Put Me Through To The President

by Major Owen O’Brien, 6th Battalion the Royal Australian Regiment, Vietnam

Alpha Company had a new CSM, Warrant Officer Class 2 Brian Foster. He had quickly settled in, although as the “new CSM” he was treated with a great deal of suspicion. Perhaps motivated by this slight lack of acceptance, Foster organised a two day break in Siagon base camp for the severely battle fatigued Company Sergeants. He was advised that all was approved but with the request that they “Behave and come back sober!”

They did come back sober, but hung over, declining to discuss what had transpired in Saigon. Major O’Brien recalls;

They had a few beers that night in the tent we used as the company officers’ and sergeants’ mess and when I went to bed they assured me that they too were going to hit the cot. However, Foster must have gained some ‘brewer’s bravery’ and, encouraged by others, decided that he should phone President Lyndon B. Johnson in Washington DC and tell him how to win the war.

In those days, there was no such thing as mobile phones or communications satellites. The company command post [CP] tent had only a simple field telephone connected to the 6RAR switchboard, which was in turn connected to the task force switchboard which was connected to…etc, etc. To get beyond our own area you had to have an authorisation code. At the suggestion of one of his inebriated colleagues, the CSM decide to use the laundry number on his shirt – and it worked!

He imperiously demanded of each successive switch that he be put through to the next. He was routed through task force, various American headquarters, Hawaii, probably Alaska, US West Coast Communication Centre and so on until he was put through to the Pentagon in Washington.

It was Sunday in the USA, but calls from Vietnam had a high priority, of course, and he was put straight through to the duty officer at the Pentagon. Unfortunately, the duty officer was not a second lieutenant, he was a Major General! Foster said in his most commanding voice (and he could sound very commanding): ‘General, this is Foster of the Australian Army. I wish to speak urgently with the President!’

On being pressed for identification he quoted again his laundry number (which was apparently very impressive in the telephone code system) and observed that he was Sergeant Major Foster of Alpha Company, Sixth Battalion, and that the General had better be quick about connecting him to the White House or there would be trouble.

However, the duty officer could hear in the background, the strongly supporting, raucous voices of various sergeants insisting that Foster tell the stupid Yank General just how important CSM Alpha Company was. So that’s where it ended. No doubt the sergeants went off to bed in fine spirits.