The proctor, seeing his confused look, whispered, “Go ahead, you just black in your answers between the little lines.” Danny shrugged and, without reading any of the questions, went down the columns and blacked in between the lines. He passed.

Within a week Allen was on his way to the Naval Training Center at Great Lakes, Illinois, and was assigned to Company 109, Battalion 21, to begin his basic training.

Because Milligan had been in the Civil Air Patrol when he was in high school, he was appointed RPOC (Recruit Petty Officer in Charge) of 160 young recruits. He was a strict disciplinarian.

When Allen learned that the company most proficient in the sixteen-count manual would be made the honor company, he and Tommy set to work to find where they could whittle minutes off the morning schedule.

“Cut out showers,” Tommy suggested.

“Regulations,” Allen said. “They’ve got to go into the showers even if they don’t use soap.”

Tommy sat down and figured out an assembly-line method of showering.

The next evening Allen instructed the men: “You roll up your towel and put it into your left hand. You put your bar of soap into your right. There’s sixteen showers this way, twelve across and sixteen this way. Now, they’re all even water temperature, so you won’t get scalded or froze out. What you do is walk through and keep walking as you wash the left side of your body. When you get to the comer, flip the soap over to your other hand and keep moving, going backwards as you wash the other side of your body and your hair. By the time you get to the end shower you’ve rinsed off ready to dry.”

The recruits watched in astonishment as he demonstrated by walking through the showers with his uniform on, checking his watch. “This way it takes only forty-five seconds for each one to shower. All hundred and sixty of you should be able to get through, out of the shower and dressed in less than ten minutes. I want us to be the first company out on the grinder in the morning. We’re gonna be the honor company.”

Next morning, Milligan’s company was the first out on the parade grounds. Allen was pleased, and Tommy told him he was working on a few more time-saving methods. He was awarded the Service Medal for good conduct.

Two weeks later things started to go bad. Allen called home and found out that Chalmer was beating Dorothy again. Ragen became angry. Arthur, of course, didn’t really care. But it bothered Tommy and Danny and Allen a great deal. They became depressed and it caused another mix-up time.

Shawn started wearing his shoes on the wrong feet and leaving them untied. David became slovenly. Philip found out where he was and didn’t give a damn. The men of Company 109 soon realized there was something wrong with their RPOC. One day he would be a crack leader and the next day he would sit around talking and letting the paperwork pile up.