(26 Feb.88) The officer in charge of the afternoon shift was injured and I had to take his place. I’ve been here a month and it’s been a great learning experience. My understanding of the job has improved since I discovered how the system really works. My emphasis was on accountability. Everybody must be accounted for when they leave or enter Kwaj through DSC. A constable showed me the way it’s always been done here:
“Don’t worry.” He told me. “When the shift is over, we will make sure everything is right.”
What he was referring to is called a chat session. At talley up time the constables look at the unaccounted for persons on a half dozen clipboards and after a few minutes of of lively debate every person is “accounted for” and all the blank spots are filled in. This is the way it’s always been done.
During this period the Army rescinded Ordinance 23 again, meaning we did not check bags or packages for contraband leaving the island. The Marshallese soon began coming into Kwaj with those thirty-gallon garbage bags, folded up very neatly.
Then in the afternoon, passing through DSC on the way home, the bags would be full. But we couldn’t check them.
During slack times I sometimes browse through the seven hundred plus workers’ exchange badges which are lined up numerically in slots on tables along both sides of the isle.
The names on the badges provide some interesting information. For instance, only a handful of badges have Spanish, German or Japanese names despite the period of time Micronesia was occupied by Spain, Germany and Japan. Most of the names are Marshallese but a significant number are in English – either the first name or the first and last.
The islanders are creative, sometimes using two first names only, like Tommy Harry. Or they may pick names from television, magazines or other publications. Some of the more colorful names include: Rebel John, Ringo Shamory, Yellowrose Benjamin, Cinderella Silk, Romeo Ned, Joe Typhoon and Mona Lisa. No. She looks nothing like the lady with the enigmatic smile.
The badges of the three Roadrik brothers from Roi Namur are here. They work out of Roi but on occasion their work takes them to Kwaj. Their parents must have been reading the annual report of a bank when they named the three Profit, Dividend and Committee.
I have sometimes thought of changing my name but could never make a choice. My grandfather changed his name after fleeing Russia during the little dustup there.
*I found a back issue of The Marshall Islands Journal in the library dated May 22, 1987. The title is “Kwaj. Power Plant Destroyed By Warhead.” The paper got some info from a freedom of information act (FOIA) request from the U.S. Army at Kwajalein Atoll.
“The U.S. Army Kwajalein Atoll command has confirmed that a warhead from an MX missile launched from California heavily damaged the power plant on the island of Illeginni in the western portion of Kwajalein Atoll’s mid corridor.
“The unarmed warhead, known as a reentry vehicle, was targeted on Illeginni, which has been used as a target for incoming RVs in recent MX tests.
“The Army said the power plant was within the target zone and the mission was considered normal.” Public Affairs officer Pat Robbins said, “On 13 February, 1987 the power plant at Illeginni was heavily damaged by the Peacekeeper (MX) Reentry Vehicle (RV). The RV that damaged the power plant was targeted for Illeginni. The power plant was within the target area and sustained damage from the kinetic impact effects of the RV–no explosives of any kind were involved. The possibility that the power plant would be damaged was a risk known and accepted prior to the mission.” Click on image to enlarge.
The article goes on but they missed the rest of the story. A note: In a general conversation I had with the Army counterintelligence officer sometime later, he verified that we had intelligence ships tracking these Soviet ships and gathering intel.
Filed under: Almost Paradise Volume 2
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