slope that we could easily have tumbled down. Although I had driven in snowstorms before, that was my first whiteout. I learned my lesson and swore to myself that I would never pull that stunt again!