Bring me the head of Diego Garcia...and the Mayor of Addu Atoll too!

[Cap Mandrake]

We have 5 ships in withdrawal arrears

An AP with a couple of 2 1/2 ton trucks and a useless sound detector unloading at Jolo. Ooops.


S-18, which spent the entire war chasing sonar contacts in the Aleutians, most turned out to be Beluga farts. She never saw a Jap and now she has run out of gas in the North Pacific (22 hexes from Coal Harbour) trying to get to San Francisco so she could could be converted to a museum or something. No way to refuel her. She just has to be towed by sea turtles at one hex per day using up points and quite possibly sinking. <face palm>

There are 3 RN DD's in arrears too but at least they are doing something useful. [:)]

[Cap Mandrake]

So I'm at the hospital yesterday writing an electronic note at a thin client station by a window (by ra way, their system is so vastly superior to the POS we use in the office it's like QE II vs Pinta).

It's raining outside and I can see down to a smoking area outside the building. There is a little table with a sun shade but it's not doing it because the problem is not the sun. There are patients (all women) down their in their hospital gowns shivering in soggy blankets trying to take a couple of drags on their cigaretters. Most of them are holding their cigarettes with their IV board hands so they can hold the blanket with the other. It is REALLY pitiful.

It looks like a friggin' gulag. The boys at Club Gitmo are treated better. We have definitely gone off the deep end on persecution of smokers.

[Cap Mandrake]

Scrillix, the ferret, finally gave up the ghost yesterday. Poor thing was blind and mostly deaf and developed some kind ascending paralysis, maybe ferret Guillanin-Barre syndrome.

The task of interment fell to Mandrake Jr. I had to tell her how to use a pick ax over the phone. She did well but I probably should have given her more chores over the years. I think I learned to use a pick ax in 2nd grade. Sister Graciella taught us. She was a big woman.

[Cap Mandrake]

******************Pranning**************

Davao: 3 infantry regiments arrived but the arty is a day behind. I chose not to wait and ordered a shock attack in hopes of destroying the 26 fighters that recon shows still at the base.

JJ is sneaking something down among the small islands between Busuanga and the Luzon. It is only 80 miles from where a Jap carrier was spotted by one of our subs during the night. Hard to believe they would send carriers in those restricted waters where they might encounter surface groups. Most likely it is another bombardment group for San Jose but they might be able to reach Cagayan in daylight. I sent forward a minesweeper and a Flower class to cover the approaches to Cagayan. A surface group with one CLAA and 4 DD's is at Cagayan. Cagayan got some fresh P-40's and 5 P-38's and another 12 SBD's.

Jolo has 4 CL's and 7 DD's.

JJ also has ships at Manila now, and at a base on the West coast of Luzon. This is why we have to move fast before they up-armor everything on Luzon.

Manado: Attack of 45th ID goes in today.

[Cap Mandrake]

**********USN West Coast Sound School, San Diego, March 12, 1943***************


Captain "Spike" Jones, commanding: When is S-18 due?

XO: She's late sir, 12 days.

Captain "Spike" Jones, commanding: Blast! I had hoped to start "Ballast tank blowing sounds 101" in April. See if McMasters can do his "Introduction to hoofbeats of the old world ungulates" instead.

[Crackaces]

ORIGINAL: Cap Mandrake

**********USN West Coast Sound School, San Diego, March 12, 1943***************


Captain "Spike" Jones, commanding: When is S-18 due?

XO: She's late sir, 12 days.

Captain "Spike" Jones, commanding: Blast! I had hoped to start "Ballast tank blowing sounds 101" in April. See if McMasters can do his "Introduction to hoofbeats of the old world ungulates" instead.

I think the S boats cost 10 points per day ... that is political will to replace imost incompetent commanders, in a few days activate a base force, and in about 150 days or so activate a full division ... No Captain "Spike" Jones movie is not as important as a bunch of commanders that will be able to linger on and disrupt the war effort .. [8D] This connection is sooo crazy IMHO [it should be VP's not PP's like not garrisoning a base ..] Anyway ..I am sure Milo is involved somehow .. [;)]

At least it is not a BB where the penality consumes the daily PP allocation and more ... rather than just a 20% tax on the current daily allotment

[Cap Mandrake]

**************Aboard S-18, 820 nm W Coal Harbour************


Torpedoman First Class Buttafucco: <lying in bunk writing> [font="Courier New"]...."Dear Mom; I don't know when this will get to you but I had a few minutes so I wrote this. We was headed back to Frisco and then to San Diego but about 4 days out of Dutch Harbor, we was runnin' on the surface and the motor just quit. Boom! Just like that. Nothin'. Like she was out of gas but the tanks read 3/4. And she wouldn't restart either. The chief opened the starboard fuel bunker and he finds this note floatin' on the top. <pulls out copy to transcirbe correctly>

--In the interest of controlling global cooling, this fuel has been replaced with low volatility cocconut based ethanol, guaranteed to assay at least 85% pure. For information on our other products, please contact M&M Enterprises Altenate Fuels Divison, Dandjangas, Mindanao--

Well, mom, gotta go. My duty on the tow dinghy.

Love


Joey[/font]

[Cap Mandrake]

Maybe we should just scuttle the stupid thing. [:)]

[BBfanboy]

ORIGINAL: Cap Mandrake

**************Aboard S-18, 820 nm W Coal Harbour************


Torpedoman First Class Buttafucco: <lying in bunk writing> [font="Courier New"]...."Dear Mom; I don't know when this will get to you but I had a few minutes so I wrote this. We was headed back to Frisco and then to San Diego but about 4 days out of Dutch Harbor, we was runnin' on the surface and the motor just quit. Boom! Just like that. Nothin'. Like she was out of gas but the tanks read 3/4. And she wouldn't restart either. The chief opened the starboard fuel bunker and he finds this note floatin' on the top. <pulls out copy to transcirbe correctly>

--In the interest of controlling global cooling, this fuel has been replaced with low volatility cocconut based ethanol, guaranteed to assay at least 85% pure. For information on our other products, please contact M&M Enterprises Altenate Fuels Divison, Dandjangas, Mindanao--

Well, mom, gotta go. My duty on the tow dinghy.

Love
Joey[/font]

And during his long row, Joey B has time to dream about how to have a better life by social climbing on Long Island ...[:-]
Or maybe he made a legit fortune selling 85% pure coconut milk laced with torpedo alcohol and pineapple juice ...

[sprior]

I saw this, brought back memories of an army upbringing

[Cap Mandrake]

ORIGINAL: sprior

I saw this, brought back memories of an army upbringing

Very touching remembrance...but then you became one of the "boat people" [:)]

Also, what is that on the ground? You didn't drop a deuce again, did you?

[sprior]

but then you became one of the "boat people

I didn't fancy digging holes in fields and standing in them for a living.

[sprior]

Just in case you get bored on the underground

[sprior]

We should get to the bottom of this underground ride

[Cap Mandrake]

ORIGINAL: sprior

We should get to the bottom of this underground ride

Cool idea. I'm going to do that when I work on the next AE turn.

If anyone has not yet surmised, we are waiting on a turn.

One of the Shinto Boys went to an Axis conference hosted by Mussolini.

[BBfanboy]

Ah yes ...Tea With Mussolini. I remember the movie ... well I remember the title, anyway. [:)]

[Cap Mandrake]

I took Mandrake Jr to a bagel place to get her some lunch and we discover that a new immigrant group has entirely replaced the former immigrant group that one would traditionally associate with a bagel place. Presumably they are all movie studio execs and internal medicine specialists and lawyers now....well, there was Koufax...but you get my point.

Anyway, one of the choices is a bagel BLT. Evidently this is not an orthodox establishment but, what the heck, it sounds great.

FAM: I'll have the BLT on Asiago bagel please.

Nice, young, enthusiastic hispanic bagelista: OK! <slices bagel and toasts it..then places it down on the preparation counter..there is an odd pause...from my standpoint there is something missing...she leans to her left and whispers to senior hispanic bagelista> What's on a BLT?

Senior bagelista: BacOWN, lettuce and tomahto senorita.

It was-ah absorutery dericious

[Onime No Kyo]

ORIGINAL: Cap Mandrake

Scrillix, the ferret, finally gave up the ghost yesterday. Poor thing was blind and mostly deaf and developed some kind ascending paralysis, maybe ferret Guillanin-Barre syndrome.

The task of interment fell to Mandrake Jr. I had to tell her how to use a pick ax over the phone. She did well but I probably should have given her more chores over the years. I think I learned to use a pick ax in 2nd grade. Sister Graciella taught us. She was a big woman.

Did Sister Graciella sit on a ferret?

Edit: On second thought, maybe I shouldnt joke with this man. [X(]

[Onime No Kyo]

ORIGINAL: Cap Mandrake

So I'm at the hospital yesterday writing an electronic note at a thin client station by a window (by ra way, their system is so vastly superior to the POS we use in the office it's like QE II vs Pinta).

It's raining outside and I can see down to a smoking area outside the building. There is a little table with a sun shade but it's not doing it because the problem is not the sun. There are patients (all women) down their in their hospital gowns shivering in soggy blankets trying to take a couple of drags on their cigaretters. Most of them are holding their cigarettes with their IV board hands so they can hold the blanket with the other. It is REALLY pitiful.

It looks like a friggin' gulag. The boys at Club Gitmo are treated better. We have definitely gone off the deep end on persecution of smokers.

God bless you, gentleman!

Could you have a talk with my WU about that. She has forcefully hinted that if I ever smoke in the house she will open the windows...with my head. [X(]

[alaviner]

ORIGINAL: Cap Mandrake

Maybe we should just scuttle the stupid thing. [:)]

I hate to give game advice in this AAR but ...
send any ship to meet S18 and re-fuel. Any AKL or Amc will do.