AA in Uniform

I was tricked into it: My first AA meeting. I was working as the Unit Chaplain at the Third Marine Aircraft Wing in El Toro, California. The unit was preparing for a six-month deployment to the Persian Gulf, and I was plotting ways to have access to alcohol during the month-long sea journey from San Diego to Kuwait. As a Catholic chaplain, I knew that I would have in my custody a sizeable supply of altar wine for the duration of the deployment. I had augmented my wine order by 200 percent, just in case some of the bottles "broke" during the transit. I insisted that the cases of wine be "secured" in my stateroom, since it was well known that Marines and sailors get "thirsty" during a long Pacific transit.