Camp Hovey

The Road March

My second day at Camp Hovey started off with an early rise after falling asleep rather quickly in my fatigue uniform. I hadn't even given much thought to beating my meat before drifting off. Maybe it was the jetlag catching up with me after the long flight over from the world, or maybe the rumor was true that the Army put something into the drinking water or food to keep us from becoming horny. When I awoke it was still dark outside. I lay on my bunk in a haze, contemplating all that had taken place since departing Oakland and arriving at Camp Hovey. I felt as though I could last a while before needing any further sexual adventure and fulfillment.

I'd gotten a terrific blowjob at the steam and cream after arriving at Camp Casey. During my leave time at home prior to shipping out I'd engaged in some wild and meaningful sex parties with both sides, so by the time I arrived at Camp Hovey I was a pretty content camper as far as sexual gratification. I really didn't have any urgent desire to go to the local ville seeking out a whore; moreover, I was concerned about the diseases I'd heard about that the local working girls carried.

Another nagging worry was the rumor that the Provost Marshall's office had a secret group of undercover investigators looking for pot smokers, perverts and homosexuals active within the Bayonet Division. I was not a pot smoker, but I was inclined to beat my meat and solicit a good blowjob whenever possible. And I didn't care which sex delivered the blowjob.

Suddenly, it dawned on me as I lay there in the darkness contemplating my future sexual needs that I should get a head start on the latrine rush, taking a shit and shower before breakfast. I took off towards the communal latrine grabbing my towel and shaving kit before exiting the hooch.

Once I cleared the platoon hooch I noticed there was a slight chill to the early morning air as well as that offensive odor. I guess in time I would learn to get used to the smell of Korea. When I arrived at the latrine there was no one in the block building; however, no sooner after arriving and entering the shower there was Nelson standing next to me.

At that point I suspected that Nelson was probably going to be my new best bud during my thirteen months tour of duty in Korea. I wondered if our early morning meeting was coincidence or had he intentionally followed me to the shower to get a peek, or more. We soaped and rinsed our bodies off not saying a word. I'd discovered very early in my Army life that guys don't talk to each other when they're naked in latrines. In basic talking was permitted at the lavatories while shaving or brushing teeth, but not in the shower or sitting next to another GI taking a crap.

The American male species has this unwritten code of conduct we use regarding communication and behavior in public. For example, holding hands, American men don't hold hands or show affection or emotions in public; whereas, women do, and I'd also noticed it to be acceptable in Korea. Men shake hands when greeting each other. Women hug and kiss. Men know when and where to speak to each other. Soldiers didn't speak to another soldier in the communal showers.

Yep, we military men are macho brand of men when it comes to our behavior and communication. Ain't nothin feminine about us males, especially in the Army. I wouldn't want to arouse any suspicions about my iffy sexuality that might tip off others or the secret C.I.D. cops. After a quick shower Nelson and I walked back to the hooch in silence where we begin preparing for a new day at Camp Hovey and then we were off to breakfast before the road march.

With morning chow complete the company began drawing weapons and forming up in company formation for the road march. This was the first time I'd gotten to see the entire company together. What a diverse group. There were soldiers from different ethnic groups made up of different sizes that composed B Company as well as a few Korean soldiers. I discovered that my Platoon Leader was a black butter bar lieutenant who was wearing a set of novice jump wings on his green fatigues.

I believe my wings might have ingratiated me with the PL. The majority of NCOs were Buck Sergeants who I would later discover were acting Sergeants or Staff Sergeants. There were a couple of older SFCs and a couple Corporals the rest of the company was composed of PFCs and Specialists. Corporals had been Sergeants and then had been busted. The one thing evident was the number of EIBs on the fatigue shirts of older Officers and NCOs.

Maybe a third of the Non-Commissioned Officers, the Company Commander, First Sergeant and two First Lieutenants all wore EIBs either sewn or pinned on their fatigue shirts, but who wore combat patches on the right shoulder. Army regulations forbid wearing both the EIB and the Combat Infantry Badge at the same time. However, on occasions such as this infantry unit commanders wanted personnel who had been awarded the EIB to wear it proudly promoting upcoming EIB testing even if they'd earned the CIB.

The skill badge testing was only conducted once a year and for those that passed the test the reward was an award of the Expert Infantry Badge: the rifle without the wreath. The first phase of testing was the road march and it was mandatory for all personnel in the company.

The whole company with very few exceptions would participate in the march. Those that didn't participate because of duty obligations would take it on the redo or with another company. Even the non infantry types would participate. Once we all had drawn weapons and protective masks we began forming up with our rifles and putting on our load bearing equipment. Participants would carry their personal weapons.

As a rifleman my weapon was the standard issue M-14 rifle. The medics and crew served weapons personnel carried their M1911 45 caliber automatic side arms. Medics had their own skill badge: the Expert Medical Badge.

The road march would qualify medics for their upcoming EMB skill badge testing. Before moving out our Squad Leaders checked over our equipment, making sure we all had full canteens of water. Once the equipment check was done we slung arms and were given the order to march, heading off on the forced road march to qualify for the Expert Infantry Badge.

I learned that the EIB was a big thing with infantry commanders: a competitive thing. Our Battalion Commander wanted as many of his soldiers as possible to earn the coveted badge and was making any and all resources available to get candidates qualified. We'd been told that the Lieutenant Colonel who was in charge of our battalion was very competitive commander who had served as a platoon leader in combat with the 24th Infantry Division during the Korean War, and he didn't tolerate any slackers in his battalion. The road march was done carrying our entire assigned combat load including personal weapon, load bearing equipment and protective masks.

We all were fully loaded as if headed into combat. We had to complete the forced march within three hours to become a qualified candidate. I had no problem keeping pace, finishing the march under the three hours time limit. Hell, all I'd done since entering the Army months earlier was march and run. The last leg of the grueling march was passing through the local village of Toko-ri. Wow, what a shit hole, at least that's what I heard the First Sergeant refer to it as.

Marching downhill on the dusty road towards Toko-ri I was overcome by an oppressively pungent odor as we began to enter the town. The stink smelled like a mixture of urine, feces and rotting silage. 'What the fuck is that smell?' I questioned to anyone in earshot, 'Kimchi was the response. You'll get used to it.'

Kimchi is made using cabbage and beef stock along with spices to create flavors. The Koreans mix it together and let it ferment in pots. I'd gotten a whiff of the same obnoxious odor when we landed and were making the journey north through Uijongbu and Tongduch'on while traveling to Camp Casey. The towns we passed through were ugly and stunk. The damn smell was ripe as we entered Toko-ri. My first visit to the ville. As we passed through the village the company was singing out our marching songs as we closed on the gate at Camp Hovey.

The locals lined the street in their colorful clothing cheering us on while others assumed a more somber tone taking up the Korean squat smoking nasty smelling cigarettes as we passed by. The Military Police manning the gate saluted, welcoming the company back to Camp Hovey. Only a few more yards and the company would be back at our compound.

Many members of the company did not finish the march within the time limit. Some that fell out required medical attention for their feet or exhaustion, needing to be medically evacuated by jeep field ambulance, while others just needed to hydrate and rest before moving on. I feared some were just slackers wanting a free ride back to Camp Hovey. They would discover they should have toughed it out because the First Sergeant had a surprise for them.

When we returned to the company compound The First Sergeant announced that about two thirds of the company qualified under the three hours time limit. For those that qualified we were told there was more to come before going through the actual round robin testing events elements. This is where we would be tested on our knowledge of infantry essential information. Those that didn't qualify on the road march were told there was a makeup march later on.

The Company Commander made it clear everyone in the company would complete the road march within the prescribed time constraints, no matter how many times it took. No doubt future makeup marches would be on Saturdays until all members of the company made it. That's the way things worked in the Army. Finally, the Company Commander reminded us, 'All those taking the EIB test needed to be qualified expert with personal or crew served weapon and complete a day and night land navigation course within the prescribed time frame. Also, Army regulations required all candidates to pass a PT test with a score of seventy-five or better before being allowed to advance, competing in the round robin testing.'

The first Sergeant spoke up saying, 'I'll be posting a list on the bulletin board about further details and qualifications needed by each candidate to be ready for the round robin testing phase.'

After completing the road march within the specified time frame the only other thing I thought I needed to qualify was to do the land nav courses. I didn't think that would be too difficult as I'd done well on the course in AIT.

The First Sergeant's final announcement, 'For those truly interested in earning the EIB the BC has put out a directive that there'll be study courses set up and available at night for all interested personnel and those personnel will be off the duty roster. Furthermore, makeup events will be conducted on weekends prior to the division testing event. There'll be a sign-up sheet in the orderly room for those interested in classes,' then he gave the welcome command, 'Fall out!'

'Oh, make sure you clean your weapons before turning them in,' the First Sergeant yelled out as we broke formation.

With the dismissal order given the company broke up. A lot of the soldiers lit up as they began shuffling off towards the arms room. There was cleaning gear there to use before turning in weapons and other gear. I'd refrained thus far in life from acquiring the tobacco habit and quickly discovered that Nelson was a nonsmoker too. After a quick wipe down of our weapons the company began lining up in front of the arms room to turn in weapons and protective masks. With Nelson standing behind me he started a conversation, 'So, Randy, you gonna try for the EIB?'

'Sure. I think I'll give it a try; besides, it'll look neat on my chest along with my jump wings,' I said with a big grin.

'I think I'll try too. Maybe we can buddy up and study together,' Nelson replied confidently.

'Sounds good to me.'

Top had given the company the rest of the day off to clean our gear and recuperate from the road march. After making turn-ins at the arms room, cleaning putting our gear away we both decided that another shower was in order to get the road dust off and soften the pain. So, we made a second trip that day to the latrine.

We hung our towels up and proceed to get undressed. Once in the shower room Nelson and I stood nude across from each other. The shower stall had shower heads on both walls. We were facing each other letting the warm water rain down on our bodies, relieving some of the soreness and tensions from the road march. I couldn't help but notice Nelson's dick: pretty respectable looking thing. In fact, it was a damn fine piece of meat dangling about four maybe five inches limp over his adequate size scrotal sac that was surrounded by a fluffy bush. The fuckstick had a most prominent pink knob on it with a distinguishing crimson coronal band.

I was secretly wondering as I stood under the warm water whether Nelson was a grower or shower, in essence how big did his penis grow when erect. If the two of us had met back in the world I would've been encouraged to get to know Nelson's cock on a more intimate level. Yes, I would've liked to explore his manhood, but in the Army, in Korea where rumor had it that there was an ongoing active witch hunt for cock suckers and butt fuckers I knew that wasn't going to happen. I began to feel a twinge of arousal in my crotch area and decided to turn around facing the wall before someone noticed my cock growing.

After a few more minutes under the rain of warm water that was getting chilly I decided it was time to exit the shower. On the way back to the hooch Nelson and I walked in awkward silence. I sensed he wanted to say something about our meeting in the shower as did I.

We'd broken the ice showering openly in front of each other. There was nothing to hide between us we'd seen each other naked, in our natural state. We both had well-defined athletic bodies and respectable size sexual equipment. I felt comfortable around Nelson and sensed he was going to be my new best buddy while in Korea. I didn't have reason to suspect he was an undercover C.I.D. type. I felt he was just a naïve kid from Kentucky who in all probability was a virgin from the way he talked and acted. Whatever he was or wasn't we had many months to cultivate our new found friendship before returning to the world.

[This fictional story about Korea set in the mid 60s is dedicated to all the brave men and women in the Armed Forces who serve or have served, protecting our way of life, keeping us and others free from oppression and tyranny. Especially, those unsung post Korean Cold War soldiers that stood yesterday and stand today shoulder to shoulder with their Korean counterparts protecting South Korea and the world from aggression from the north.

These though well-trained fighting men endure and have endured much during their thirteen months unaccompanied tours in Korea. The second Korean War from 1966 to 1969 was overshadowed by the Vietnam War. For many years American and ROK soldiers were not recognized for their bravery and hardships endured guarding against aggression from the north. Since the armistice was signed soldiers guarding the DMZ and the free people of South Korea sit on a powder keg waiting for the short fuse to be ignited by unstable leadership in the north. Most people in America don't have any understanding of the fragile situation in Korea.

Although this story is fictional it may be based on certain real places, facts and settings; of course, names and dates have been changed. If by chance any readers recognize the places I refer to in the story feel free to comment or e-mail me. If I've erred feel free to comment. Memory is a bitch when old soldiers get older. In fact, feel free to make comments and/or critique my work. I enjoy hearing from my readers. A response is the novice writer's form of payment and appreciation from readers. Let me know if I should leave this a short story or continue to follow the characters during their tour of duty in Korea. I'll refrain from posting future chapters until I get some positive feedback on the story.

I won't apologize for the lack of sexual situations in the first few chapters. I believe in writing, developing a plot line and characters before letting them indulge in sex. Think about it there are only so many ways to have sex and most of them have been covered in the many thousands of stories told on Nifty. The sex act only lasts a short period of time in most people's lives. Many of us do more thinking and fantasizing about sex than the actual event itself. So, if you are one that wants instant sexual gratification from a story maybe another story posted on the Nifty site is for you. I'm and always have been a firm believer in as much foreplay as possible before indulging in the actual sex act. If I have whetted your sexual appetite with the first three chapters let me know you want more.]