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Part 9 of 10第 9 部分，共 10 部分
工程官生涯My Years as an Engineering Officer
原 PDF 有 224 個字因字型缺字而無法顯示，本頁已依上下文補上，或有出入。
Contents目錄目录 (27)
懷舊篇-188
（工程官生涯之一） 近期P0的軍旅回憶中曾提及某些長官不近人情的舉措，有同學建議我說軍中不好的一面不要寫出來，家醜不外揚，可我認為軍隊是整個社會的縮影，民間職場有不體恤部屬的上司軍中自然也有，一味歌功頌德將使報導失去真實性對不起耗費時間閲讀的好友，此觀點是否妥當希望學長學弟們不吝指教。 到後勤署四組報到後組長羅長春上校帶我晉見署長劉傅榮少將可不久他便調職改由我在台北軍政三科監察官時的軍部上校副參謀長馮濟民少將接任，本組副組長張志方上校，參謀除了六位資深上中校外，有陳炎生（37）羅國禎（39）王競康（40）等三位學長都很照顧及指導我，後來隨著資深參謀退役又陸續調來朱龍山、王師俊、梁蜀吳、卓順民等學長及郭世民學第，我的業務職掌為陸軍學校、醫院、廠庫疏遷建及老舊廠庫整修建工程，當年國軍為配合地方都市發展及戰備需要將位於市區內學校、醫院、廠庫疏遷至郊區原址土地以變產置產方式列為不適用營地移交國産局依法標售得款除支應工程所需外盡繳國庫，如此地方發展進步市容改善、軍方獲得新的設施設備及機具、國庫也有大量經費進賬確是三贏的政策，我承辦的汽基處（位於北市現在的信義計劃區）遷至桃園郊區工程即為循此政策執行，不僅廠區擴大數倍，廠房新穎機具先進作業能力大増，總經費只要原址一小片的土地款即可支應。 到職兩個多月後總部作戰後勤部門編組至各廢棄的山海防班排哨小據點會勘檢討其處理方式，由本組副組長帶隊，我奉命納為組員一行五人環島十天左右，沿途由陸軍部隊派車以接力方式（有如古代在驛站換馬），副組長對各據點位置瞭若指掌，連在東部舞鶴山區被比人還高的茅草遮掩的小班哨都被他找到，我們都佩服的不得了，某日按行程到達屏東龍泉師換車順便在師部餐廳午餐，師長副師長參謀長主任與我們同桌，偏遠單位很少有總部長官蒞臨，參謀長見到我非常親切，用餐時且對副組長説李中校是優秀的工兵營長我們一直都看好他，這些話令我聽來有些食不下嚥，餐後略為休息便搭乘師部派的吉普車往南迴公路台東方向繼續勘查。
懷舊篇-189
（工程官生涯之二） 此生唯一的環島之行是乘坐軍用吉甫車出差至各山區海濱，順利完成會勘任務後接著是準備軍事會談提報資料，當年每個月定期舉行一次軍談由參謀總長率各軍總司令向經國先生提報軍事任務執行狀況，本組奉命提供老舊營區及廠房彈庫整建後之簡報資料及實景相片簿，因作業時間緊迫從蒐集相片加洗到貼好七本相簿並標註每張相片只有兩天時間，第二天組長下令全組留下加班直至凌晨四時才完成所有提報資料。每週一、五兩天軍官需留宿總部，晚間七點中正堂放映電影，但是本組幾乎都在辦公室加班，我偶爾會抽空至體育館打籃球，到總部後感覺缺乏運動乃利用中午空檔到體育館打羽毛球，也是正式在球埸比賽，以往只有在公園或空地兩個人対打，下午一點回到辦公室上班，當年沒有電腦所有公文簽稿全用鋼筆，我們每人都有一瓶自己習慣的墨水，為了省錢每人備有一支注射針筒，當卡式墨水管沒墨水時以針筒吸取瓶中墨水注入反覆使用同時也符合環保。有時簽呈被長官刪改則必須清稿，某位學長最高紀錄被退回清稿七次最後跟組長翻臉大吵一埸，因為他覺得改到最後似乎又回到他的原稿，組內新來的一位中校桌球打得很好從小就奪得許多奬杯，但是字寫得較差，某次他有一公文要上簽給總司令，組長核稿刪改後要我清稿再交給原承辦人蓋章，我心中總覺得怪怪的（某位市長的口頭禪），之後每次見到那位同事都不敢正眼看他，從此經常會發現他利用時間勤練鋼筆字。
懷舊篇-190
（工程官生涯之三） 之前曾提及全組加班準備相片等軍事會談資料，事隔一年之後陸續有營區完成整建，需再度向經國先生提報，長官認為前次的照片均由地面拍攝未能涵蓋全營區景觀，決定改用空中拍攝鳥瞰畫面，組長指示由我協助承辦人羅國禎學長共同執行空拍任務，經簽會作戰署並奉長官核可後我倆上午八時抵達總部旁的輕航大隊機坪登上一架外型像一顆大玻璃球兩側透空前座為正副架駛，我們坐後座，剛好容納四人，聽說是偵查機，繋好安全帶後立即起飛，依據事先提供給駕駛的定點資料南下至適當高度固定不動，我們則利用手中的相機対準目標拍攝，為怕相機不慎脫手特別將背帶纏繞手臂，此刻所見景觀就像學生時跳傘擋門那一刻一樣，因為天氣不錯我們穿著長袖軍便服，那知到了空中溫度驟降，利用中午抵達台中某基地休息用餐時借了兩件夾克穿上繼續南下至高雄拍完最後目標即折返龍潭基地，將拍攝的底片（幻燈片用的是正片，一般相片則是負片）交由專業人員製作成幻燈片後圓滿完成任務，此次縱貫南北的空拍經驗實屬難得。 署長馮少將向以兇猂出名，許多同仁甚為畏懼，本組某位資深上校或許是思維方式與署長不合經常被找去訓斥，只要一見到署長參謀站在夲組門口，他便習慣性的口中唸唸有詞＂完蛋了完蛋了署長又找我了＂可在我感覺署長並不可怕，每次去見他時都是和言悅色像是朋友間商談事情一般毫無壓力，曾經單獨陪同他去中南部出差數次（署長習慣不帶組長僅由承辦人陪同出差）覺得他不像一些很難侍候的長官，且能體諒部屬，某次署長欲親往鳳山步兵學校瞭解整建案規劃狀況，由我陪同前往，當我請示他何時前往時，他對我說＂你不是住鳯山嗎，就安排週五去，週六上午也不必回來上班，順便休個假＂真是太令我感動了。週五到了步校後校長李禎林中將親自接待聽取規劃簡報後共同車廵校區研究整建後大門位置，停留約半天後送署長離開，我也獲得兩天連假。
懷舊篇-191
（工程官生涯之四） 在高司單位服務不免會接獲參謀研究之任務，我在後勤署期間計受命完成兩份參謀研究報告，第一份是針對兵工署拷潭第二弾藥庫遷至山區地下化後研究將鳳山的步兵學校遷至拷潭之可行性研究，經考量各項利弊因素以步校現址已具傋完整的訓練場地（後山幅員甚廣）且緊臨官校、預校在師資交流及教學觀摩方面均為便利，已然成為軍事學區，拷潭營區各方面條件均不適合步校的教學及訓練任務，結論為步校仍以原址改建為宜，研究報告上呈之後長官採納所擬意見，命步校立即規劃原地整建方案。第二份研究報告是我承辦的陸軍829醫院（位於北市公舘後改稱國軍817醫院）醫療大樓興建工程規劃案向總司令蔣上將簡報時副總司令宋心溓中將順便向總司令建議目前總部距台北太遠交通車往返耗費油料，正好內湖的工兵學校已遷至高雄可否將總部遷至內湖工校原址，總司令當場指示由後勤署研究，署長指示本組組長組長則命我一週之內完成「陸軍總部遷至內湖工校原址之可行性報告」，可真是天降好大一顆燙手山芋，我立即行文總務處、運輸署、作戰暑提供相関數據資料包含龍潭以北及桃園中壢新竹地區之交通車數量比率，每月耗油狀況、戰時由內湖或龍潭進入北縣山區之戰術指揮所何者較為有利。綜合評估後發現桃園中壢新竹等地之交通車也不在少數且逐年增加中，遷至內湖後並未節省多少油料，戰備機動也不如龍潭，綜上利弊分析結論總部仍留龍潭，三十多年之後陸總部還在那，內湖工校原址興建為國防醫學中心（含國防醫學院、三軍總醫院、航太醫學中心等單位）
懷舊篇-192
（工程官生涯之五） 本組組長羅上校奉調某軍團後勤指揮部指揮官佔少將缺，掌管工兵、通信、運輸、經理、化學等勤務部隊，此職務通常指派工兵科軍官擔任，當然也有例外，工兵幹部戲稱地盤失守，組長離職前我問他如何將我從屏東偏遠的小單位調到組裏的，他答説因組裏中校參謀出缺他便請工兵署副署長曹友萍少將（我66年初任桃園工兵群監察官時的指揮官）推薦適當人選，副署長從許多中少校中推薦我。我突然覺得人的際遇多少有些因果關係，倘若當年我在桃園工兵群打混擺爛，那麼又是另一種結局了。 在後四組平均每月出差五至六天，通常穿著便服將軍服及大盤帽置於手提箱（袋）中（此時真羨慕海空軍有船型帽方便多了）從中壢車站乘火車到達中南部車站時再到車站的運輸軍官室換上軍服搭乘部隊派來的軍車前往目的地執行任務，若是穿著軍服乘坐火車若是無座位站在走道感覺不妥，若坐在椅上打盹有失軍官儀態。 本組某位資深上校承辦高雄旗山重要工程經常要前往現地會勘及驗收，有時他會拿著公文到我身旁很客氣地說＂翊民老弟啊下週X旗山有個XX任務，麻煩你幫忙去一趟好嗎？＂當我同意時他立馬興奮地回座提筆簽呈組長。當年高雄或鳯山往旗山的道路被砂石車弄得坑坑洞洞塵土飛揚，車程一個多小時常常被顛的從座位上彈起來，某次乘坐九人座軍用旅行車最後排的上尉軍官被彈起後腦袋撞到車頂發出巨響，到了旗山每個人骨頭都快散了，想到等下還有回程真是心有餘悸，如今可好了，國道十號快速平穩。
懷舊篇-193
（工程官生涯之六） 由屏東調到陸總後每週七天分別夜宿四個地方，週一、五兩天留宿總部四樓（頂樓）軍官寢室六人一間，三張雙層床，我最資淺睡上舗，沒有冷氣只有一支大同電扇夏天熱的無法入睡，雖然仍有內務檢查但標準無法與官校受訓時相比。每週二、三、四搭乘交通車返回新店與爸媽同住一進門豐盛的晚餐已備好，三人共享愉快的一餐後由我清洗碗盤（那是必須的）。週六中午搭乘往新竹的交通車至火車站乘坐最近班次的列車往高雄（通常無座位）再轉乘往屏東的區間車到鳯山下車步行返家，已經是下午五點多了，有時妻會騎機車載三歲的女兒在車站出口接我，女兒見到我時總是高興地大叫，晚間住宿家中，週日通常到高雄的大統百貨頂樓遊樂區玩，晚間十點多我便背著包包離開家門步行至鳯山火車站，女兒常會抱著我的腳哭喊＂把拔不要走＂妻則加以安撫，我趁機溜出家門，一路上商家多巳打洋，人車稀少，我透過隨身聼收聽電台的夜線節目及司馬中原恐怖的鬼故事，步行約半小時到鳯山車站搭車至高雄轉乘往台北的最後一班平快車，最後一節車廂幾乎被我們陸總及三軍大學的學員包了，座位上及地板上都睡了人且裝備齊全，冬天則有睡袋，列車長一出發便先來查票（需逐一跨過橫躺在地下的乘客）離開後立馬很體貼地將本節車廂燈関掉，因為全是長途客，凌晨五點多大夥起床車上也加入了一些中學生，不久抵達中壢出站後排班司機趨前拉客到陸總每人五十元。抵達總部後略微休息便迎接新的ˋㄧ週，如此生活模式前後計四年之久。
懷舊篇-194
（工程官生涯之七） 我承辦的陸軍老舊廠庫整修建工程每年都會依據各單位呈報之計畫實施現場需求勘實，由我搭配工兵署三組某理工學院畢業之中尉一同至各單位為期約半個月的現地勘估，主要避免予人有一手遮天的聯想，本著既不能影響部隊任務又不致浪費國家預算的原則該給就給該刪就刪。凡經過我核實的個案均註明詳細理由也獲得上級充份信任從未打過退票。僅就記憶中幾項個案摘述如后，其一：某軍團桃園地區彈藥庫載卸彈月台墊木破損（防止卡車倒車時撞毀月台）需經費七百餘萬元全面更換為柚木材質，我查看現場發現除少部份腐朽外絕大多數墊木均係遭撞擊破損，我想到海港碼頭邊都安裝車輪胎防止船隻撞到碼頭，乃簽准核覆該軍團按替代案重新呈報計劃，最終以二十七萬元解決問題，節省公帑六百餘萬，完工後我至現地勘查發現效果不錯庫方幹部均甚滿意。其二：成功嶺營區一棟經理庫房鐵皮屋頂鏽蝕漏雨導致裝備發霉需更換屋頂，我勘查結果確實亟需整修簽奉核准更換為鍍鋅鋼板屋頂，日後我週六下午搭火車返回高雄經過成功嶺時我都特別注意右側小山坡頂端的庫房從工人拆屋頂到下週六看到新的屋頂心中有股欣慰的感覺。其三：台中烏日的工基處棚廠老舊屋頂破損需要翻修，我至現地勘查，處長董瑞林少將是我官校四年級時的連長，他特別帶我參觀經他全面整頓後的廠區環境（以往非常零亂）我也向老連長報告說總部的定期視察報告中有紀載總司令蔣上將且在月會中特別讚揚工基處的績效，因為整修經費過於龐大以現有預算無法支應俟日後年度預算有餘時再行檢討，為此我心中一直對老連長有幾分歉疚。其四：某次至嘉義某步兵師勘查車輛保養廠整修工程，中午要離開時承辦人說師長要和我們共進午餐，原本以為在師部餐廳，後來領我們至一小餐廳吃自製西餐桌上擺設齊全，一旁還有穿著白色制服像餐廳侍者的士兵服務，我極不習慣一旁有人看著用餐，在一些生意很好的小館子只要有人站在旁邊等候座位我立馬匆匆走人。不過我們仍然感謝師長的盛意。其五：我的原單位屏東師位於新開的新訓旅營區需興建一棟動員裝備庫房，我到師部後參謀長非常客氣地接待並指示副參謀長陪同前往，軍中興建房舍無需申請建照但是需納入營區設施總計畫中不能想蓋在那就蓋在那。經查核後該庫房已經納入計劃且確屬需要乃簽准同意撥款。
懷舊篇-195
（工程官生涯之八） 我承辦的其中一項工程是依據陸軍廠庫疏遷政策將台北的XX處台中的XX處XX中心台南的XX廠一併遷建至中部山區，原本係單獨將台中的XX處遷至東勢，選中東勢伯公壠一塊七十餘公頃土地後因地質鑽探結果屬於滑動層只有放棄另外於中部山區取得196公頃土地，規劃上述四單位併遷成為陸軍XX中心，斥資五十二億（以原址土地款支應）為當時陸軍最重大工程，我到職接辦此案時僅完成土地收購作業，正由使用單位兵工暑配合工兵暑規劃擬訂需求計劃先安排向總司令簡報由四名士兵將全區立體模型（像民間售屋中心的一樣）抬至簡報室，奉裁示同意後將全案需求計劃報呈總長核定並同時安排向總長簡報，俟需求計劃奉核定後立即擬訂工作計劃（含本文、材料明細表、施工藍圖）呈核，往往一份公文就是一般十份公文的厚度，工兵署及後勤署的傳令文書也比較辛苦，工作計劃核定後即製作標單準備發包事宜，當年軍事工程依規定要先與榮工處議價若議價不成再改採發包，本案先期整地道路土方排水及水土保持工程議價結果由榮工處承包，開工後我平均每兩個月要到中部山區工地一趟，全區面積可供建築使用者不足三分之一，多半分伂在山谷下方的兩側，有些建地尚需挖方填方平整層層壓實形成台地並等它自然沉降一年後方可使用。我在後四組期間完成了先期整地⋯等工程的驗收工作，後續工程便由接班參謀繼續負責，全案共耗時八年完成。某次陪同署長至東勢的XX廠出差順便至伯公壠勘查原本選中的遷建用地，只見滿山遍野又大又美的水梨果園，只不過十餘年後的921大地震他們是否會受到地層滑動影響不得而知。
懷舊篇-196
（工程官生涯之九） 當年位於台東的陸軍832醫院計劃在綠島設置小型分院，因我負責醫院工程奉派至綠島現地會勘，某日會同軍醫署相関人員從台東機場搭乘十人座小飛機前往，天候不佳，正副駕駛詢問綠島機場仍然開放決定起飛，怎料升空不久竟然傾盆大雨我瞄見駕駛前面的玻璃全是水花，此刻接獲資訉台東及綠島機場均巳関閉，只見駕駛不斷與綠島方面聯絡要求降落，終於獲准，在能見度不良的狀況下勉強對準跑道著陸時且向上反弾了一下（稱為重著陸），我們到達現地完成勘查任務後當天下午搭機返回台東，天候轉好駕駛在最後一個轉向対准跑道時竟然耍帥來個急轉彎俯衝而下像是老鷹掠食動物一樣，嚇得有些乘客驚叫，不過著陸瞬間卻是非常平穏，虛驚一埸，我之前任監察官時曾至綠島出差六天，事隔兩年之後又再度來出差，此生僅有兩次綠島之行竟然均是出差方式，沒有機會欣賞當地風光。 位於台北公館的陸軍829醫院原本收容慢性病患，病房老舊且常淹水，乃規劃興建一棟現代化醫療大樓，我到職後從規劃、呈報需求、向總司令及總長簡報、發包、開工⋯均按時程順利執行，某日下午完成大樓工程開標作業後我立即將結果上呈署長（以最速件持呈），次日上午總司令主持主管部務會報時隨口問工兵署長829醫院工程發包了嗎？工兵及軍醫署長均無法回答，署長立馬向總司令報告已在昨天下午完成發包由XX建設公司得標，金額X億餘元、標餘款XXX元。總司令非常滿意（上情是署長事後告訴我的）。署長下午且在會議室當著全署表揚此事，要求所有同仁重要案件務必儘速讓長官得知最新訊息。829醫院新大樓如期完工後改善醫療品質，後來改為國軍817醫院數年後移交衛生暑納入地方醫療體系。
懷舊篇-197
（工程官生涯之十） 保防教育月時全署各組室各推派一名軍官參加演講比賽，組長指派我代表後四組參賽，這還是我此生第一次參加演講比賽，立刻很慎重地擬好十分鐘的講稿，反覆背誦，上下班的交通車上也口中唸唸有辭，比賽當天全署集中在會議室，七名參賽者逐一上台演講，署長親自主持並由所有組長主任擔任評審，許多參賽者不時低頭看稿甚至有全程照稿唸，我則空手上台按熟背的內容搭配手勢音量忽高忽低吸引聼眾注意，最後評分結果由我獲得第一名，署長當場頒發奬品（署長提字瓷茶杯乙組）及記嘉獎一次。爾後我便再也未參加任何的演講比賽了。 總部為鼓勵運動風氣提振單位士氣舉辦各部、署、處籃球、羽毛球及桌球比賽，本組陳炎生學長及我參加三項球隊，羅國禎及王競康學長參加籃球隊，郭世民老弟參加羽球隊，我們向組長報傋時他欣然同意且說多運動是好事。籃球賽本署第一場便遭遇我的老東家政戰部，當年我在政戰部時陣中有唐雄飛學長、蔣濟翔兄（政校校隊）、徐鍚麟⋯等好手，我不在先發五人之列，此番我列入先發上埸，一開賽我便連投帶切獨得八分以八比0領先，對方緊急叫暫停後指派一瘦小靈活隊員面對我如影隨形防守，縱使我偶爾拿到球時也立馬有兩人包夾令我無法施展，畢竟政戰部兵多將廣技高一籌最終本署落敗，後來面對工兵署及經理署時均由本署獲勝。桌球比賽第一場同樣対上政戰部，我排在單打対手是黃國良少校（政校學弟後來升任國防部少將處長）雙方拚鬥激烈最終由他得勝，各項比完後由政戰部晉級，羽球賽第一場対上實力堅強的總務處，我和三組某中校搭配雙打対上總務處長金少將及副處長〇上校之組合，我們只有兩三年球齢，而対方至少十幾年球齢且經常和陸光羽球隊（陳能彪、葛新銘、鍾佳珍⋯）搭配練習，最終我們不敵二位老將，本署其他組合亦落敗遭到淘汰，此次本署各項成績欠佳自當加強練習，不過也讓我們留下一段特別的回憶。
懷舊篇-198
（工程官生涯之十一） 某日接獲指示稱中華電視台要拍攝陸軍廠庫疏遷工程之紀錄片，由我配合相関作業，經協調結果我需先行完成拍攝腳本，用制式的腳夲格式將計劃拍攝的畫面依序編號排列，再針對每組畫面將說明資料填入旁白空格內，拍完母帶後再由華視找專人依旁白配音，拍攝當天我乘軍用七人座旅行車至華視接拍攝小組（負責人、攝影師、掌鏡等三人）至北縣郊區的汽基處新廠區執行任務，聯合主廠房已近完工，還有其他作業區均逐一按脚本拍攝，每次拍攝前先用白紙在鏡頭前測量光線，準備妥當後攝影師旁邊的工作人員便倒數四、三、二、一接著大夥均全神貫注在攝影機上，每個定點都幾乎拍攝兩三遍以上務求完美，耗時一下午終於完成任務，真正播出的部分係經過剪接後的十五分鐘左右，難怪電視演員常常錄節目要弄到通宵，實際播出僅一至兩集，藝人光鮮亮麗的背後辛苦常不為人知。 當年學校醫院疏遷案有一項是將北市士林外雙溪的陸軍衛勤學校及台南市區的陸軍八0四醫院併遷至桃園龍潭的健行營區，從現地勘查、單位配置、需求規劃、施工、搬遷均按計劃執行，有效提昇龍潭地區醫療水準，且將學校醫院結合增進學習效果。 我在後四組前後約四年順利完成上級交付任務也到達過大部份的陸軍大小營區，所經辦的重大工程仍持續進行由接任參謀續辦，我奉令前往我的下一站國防部後勤次長室第五處。
懷舊篇-199
（工程官生涯之十二） 當年將我從屏東師調至陸總後四組的組長羅長春上校七十五年初已升任國防部後勤次長室第五處少將處長，適值處內主管空軍工程的中校參謀離職，而尚有多項工程亟待展開，處長乃通知我前往國防部參謀考試，我到達總統府西側的博愛大樓二樓後五處面見處長，他給我的題目是「如何強化國軍營繕工程品質」，我依據政三監辦及後勤承辦工程的經驗寫了七張十行紙並加裝封底面由處長呈請次長核示，約三天後處長通知我說次長己批示＂速辦徵調＂，因徵調作業需耗時二至三個月乃先採借調方式，我便於七五年四月初至後五處報到，原承辦人抽空半日回來交接，打開公文櫃點交案卷夾，並交給我六、七件已掛三聯單待辦的公文，由於時間匆促，他説若有不懂的就向檔案室調閱原案即可，幸好當年我進陸總時已經有類似經驗，從此每天上班後即可見我的桌上堆滿公文檔案，每項工程從建案緣起、執行過程、目前進展⋯等均詳加瞭解。 次長林克承中將曾任職駐美軍事採購組外語能力強待人親切，執行官（首席助理次長）何炳銳海軍中將身材高大個性豪爽待部屬如兄弟朋友般、助次趙域少將（工兵）溫文儒雅態度和藹，直至我離開後次室近三十年，當年的老同仁們仍每年不定期與三位老長官餐敍，足見好的領導者対單位產生相當的凝聚力。我負責主管空軍工程及三軍年度水電費預算，面臨的第一項任務便是各空軍基地防砲部隊生活設施改善工程。多年來防砲部隊房舍多係機場角落的成功堡（鋁皮材質外觀有如奶粉罐縱剖兩半後扣在地面上的放大版）弧形屋頂，生活條件甚差，為此特編列兩億預算在各基地興建兩層樓的營舍。我陪同處長至各基地現場會勘後分配經費由空總督導執行，均能按時程完工澈底改善防砲官兵生活設施。當年空軍各項裝備面臨換新，如三D雷達、三五快砲、S－70C直昇機（海鷗中隊電視上常見救災用的）、C－130運輸機（四具發動機能短場起降取代我們學生時跳傘用的老舊C－119），同時也需興建相関設施，次長曾親自南下兩次會勘（處長及我陪同），來回均搭乘國防部汽車大隊的大福特七人座旅行車，空軍總部則由參謀長林文禮少將率相関人員陪同。
懷舊篇-200
（工程官生涯之13） 陪同次長及處長勘查屏東地區高山戰備工程，前一日夜宿高雄英雄館，次長得知我家住鳯山立即命我返家住宿並要我次日上午也不必趕至英雄館直接在鳯山等他們的車子經過載我前往屏東，我遵示返家住宿一晚次日上午仍然到達英雄館安排早餐事誼，餐後直接往屏東大漢山現地勘查，在山上巧遇陸軍工兵署長潘禮門中將（我在新竹軍工兵群任連長時的指揮官）也在視導施工部隊，署長垂詢我的近況後勉我繼續努力。順利完成勘査任務後便下山返回臺北，山路雖然險峻但路面狀況尚可駕駛技術純熟，抵達台北已經晩間九點多了。 空軍北部某高山雷達站進出道路係狹窄的產業道路，未加舗面經常泥濘難行導致車輛墜落山谷意外，空總呈請撥款八千餘萬元由兵工自建為混凝土道路。次長獲報後決定親往現地會勘處長及我陪同，某日清晨空總參謀長林少將率戰管聯隊長及相関人員派出兩輛四輪傳動吉普車至國防部接次長、處長及我往目的地出發，從平地開始上山到站台竟需四個小時，路況甚差車輛常打滑方向盤很難掌控，有一兩次險些滑落山谷，次長絲毫未顯驚慌仍若無其事地與林參謀長交談，到達站台後因為海拔三千多公尺走路略顯吃力要不斷大口呼吸，官兵生活環境艱苦，雖有除濕機但寢具仍然潮濕，次長也同時探視了統一通信指揮部通信站台的官兵們，與雷達站官兵共進午餐後便下山返回臺北，我本打算連夜擬寫提報資料供次長第二天上午向郝總長報告，但次長說不必寫了由他口頭報告即可，真是貼心的長官，知道我們累了一整天需要休息。次日上午次長面報總長後指示儘速籌措經費整修道路，我向處長報告目前可動用之經費只有從國軍年度水電費控管預算中撥用，處長同意後，我即簽會聯五、主計部門以變更科目方式核撥經費支應，均無異議，總長核定後由新竹軍工兵群負責施工並如期完工終於改善該站台進出交通狀況。
懷舊篇-201
（工程官生涯之十四） 後次室五處處長羅少將思慮周密負責盡職対所屬參謀作業耐心指導常常工作到很晚才下班，副處長海、空軍各一位上校，空軍的張賴上校退伍後由空總調來一位李自鈴上校接任（現在是我的臉友）待人親和與同仁互動良好，處內參謀分為工程及營產兩個小組，工程組有黎喆學長（40期）梁鵬同學（41）顧以濱學弟（42）范褔平學弟（43）及我均為工兵科軍官，另有一名空軍的何定生上校及評價聘雇的陳工程師，營產組有楊建武學弟（42）及兩位雇員駱公、王公、兩位中校，業務甚為煩重，每天下午五點半下班鈴響起時全處均無動靜，只見別處人員下班經過本處門口，有時因有事需要按時下班竟像做了虧心事一般悄悄地離開經過處長室門口時還深怕被處長看見，好像一個翹課的學生，其實處長並未規定要同仁加班只是單位長久養成的習性，以前在陸總坐交通車到家均能和爸媽共進晚餐，到國防部離新店近多了反而每天要二佬預留飯菜，基於往新店的公車擁擠不堪加上我覺得每天仍需運動，剛好妻舅買了新機車便將原代步的變速自行車送我，早上我便從新店市公所附近爸媽住處騎自行車上班約四十分鐘到達總統府北側圍牆內的車棚停好車至博愛大樓上班，下班再原路騎回新店，如此每天可有八十分鐘的運動，唯一的缺點就是公車及計程車常常突然切入我的前進路線且排放大量廢氣，後來我便載著囗罩騎，如此方式通勤了約一年多感覺雙腿更有力了。每週六中午下班後先在一樓的大餐廳午餐（或買個三明治）再走到台汽公司西站（重慶南路與忠孝西路口）搭乘往高雄的國光號車返回鳯山休假，週日晚上則從高雄東站乘凌晨十二時多的國光虢回台北，最初不習慣坐著睡（以往在陸總時都躺在平快火車的座位或地板）久了之後便能一上高速公路便睡著直到泰山收費站前的振動路面或駕駛廣播才醒，約凌晨五點到達重慶北路西站附近的終點下車後寛敞的重慶南路完全沒有人車，感覺這城市只剩我一個人，走到辦公室換上軍服到洗手間洗臉刷牙後再略微休息一下迎接新的一週，如此模式又持續了八年之久直到八十二年從鳯山遷居台北方結束我的夜車經驗。
懷舊篇-202
（工程官生涯之十五） 當年辦公室尚無個人電腦辦公桌四張併為一組田字型，我左側是梁鵬同學對面是黎喆學長及顧以濱學弟，或許是簽擬公文太費神了対面二人香煙一支接一支地抽，我騎自行車上班途中已經吸了許多廢氣不想再吸整天的二手煙（當年辦公室是容許公然吸煙的，如今吸煙者幾乎已無場地吞雲吐霧了，我打羽球的國小校園全面禁煙以至抽煙的球友休息的空檔要走到一百公尺的校門外，這幾年巳陸續有兩位比我年輕好幾歲的抽煙球友死於肺癌、實在可怕，我們社區中庭原本有一些不敢在家中抽煙的住戶在那抽煙，可上個月住戶大會決議中庭也列為禁煙區了）於是便載著口罩上班，對面兩位老兄後來只要一點起香煙便會提醒我準備囗罩，某日上午執行官何中將經過本處門口瞄見我正載著口罩立馬進來說＂嘿！那是那位仁兄居然載口罩上班真是少見＂我脱下口罩向他報告原因，他勸説大家要少抽煙順便坐在我的桌子上和大夥閒聊了十多分鐘才離去。幾個月之後我納入國防部定期視查小組隨執行官至三軍各單位視查，也回到陸總後勤署會議室檢查後四組的業務，見到老同事非常興奮，到了左營海軍基地登艦時官兵列隊吹口笛發出各種音調迎接帶隊的海軍中將，我生平還是第一次見到如此陣仗（以前都是在電影中看到）頗感新奇，約十多天的視察結束後回到辦公室撰寫視察報告上呈順利完成任務。
懷舊篇-203
（工程官生涯之十六） 七十五年六月初我簽呈國防部三軍大學、政戰學校、國防醫學院、三軍總醫院、電展室、統指部、總務局⋯⋯等直屬單位下年度水電費預算分配表，公文上呈後次日接到副總長陳堅高上將辦公室參謀來電説副總長要我當面說明預算分配案，因我屬於借調人員配掛上寫博愛大樓字樣的臨時識別證不能進入總統府（副總長室在總統府二樓）乃約定時間由他在總統府地下道出口接我面見副總長，他便引早年部隊伙伕為例，說好的伙伕用一把柴即可煮一大鍋飯，差的伙伕則耍耗費好幾把柴，國軍一定耍珍惜能源不得浪費，大約說了二十分鐘的故事，最後特別叮囑務必監督各單位節約用水用電後將公文批可（我調職命令七月一日生效後配掛國防部正式識別證可直接進入總統府洽公）。後來有一次奉命隨同陳副總長赴空軍花蓮基地觀看戰機模擬在坑道中拖行任務。一行十餘人在松山機場搭乘C一47專機，沒有空調每個座位椅背上插著一把白色鵝毛扇（有一姆指粗的木柄像是孔明常用的），登機後供乘客使用（後來空軍採購了一批小型客機納入專機中隊也汰換了那些老飛機）到達花蓮基地後該聯隊預先在停機坪地面劃出坑道寬度及轉彎角度再實際以戰機拖行測試，任務結束後隨同副總長巡視營區狀況便乘原機返回臺北。
懷舊篇-204
（工程官生涯之十七） 軍中所有承辦工程人員依據的法令就是國防部頒的紅皮書「國軍軍事營繕工程教則」，然因沿用多年部份條文已不合時宜，處長下令工程小組研究修訂，每位同仁分配部分章節約一百頁，完成後交黎喆學長彙整上呈經長官核定便交由印製廠印製新教則頒發全國軍各單位遵行，対於各級承辦工程金額權限適度調整，也加強各單位確保工程品質的責任。 我到職約半年後對經辦業務已進入狀況，我經常協調連繋的單位是空總後勤署的設施組，剛到職時與該組通電話時他們常一開囗就説＂教官好＂或＂報告教官＂令我很不習慣心想我又不懂飛行也沒當過教官，後來才明白空軍習慣對上級長官一律稱教官（我們在陸總時都稱國防部的承辦人＂學長＂或＂長官＂）。本處負責海軍工程的范中校奉准至桃園的中央大學企業管理班受訓半年左右，處長指示由我代理他的業務，自此身兼海、空軍兩個軍種所有工程業務，經常下班返家用完晚餐後仍需簽擬公文，白天在辦公室因電話干擾多因此較為費神思考的提報或大簽案多在家中（爸媽住處）完成草稿次日上班時再以正式簽稿紙繕正感覺效果不錯。代理海軍工程期間也讓我有機會出差至海軍蘇澳、基隆、左營、澎湖等基地增廣見識。
懷舊篇-205
（工程官生涯之十八） 後次室主管國軍彈藥的三處實施全國軍彈庫安全檢查會請本處派員納入編組，由於我在陸總時曾經主管過彈庫整建工程，處長乃指派我參加，會同政三、政四⋯等單位至三軍各營區執行任務，我主要負責彈庫設施部分的安全評估，至於數量、溫濕度控制、翻堆記錄⋯等則另有專人檢查。所有行程由三處承辦人詹中校規劃，歷時約二十天圓滿完成任務。 計劃次長室（聯五）每年定期編組至各軍種實施施政計劃聯合查証考核，我奉命納入考核小組會同主計、政三等部門由計次室助次王中將領隊至澎湖、海官校、空官校、左營⋯等工程案現地查核執行成效，並立即在受檢單位提報優缺失狀況，每次均由我第一個報告，那些中、少將階主官均神情專注不時低頭作筆記，因為這些均將納入事後的查証報告上呈郝總長批示發佈的，全程查証完畢後約一週所有編組人員在計次室會議室針對各案逐一評比優、甲、合格、不合格。主持會議的海軍中將助次對於海軍單位工程均希望提升等级，最後仍以表決為準，我感覺出他似乎不太滿意最後的評比結果。在部內服務期間體會到海軍非常團結，只要我收到海軍工程申請公文立馬會接到一堆來至國防部各單位的海軍長官電話詢問＂公文收到了嗎？那項工程確實是單位需要的＂也常有長官直接來辦公室找我。每年過年海軍總部加菜聚餐時都會邀請在國防部服務的海軍軍官回去團聚餐後還帶回領帶、鋼筆⋯等小紀念品回來向我們炫耀，令我們陸、空軍人員頗為吃味（當然我們也知陸總遠在龍潭且人數過多是不可能比照辦理的）總之海軍的軍種特性就是像一個大家庭一樣，不過每個家庭中的兄弟受寵程度仍然有別，我的觀查依序是艦令部（潛艦、洋字號、運輸艦）、軍區、陸戰隊（希望海軍人員見諒）希望幾十年後的今天海軍能対所屬一視同仁。
懷舊篇-206
（工程官生涯之十九） 我國潛艦單位成軍過程計分為三個階段，第一代「武昌計劃」採購義大利兩艘S－1海蛟號及S－2海龍號小型潛艦在國內淡水及左營組裝，1969年成軍因為性能不佳於1972年除役。第二代「水星計劃」自美國接受有償軍援二戰時代兩艘SS－478海獅及SS－426海豹柴電動力潛艦於1973年成軍。 第三代「劍龍計劃」向荷蘭採購兩艘SS－793海龍及SS－794海虎柴電動力潛艦分別於1987至1988年成軍（陳水扁曾於2004年7月搭乘潛艦下潛作秀）。左營基地劍龍乾塢工程完工後我奉命前往參與驗收，該乾塢長120米寬22米深11米，容水量八千噸是海軍五座乾塢中最大的，施工單位以影片介紹乾塢進水排水作業狀況，塢門係超大方型中空浮筒以拖船拉至定位注滿水使其下沉封閉乾塢再將塢內水抽乾此時海水壓力會將塢門更加密封，接著便可進行潛艦之拆卸維修任務。進水時只需打開進水口閘門自然注入海水即可。至今該座乾塢已經歷時28年了，目前海軍正計劃自製第四代潛艦及陸續強化潛艦武力配備。
懷舊篇-207
（工程官生涯之二十） 我到任後次室之時正值空軍完成「太武山計畫」即向美國採購洛克希德.馬丁公司生產的十二架C－130中型戰術運輸機，配置於屏東439聯隊第十飛行大隊101及102中隊是運輸機隊的主力機種。空軍為因應新機種任務需要同時也完成必要的機場擴建工程。 東沙島是南海諸島的四大群島之一位於最北端，1979年劃歸高雄市旗津區中興里，距離汕頭最近僅有140海哩，1986年東沙機場跑道擴建完成後空軍實施C－130機首航東沙試降及驗收跑道工程任務，我奉令參加隨同空軍總司令陳桑齢上將及十多名將領一行共四十餘人從松山搭机起飛順利降落東沙機場，島上駐軍為海軍陸戰隊，上校指揮官向我們簡報介紹島上狀況，完成跑道工程（長1550公尺寬30公尺厚 0.23公尺）驗收後乘車繞行全島僅需十餘分鐘，島上防禦火力為90mm.76.2mm及40mm火砲，雖屬老舊高砲但據官兵表示若是對付海面船隻卻挺管用的。中午在官兵餐廳共進午餐有一道菜是當地產的沙螺味道不錯，餐後參觀士兵閒暇時的沙畫工廠，先將花鳥動物等繪於薄木板上再將膠水依不同顏色之順序逐次塗上，並依序將染了各種顔色的細沙撒上，當色沙沾附圓案後多餘的就回收再用，許多士兵聚精會神地學習製作，不僅習得手藝也可打發時間。我們一行在下午三點多搭乘原機返回臺北順利完成首航及試降任務，後來該型機種採定期航班運補島上物資。
懷舊篇-208
（工程官生涯之二十一） 許多好友早年乘坐火車經过大崗山時都可見到東側的山頭上有兩顆白色大球体，那便是空軍的雷達站，两座塔分别負責測高及测距，战管 人员則稱他老大塔及老二塔，我七十五年至後次室任職時正值空軍執行桐城計畫將北部两個南部一個高山雷站換裝為三D雷達，僅有一個塔台由兵工自建，因為之前有色塗料會阻隔電波因此所有雷達站之圆球体天線罩均為白色目標明顯，配合桐城案之同時也研發出不影響電波之有.色塗料將天線罩改為迷彩色，次長極為重視本案且親赴三個高山站台勘查施工進度。空軍所有雷達站係由戰管联隊督導指揮而戰管联隊直屬作戰司令部（八十八年改為作战指揮部）因換裝後效果很好空軍乃於八十七年起全面推動安宇計畫更新战管雷情系統汰換舊型雷達。
懷舊篇-209
（工程官生涯之二十二） 當年除了負責空軍三個高山雷達站換裝工程外尚奉命対一般雷達站及海軍近海雷達站官兵生活設施改善需求全面瞭解，因此國內山區海邊的海空軍大小雷達站幾乎都隻身走遍了，許多站台營舍老舊衛浴設備簡陋，突顯偏遠小單位官兵的艱苦，經評估後籌撥部分經費加以改善。 四十七年台海戰役期間美軍派遣第八十三中隊一批F－l04A協防台灣，當時我國空軍只知其最大空速為二馬赫足足比F－86F快了一倍，砲戰結束後共軍已逐步換裝俄製米格l9，我國空軍乃於四十九年開始實施「阿里山計畫」，由一號至十一號空軍共接收二四七架各型F－1O4戰機，使用過F－l04A、F－l04B、Fl04D、F－104G、F－104J，前後接收來自美國、荷蘭、丹麥、西德、日本等國的F－104戰機延壽換裝（多為二手貨），五十四年空軍汰除F－1O4A換裝高性能全天候多用途戰鬥轟炸機F－104－G。 七十五年我至後次室任職時正執行阿里山十號計畫，以F－5A戰機向丹麥空軍交換一批F－104戰機，我至新竹基地勘查相関工程時一併暸解維修作業，見機工士官熟練的更換零件後在安全揷孔中揷入專用一吋多長的鋼絲再將兩頭交叉像扭麻花般扭出固定圈數，多一圈或少一圈都不行（就像某知名小籠包指定揑幾個摺一樣），維修軍官同時說向日本買的一批F－104J戰機內部原有的通信設備及武器均遭日方拆除，幸經我方技術人員研究自行組裝後才能執行任務。 當年新竹基地也同時試用鋼纖混凝土（除了碎石、沙等骨料外尚加入一定比例之高強度約八公分長半公分寛波浪狀之鋼纖）舗設部分跑道，後來評估対小型火砲尚屬有效但対先進導彈及重磅炸彈仍無法承受。 隨著空軍陸續採購戰機F－104機便逐年汰除改以F－16A/B Bl0CK 20取代。後來我國又希望採購更先進的F－16C/D未獲美方同意轉而採取F－16A/B性能提昇方案，唯金額方面因美方要求過鉅而一直未能定案。
懷舊篇-210
（工程官生涯之二十三） 國軍老舊營區整建工程係將原有木造營舍拆除重新規劃發包或兵工自建為RC樓房兵舍，然有部份磚牆瓦頂營舍木質門窗及屋樑腐朽下部結構仍完好，為節省預算於七十一年推動國軍老舊營區整新案，針對磚牆瓦頂營舍保留下部結構將木門窗改為鋁門窗、水泥地坪改為磨石子、外牆改為洗石子、屋頂部份全部換新（包括人字架、桁材、椽條、屋面板、油毛氈、掛瓦條、水泥瓦）一律兵工自建，以陸軍及海軍陸戰隊為主要對象，我至後次室任職後次長林中將甚為重視整新案成效，某次且親赴中南部視察陸戰隊及陸軍施工狀況，處長及我陪同乘大福特車南下，陸戰隊無論施工品質、人員編組、材料管制儲存、簡報內容⋯等均優於陸軍，令我不得不佩服這個軍種貫徹命令達成任務的能力，之前我在陸總時曾會同陸軍一批部隊長至台中某陸戰隊營區參觀整新工程示範，有些軍官還説那不過是様板而已，此刻我真的瞭解每個陸戰隊營區都是一樣的水準。次長也非常滿意陸戰隊執行夲案的成效，順利完成視察任務後便原車返回臺北。
懷舊篇-211
（工程官生涯之二十四） 空軍救護隊成立於三十九年六月，前身為嘉義之直升機分隊四十三年擴編為救護中隊七十二年八月更改番號為空軍救護隊隸屬空軍嘉義聯隊。七十五年我任職後次室時正值空軍執行「華山計畫」採購S－70C－1型直升機十四架編組為海鷗救難中隊，其中四架（7001一7004）加裝沙發固定作為專機使用，其實S－70C就是UH－60黑鷹直升機的民用型號，主要任務係搜救落海之飛行員，一般民間山難則訂有責任區分，海拔2500公尺以上屬於該隊任務不足2500公尺歸航警隊負責，費用由全體國人買單，我曾赴嘉義基地實地勘查相関棚廠設施工程狀況，也略為瞭解該單位任務。二十餘年之後空軍於101年由歐洲直升機公司以36億元添購三架EC－225超級美洲山獅二式（Super Puma MK）直升機加入救難任務，但遺憾的是在同年的三月二十六日一架編號7017的海鷗直升機在蘭嶼附近進行醫療後送任務時因天候惡劣不幸墜海，六名工作人員僅有一位蔡姓中士生還令人惋惜。希望國人多注意安全遇惡劣天候不要登山、出海徒增救難單位之負担及風險。
懷舊篇-212
（工程官生涯之二十五） 七十五年八月二十一日至九月三日怪颱韋恩三次影響台灣地區兩次登陸造成澎湖及中部地區空前損失，媒體対其形容為「一個颱風、二次登陸、三次警報、四次轉向」。位於馬公的海軍基地受損嚴重，許多營房屋頂都不見了，我隨處長前往勘查災損後立即籌撥預算整修。同年蘇澳地區亦遭遇地震，海軍碼頭多處下陷及開裂，經現地勘查後亦檢討經費修復。同時一併勘查該基地龍淵工程執行狀況。 海軍陸戰隊左營桃〇〇營區之司令部房舍老舊漏雨，為配合七十八年的建軍四十週年隊慶開放營區供官兵家屬參觀，亟需整建一棟新的司令部大樓，經陸戰隊自籌經費二千萬元並將整建計畫報呈國防部核定，我收到公文後便通知陸戰隊安排時間現地會勘，我到達左營該司令部後主管工程的上校組長（陸官37期工兵科學長）引我至副司令辧公室，副司令說明需求狀況及未來新大樓配置地點，正巧當日天雨副司令辦公室地面放置兩個塑膠盆接住漏下的雨水，隨後我觀查司令部其他房間也有類似情形，返回部內後立即將實況簽報長官核定同意案內計畫，陸戰隊乃按計畫整建完成新的司令部大樓迎接擴大舉辦的隊慶活動。
懷舊篇-213
（工程官生涯之二十六） 曾因四十七年八二三砲戰而停航的金門機場在軍事作戰考量下遷移至尚義改由空軍班機飛航，至七十六年因往返台金旅客日益增加政府為因應民意需求於當年九月由遠東航空公司首航金門一台北航線為台金民航空運開啟新的紀元，後來陸續有復興及立榮等公司加入營運。七十六年初我奉命至金門勘查尚義機場跑道及相関設施工程狀況，所見缺失部份由空軍立即改進，我在部隊服務時未曾駐守金門，後來在陸總及國防部任參謀時卻常赴金門出差，前後約有十次之多。 空軍的花東油管（花蓮一台東）工程係當年國軍重大工程，我曾至現地勘查施工狀況，為確保安全所有焊接處均需經X光檢驗防止日後油品滲漏，然而人為的破壞則防不勝防，後來曾發生台東地區歹徒租用農地以種荖葉（包檳榔的材料）為掩護架設黑網遮蓋從油管盜取軍油後加入油罐車運出變賣，真是膽大包天。
懷舊篇-214
（工程官生涯之二十七） 我在後五處任職約一年半的時間與長官同事均相處愉快也走遍了所有海空軍的基地及大多數的雷達站台增進不少知識，基於本處當時已無上校空缺，處長非常関心部屬發展，某日處長找我至處長室說道總務局局長室上校參謀退休他有意推薦我去接任是否同意，我雖然喜愛目前的工作（很有成就感）但也不便辜負長官的好意便答應處長，次日處長告知局長已同意我去任職。不久之後由海軍調來一位海軍鄧合釗中校接替我的空軍工程業務，我們銜接了一個月左右他非常謙虛有禮很快便進入狀況，我收到調職人令後次長召見處長及我事前他特別交待一處處長王無冕少將（我在桃園工兵群任監察官時的指揮官）訂製一面上記載我在後次室期間的工作成效，頒發獎牌獎金後並期勉我継續努力，我也同時感謝次長處長的関懷及指導（事後一處處長告訴我說通常退伍的同仁才有獎牌，我算是破例了）我調到總務局局長室（位於總統府的一樓）後開始了我的另一段生涯，然而三年之後的一次事件令我極為震驚。七十九年八月二十一日一架載有十八名將校（三名少將）的空軍小型專機於前往嘉義勘查建安四號工程途中墜毀於雲林東勢郷程海村的農田，機上人員全部罹難，接替我業務的鄧上校也是其中一員，我心中百感交集總覺得是他承接了我的災難，後來在一殯公祭時我特地請假前往悼念，面對他的遺像時我竟忍不住落淚。真是人生無常一夕之間竟折損多名優秀將校，後來當地民衆捐建「空軍十八將軍祠」加以紀念，至今己過了二十五個年頭了，但是合釗兄的音容風範令我永難忘懐。
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Contents目錄目录 (27)
懷舊篇-188
（工程官生涯之一） 近期P0的軍旅回憶中曾提及某些長官不近人情的舉措，有同學建議我說軍中不好的一面不要寫出來，家醜不外揚，可我認為軍隊是整個社會的縮影，民間職場有不體恤部屬的上司軍中自然也有，一味歌功頌德將使報導失去真實性對不起耗費時間閲讀的好友，此觀點是否妥當希望學長學弟們不吝指教。 到後勤署四組報到後組長羅長春上校帶我晉見署長劉傅榮少將可不久他便調職改由我在台北軍政三科監察官時的軍部上校副參謀長馮濟民少將接任，本組副組長張志方上校，參謀除了六位資深上中校外，有陳炎生（37）羅國禎（39）王競康（40）等三位學長都很照顧及指導我，後來隨著資深參謀退役又陸續調來朱龍山、王師俊、梁蜀吳、卓順民等學長及郭世民學第，我的業務職掌為陸軍學校、醫院、廠庫疏遷建及老舊廠庫整修建工程，當年國軍為配合地方都市發展及戰備需要將位於市區內學校、醫院、廠庫疏遷至郊區原址土地以變產置產方式列為不適用營地移交國産局依法標售得款除支應工程所需外盡繳國庫，如此地方發展進步市容改善、軍方獲得新的設施設備及機具、國庫也有大量經費進賬確是三贏的政策，我承辦的汽基處（位於北市現在的信義計劃區）遷至桃園郊區工程即為循此政策執行，不僅廠區擴大數倍，廠房新穎機具先進作業能力大増，總經費只要原址一小片的土地款即可支應。 到職兩個多月後總部作戰後勤部門編組至各廢棄的山海防班排哨小據點會勘檢討其處理方式，由本組副組長帶隊，我奉命納為組員一行五人環島十天左右，沿途由陸軍部隊派車以接力方式（有如古代在驛站換馬），副組長對各據點位置瞭若指掌，連在東部舞鶴山區被比人還高的茅草遮掩的小班哨都被他找到，我們都佩服的不得了，某日按行程到達屏東龍泉師換車順便在師部餐廳午餐，師長副師長參謀長主任與我們同桌，偏遠單位很少有總部長官蒞臨，參謀長見到我非常親切，用餐時且對副組長説李中校是優秀的工兵營長我們一直都看好他，這些話令我聽來有些食不下嚥，餐後略為休息便搭乘師部派的吉普車往南迴公路台東方向繼續勘查。
懷舊篇-189
（工程官生涯之二） 此生唯一的環島之行是乘坐軍用吉甫車出差至各山區海濱，順利完成會勘任務後接著是準備軍事會談提報資料，當年每個月定期舉行一次軍談由參謀總長率各軍總司令向經國先生提報軍事任務執行狀況，本組奉命提供老舊營區及廠房彈庫整建後之簡報資料及實景相片簿，因作業時間緊迫從蒐集相片加洗到貼好七本相簿並標註每張相片只有兩天時間，第二天組長下令全組留下加班直至凌晨四時才完成所有提報資料。每週一、五兩天軍官需留宿總部，晚間七點中正堂放映電影，但是本組幾乎都在辦公室加班，我偶爾會抽空至體育館打籃球，到總部後感覺缺乏運動乃利用中午空檔到體育館打羽毛球，也是正式在球埸比賽，以往只有在公園或空地兩個人対打，下午一點回到辦公室上班，當年沒有電腦所有公文簽稿全用鋼筆，我們每人都有一瓶自己習慣的墨水，為了省錢每人備有一支注射針筒，當卡式墨水管沒墨水時以針筒吸取瓶中墨水注入反覆使用同時也符合環保。有時簽呈被長官刪改則必須清稿，某位學長最高紀錄被退回清稿七次最後跟組長翻臉大吵一埸，因為他覺得改到最後似乎又回到他的原稿，組內新來的一位中校桌球打得很好從小就奪得許多奬杯，但是字寫得較差，某次他有一公文要上簽給總司令，組長核稿刪改後要我清稿再交給原承辦人蓋章，我心中總覺得怪怪的（某位市長的口頭禪），之後每次見到那位同事都不敢正眼看他，從此經常會發現他利用時間勤練鋼筆字。
懷舊篇-190
（工程官生涯之三） 之前曾提及全組加班準備相片等軍事會談資料，事隔一年之後陸續有營區完成整建，需再度向經國先生提報，長官認為前次的照片均由地面拍攝未能涵蓋全營區景觀，決定改用空中拍攝鳥瞰畫面，組長指示由我協助承辦人羅國禎學長共同執行空拍任務，經簽會作戰署並奉長官核可後我倆上午八時抵達總部旁的輕航大隊機坪登上一架外型像一顆大玻璃球兩側透空前座為正副架駛，我們坐後座，剛好容納四人，聽說是偵查機，繋好安全帶後立即起飛，依據事先提供給駕駛的定點資料南下至適當高度固定不動，我們則利用手中的相機対準目標拍攝，為怕相機不慎脫手特別將背帶纏繞手臂，此刻所見景觀就像學生時跳傘擋門那一刻一樣，因為天氣不錯我們穿著長袖軍便服，那知到了空中溫度驟降，利用中午抵達台中某基地休息用餐時借了兩件夾克穿上繼續南下至高雄拍完最後目標即折返龍潭基地，將拍攝的底片（幻燈片用的是正片，一般相片則是負片）交由專業人員製作成幻燈片後圓滿完成任務，此次縱貫南北的空拍經驗實屬難得。 署長馮少將向以兇猂出名，許多同仁甚為畏懼，本組某位資深上校或許是思維方式與署長不合經常被找去訓斥，只要一見到署長參謀站在夲組門口，他便習慣性的口中唸唸有詞＂完蛋了完蛋了署長又找我了＂可在我感覺署長並不可怕，每次去見他時都是和言悅色像是朋友間商談事情一般毫無壓力，曾經單獨陪同他去中南部出差數次（署長習慣不帶組長僅由承辦人陪同出差）覺得他不像一些很難侍候的長官，且能體諒部屬，某次署長欲親往鳳山步兵學校瞭解整建案規劃狀況，由我陪同前往，當我請示他何時前往時，他對我說＂你不是住鳯山嗎，就安排週五去，週六上午也不必回來上班，順便休個假＂真是太令我感動了。週五到了步校後校長李禎林中將親自接待聽取規劃簡報後共同車廵校區研究整建後大門位置，停留約半天後送署長離開，我也獲得兩天連假。
懷舊篇-191
（工程官生涯之四） 在高司單位服務不免會接獲參謀研究之任務，我在後勤署期間計受命完成兩份參謀研究報告，第一份是針對兵工署拷潭第二弾藥庫遷至山區地下化後研究將鳳山的步兵學校遷至拷潭之可行性研究，經考量各項利弊因素以步校現址已具傋完整的訓練場地（後山幅員甚廣）且緊臨官校、預校在師資交流及教學觀摩方面均為便利，已然成為軍事學區，拷潭營區各方面條件均不適合步校的教學及訓練任務，結論為步校仍以原址改建為宜，研究報告上呈之後長官採納所擬意見，命步校立即規劃原地整建方案。第二份研究報告是我承辦的陸軍829醫院（位於北市公舘後改稱國軍817醫院）醫療大樓興建工程規劃案向總司令蔣上將簡報時副總司令宋心溓中將順便向總司令建議目前總部距台北太遠交通車往返耗費油料，正好內湖的工兵學校已遷至高雄可否將總部遷至內湖工校原址，總司令當場指示由後勤署研究，署長指示本組組長組長則命我一週之內完成「陸軍總部遷至內湖工校原址之可行性報告」，可真是天降好大一顆燙手山芋，我立即行文總務處、運輸署、作戰暑提供相関數據資料包含龍潭以北及桃園中壢新竹地區之交通車數量比率，每月耗油狀況、戰時由內湖或龍潭進入北縣山區之戰術指揮所何者較為有利。綜合評估後發現桃園中壢新竹等地之交通車也不在少數且逐年增加中，遷至內湖後並未節省多少油料，戰備機動也不如龍潭，綜上利弊分析結論總部仍留龍潭，三十多年之後陸總部還在那，內湖工校原址興建為國防醫學中心（含國防醫學院、三軍總醫院、航太醫學中心等單位）
懷舊篇-192
（工程官生涯之五） 本組組長羅上校奉調某軍團後勤指揮部指揮官佔少將缺，掌管工兵、通信、運輸、經理、化學等勤務部隊，此職務通常指派工兵科軍官擔任，當然也有例外，工兵幹部戲稱地盤失守，組長離職前我問他如何將我從屏東偏遠的小單位調到組裏的，他答説因組裏中校參謀出缺他便請工兵署副署長曹友萍少將（我66年初任桃園工兵群監察官時的指揮官）推薦適當人選，副署長從許多中少校中推薦我。我突然覺得人的際遇多少有些因果關係，倘若當年我在桃園工兵群打混擺爛，那麼又是另一種結局了。 在後四組平均每月出差五至六天，通常穿著便服將軍服及大盤帽置於手提箱（袋）中（此時真羨慕海空軍有船型帽方便多了）從中壢車站乘火車到達中南部車站時再到車站的運輸軍官室換上軍服搭乘部隊派來的軍車前往目的地執行任務，若是穿著軍服乘坐火車若是無座位站在走道感覺不妥，若坐在椅上打盹有失軍官儀態。 本組某位資深上校承辦高雄旗山重要工程經常要前往現地會勘及驗收，有時他會拿著公文到我身旁很客氣地說＂翊民老弟啊下週X旗山有個XX任務，麻煩你幫忙去一趟好嗎？＂當我同意時他立馬興奮地回座提筆簽呈組長。當年高雄或鳯山往旗山的道路被砂石車弄得坑坑洞洞塵土飛揚，車程一個多小時常常被顛的從座位上彈起來，某次乘坐九人座軍用旅行車最後排的上尉軍官被彈起後腦袋撞到車頂發出巨響，到了旗山每個人骨頭都快散了，想到等下還有回程真是心有餘悸，如今可好了，國道十號快速平穩。
懷舊篇-193
（工程官生涯之六） 由屏東調到陸總後每週七天分別夜宿四個地方，週一、五兩天留宿總部四樓（頂樓）軍官寢室六人一間，三張雙層床，我最資淺睡上舗，沒有冷氣只有一支大同電扇夏天熱的無法入睡，雖然仍有內務檢查但標準無法與官校受訓時相比。每週二、三、四搭乘交通車返回新店與爸媽同住一進門豐盛的晚餐已備好，三人共享愉快的一餐後由我清洗碗盤（那是必須的）。週六中午搭乘往新竹的交通車至火車站乘坐最近班次的列車往高雄（通常無座位）再轉乘往屏東的區間車到鳯山下車步行返家，已經是下午五點多了，有時妻會騎機車載三歲的女兒在車站出口接我，女兒見到我時總是高興地大叫，晚間住宿家中，週日通常到高雄的大統百貨頂樓遊樂區玩，晚間十點多我便背著包包離開家門步行至鳯山火車站，女兒常會抱著我的腳哭喊＂把拔不要走＂妻則加以安撫，我趁機溜出家門，一路上商家多巳打洋，人車稀少，我透過隨身聼收聽電台的夜線節目及司馬中原恐怖的鬼故事，步行約半小時到鳯山車站搭車至高雄轉乘往台北的最後一班平快車，最後一節車廂幾乎被我們陸總及三軍大學的學員包了，座位上及地板上都睡了人且裝備齊全，冬天則有睡袋，列車長一出發便先來查票（需逐一跨過橫躺在地下的乘客）離開後立馬很體貼地將本節車廂燈関掉，因為全是長途客，凌晨五點多大夥起床車上也加入了一些中學生，不久抵達中壢出站後排班司機趨前拉客到陸總每人五十元。抵達總部後略微休息便迎接新的ˋㄧ週，如此生活模式前後計四年之久。
懷舊篇-194
（工程官生涯之七） 我承辦的陸軍老舊廠庫整修建工程每年都會依據各單位呈報之計畫實施現場需求勘實，由我搭配工兵署三組某理工學院畢業之中尉一同至各單位為期約半個月的現地勘估，主要避免予人有一手遮天的聯想，本著既不能影響部隊任務又不致浪費國家預算的原則該給就給該刪就刪。凡經過我核實的個案均註明詳細理由也獲得上級充份信任從未打過退票。僅就記憶中幾項個案摘述如后，其一：某軍團桃園地區彈藥庫載卸彈月台墊木破損（防止卡車倒車時撞毀月台）需經費七百餘萬元全面更換為柚木材質，我查看現場發現除少部份腐朽外絕大多數墊木均係遭撞擊破損，我想到海港碼頭邊都安裝車輪胎防止船隻撞到碼頭，乃簽准核覆該軍團按替代案重新呈報計劃，最終以二十七萬元解決問題，節省公帑六百餘萬，完工後我至現地勘查發現效果不錯庫方幹部均甚滿意。其二：成功嶺營區一棟經理庫房鐵皮屋頂鏽蝕漏雨導致裝備發霉需更換屋頂，我勘查結果確實亟需整修簽奉核准更換為鍍鋅鋼板屋頂，日後我週六下午搭火車返回高雄經過成功嶺時我都特別注意右側小山坡頂端的庫房從工人拆屋頂到下週六看到新的屋頂心中有股欣慰的感覺。其三：台中烏日的工基處棚廠老舊屋頂破損需要翻修，我至現地勘查，處長董瑞林少將是我官校四年級時的連長，他特別帶我參觀經他全面整頓後的廠區環境（以往非常零亂）我也向老連長報告說總部的定期視察報告中有紀載總司令蔣上將且在月會中特別讚揚工基處的績效，因為整修經費過於龐大以現有預算無法支應俟日後年度預算有餘時再行檢討，為此我心中一直對老連長有幾分歉疚。其四：某次至嘉義某步兵師勘查車輛保養廠整修工程，中午要離開時承辦人說師長要和我們共進午餐，原本以為在師部餐廳，後來領我們至一小餐廳吃自製西餐桌上擺設齊全，一旁還有穿著白色制服像餐廳侍者的士兵服務，我極不習慣一旁有人看著用餐，在一些生意很好的小館子只要有人站在旁邊等候座位我立馬匆匆走人。不過我們仍然感謝師長的盛意。其五：我的原單位屏東師位於新開的新訓旅營區需興建一棟動員裝備庫房，我到師部後參謀長非常客氣地接待並指示副參謀長陪同前往，軍中興建房舍無需申請建照但是需納入營區設施總計畫中不能想蓋在那就蓋在那。經查核後該庫房已經納入計劃且確屬需要乃簽准同意撥款。
懷舊篇-195
（工程官生涯之八） 我承辦的其中一項工程是依據陸軍廠庫疏遷政策將台北的XX處台中的XX處XX中心台南的XX廠一併遷建至中部山區，原本係單獨將台中的XX處遷至東勢，選中東勢伯公壠一塊七十餘公頃土地後因地質鑽探結果屬於滑動層只有放棄另外於中部山區取得196公頃土地，規劃上述四單位併遷成為陸軍XX中心，斥資五十二億（以原址土地款支應）為當時陸軍最重大工程，我到職接辦此案時僅完成土地收購作業，正由使用單位兵工暑配合工兵暑規劃擬訂需求計劃先安排向總司令簡報由四名士兵將全區立體模型（像民間售屋中心的一樣）抬至簡報室，奉裁示同意後將全案需求計劃報呈總長核定並同時安排向總長簡報，俟需求計劃奉核定後立即擬訂工作計劃（含本文、材料明細表、施工藍圖）呈核，往往一份公文就是一般十份公文的厚度，工兵署及後勤署的傳令文書也比較辛苦，工作計劃核定後即製作標單準備發包事宜，當年軍事工程依規定要先與榮工處議價若議價不成再改採發包，本案先期整地道路土方排水及水土保持工程議價結果由榮工處承包，開工後我平均每兩個月要到中部山區工地一趟，全區面積可供建築使用者不足三分之一，多半分伂在山谷下方的兩側，有些建地尚需挖方填方平整層層壓實形成台地並等它自然沉降一年後方可使用。我在後四組期間完成了先期整地⋯等工程的驗收工作，後續工程便由接班參謀繼續負責，全案共耗時八年完成。某次陪同署長至東勢的XX廠出差順便至伯公壠勘查原本選中的遷建用地，只見滿山遍野又大又美的水梨果園，只不過十餘年後的921大地震他們是否會受到地層滑動影響不得而知。
懷舊篇-196
（工程官生涯之九） 當年位於台東的陸軍832醫院計劃在綠島設置小型分院，因我負責醫院工程奉派至綠島現地會勘，某日會同軍醫署相関人員從台東機場搭乘十人座小飛機前往，天候不佳，正副駕駛詢問綠島機場仍然開放決定起飛，怎料升空不久竟然傾盆大雨我瞄見駕駛前面的玻璃全是水花，此刻接獲資訉台東及綠島機場均巳関閉，只見駕駛不斷與綠島方面聯絡要求降落，終於獲准，在能見度不良的狀況下勉強對準跑道著陸時且向上反弾了一下（稱為重著陸），我們到達現地完成勘查任務後當天下午搭機返回台東，天候轉好駕駛在最後一個轉向対准跑道時竟然耍帥來個急轉彎俯衝而下像是老鷹掠食動物一樣，嚇得有些乘客驚叫，不過著陸瞬間卻是非常平穏，虛驚一埸，我之前任監察官時曾至綠島出差六天，事隔兩年之後又再度來出差，此生僅有兩次綠島之行竟然均是出差方式，沒有機會欣賞當地風光。 位於台北公館的陸軍829醫院原本收容慢性病患，病房老舊且常淹水，乃規劃興建一棟現代化醫療大樓，我到職後從規劃、呈報需求、向總司令及總長簡報、發包、開工⋯均按時程順利執行，某日下午完成大樓工程開標作業後我立即將結果上呈署長（以最速件持呈），次日上午總司令主持主管部務會報時隨口問工兵署長829醫院工程發包了嗎？工兵及軍醫署長均無法回答，署長立馬向總司令報告已在昨天下午完成發包由XX建設公司得標，金額X億餘元、標餘款XXX元。總司令非常滿意（上情是署長事後告訴我的）。署長下午且在會議室當著全署表揚此事，要求所有同仁重要案件務必儘速讓長官得知最新訊息。829醫院新大樓如期完工後改善醫療品質，後來改為國軍817醫院數年後移交衛生暑納入地方醫療體系。
懷舊篇-197
（工程官生涯之十） 保防教育月時全署各組室各推派一名軍官參加演講比賽，組長指派我代表後四組參賽，這還是我此生第一次參加演講比賽，立刻很慎重地擬好十分鐘的講稿，反覆背誦，上下班的交通車上也口中唸唸有辭，比賽當天全署集中在會議室，七名參賽者逐一上台演講，署長親自主持並由所有組長主任擔任評審，許多參賽者不時低頭看稿甚至有全程照稿唸，我則空手上台按熟背的內容搭配手勢音量忽高忽低吸引聼眾注意，最後評分結果由我獲得第一名，署長當場頒發奬品（署長提字瓷茶杯乙組）及記嘉獎一次。爾後我便再也未參加任何的演講比賽了。 總部為鼓勵運動風氣提振單位士氣舉辦各部、署、處籃球、羽毛球及桌球比賽，本組陳炎生學長及我參加三項球隊，羅國禎及王競康學長參加籃球隊，郭世民老弟參加羽球隊，我們向組長報傋時他欣然同意且說多運動是好事。籃球賽本署第一場便遭遇我的老東家政戰部，當年我在政戰部時陣中有唐雄飛學長、蔣濟翔兄（政校校隊）、徐鍚麟⋯等好手，我不在先發五人之列，此番我列入先發上埸，一開賽我便連投帶切獨得八分以八比0領先，對方緊急叫暫停後指派一瘦小靈活隊員面對我如影隨形防守，縱使我偶爾拿到球時也立馬有兩人包夾令我無法施展，畢竟政戰部兵多將廣技高一籌最終本署落敗，後來面對工兵署及經理署時均由本署獲勝。桌球比賽第一場同樣対上政戰部，我排在單打対手是黃國良少校（政校學弟後來升任國防部少將處長）雙方拚鬥激烈最終由他得勝，各項比完後由政戰部晉級，羽球賽第一場対上實力堅強的總務處，我和三組某中校搭配雙打対上總務處長金少將及副處長〇上校之組合，我們只有兩三年球齢，而対方至少十幾年球齢且經常和陸光羽球隊（陳能彪、葛新銘、鍾佳珍⋯）搭配練習，最終我們不敵二位老將，本署其他組合亦落敗遭到淘汰，此次本署各項成績欠佳自當加強練習，不過也讓我們留下一段特別的回憶。
懷舊篇-198
（工程官生涯之十一） 某日接獲指示稱中華電視台要拍攝陸軍廠庫疏遷工程之紀錄片，由我配合相関作業，經協調結果我需先行完成拍攝腳本，用制式的腳夲格式將計劃拍攝的畫面依序編號排列，再針對每組畫面將說明資料填入旁白空格內，拍完母帶後再由華視找專人依旁白配音，拍攝當天我乘軍用七人座旅行車至華視接拍攝小組（負責人、攝影師、掌鏡等三人）至北縣郊區的汽基處新廠區執行任務，聯合主廠房已近完工，還有其他作業區均逐一按脚本拍攝，每次拍攝前先用白紙在鏡頭前測量光線，準備妥當後攝影師旁邊的工作人員便倒數四、三、二、一接著大夥均全神貫注在攝影機上，每個定點都幾乎拍攝兩三遍以上務求完美，耗時一下午終於完成任務，真正播出的部分係經過剪接後的十五分鐘左右，難怪電視演員常常錄節目要弄到通宵，實際播出僅一至兩集，藝人光鮮亮麗的背後辛苦常不為人知。 當年學校醫院疏遷案有一項是將北市士林外雙溪的陸軍衛勤學校及台南市區的陸軍八0四醫院併遷至桃園龍潭的健行營區，從現地勘查、單位配置、需求規劃、施工、搬遷均按計劃執行，有效提昇龍潭地區醫療水準，且將學校醫院結合增進學習效果。 我在後四組前後約四年順利完成上級交付任務也到達過大部份的陸軍大小營區，所經辦的重大工程仍持續進行由接任參謀續辦，我奉令前往我的下一站國防部後勤次長室第五處。
懷舊篇-199
（工程官生涯之十二） 當年將我從屏東師調至陸總後四組的組長羅長春上校七十五年初已升任國防部後勤次長室第五處少將處長，適值處內主管空軍工程的中校參謀離職，而尚有多項工程亟待展開，處長乃通知我前往國防部參謀考試，我到達總統府西側的博愛大樓二樓後五處面見處長，他給我的題目是「如何強化國軍營繕工程品質」，我依據政三監辦及後勤承辦工程的經驗寫了七張十行紙並加裝封底面由處長呈請次長核示，約三天後處長通知我說次長己批示＂速辦徵調＂，因徵調作業需耗時二至三個月乃先採借調方式，我便於七五年四月初至後五處報到，原承辦人抽空半日回來交接，打開公文櫃點交案卷夾，並交給我六、七件已掛三聯單待辦的公文，由於時間匆促，他説若有不懂的就向檔案室調閱原案即可，幸好當年我進陸總時已經有類似經驗，從此每天上班後即可見我的桌上堆滿公文檔案，每項工程從建案緣起、執行過程、目前進展⋯等均詳加瞭解。 次長林克承中將曾任職駐美軍事採購組外語能力強待人親切，執行官（首席助理次長）何炳銳海軍中將身材高大個性豪爽待部屬如兄弟朋友般、助次趙域少將（工兵）溫文儒雅態度和藹，直至我離開後次室近三十年，當年的老同仁們仍每年不定期與三位老長官餐敍，足見好的領導者対單位產生相當的凝聚力。我負責主管空軍工程及三軍年度水電費預算，面臨的第一項任務便是各空軍基地防砲部隊生活設施改善工程。多年來防砲部隊房舍多係機場角落的成功堡（鋁皮材質外觀有如奶粉罐縱剖兩半後扣在地面上的放大版）弧形屋頂，生活條件甚差，為此特編列兩億預算在各基地興建兩層樓的營舍。我陪同處長至各基地現場會勘後分配經費由空總督導執行，均能按時程完工澈底改善防砲官兵生活設施。當年空軍各項裝備面臨換新，如三D雷達、三五快砲、S－70C直昇機（海鷗中隊電視上常見救災用的）、C－130運輸機（四具發動機能短場起降取代我們學生時跳傘用的老舊C－119），同時也需興建相関設施，次長曾親自南下兩次會勘（處長及我陪同），來回均搭乘國防部汽車大隊的大福特七人座旅行車，空軍總部則由參謀長林文禮少將率相関人員陪同。
懷舊篇-200
（工程官生涯之13） 陪同次長及處長勘查屏東地區高山戰備工程，前一日夜宿高雄英雄館，次長得知我家住鳯山立即命我返家住宿並要我次日上午也不必趕至英雄館直接在鳯山等他們的車子經過載我前往屏東，我遵示返家住宿一晚次日上午仍然到達英雄館安排早餐事誼，餐後直接往屏東大漢山現地勘查，在山上巧遇陸軍工兵署長潘禮門中將（我在新竹軍工兵群任連長時的指揮官）也在視導施工部隊，署長垂詢我的近況後勉我繼續努力。順利完成勘査任務後便下山返回臺北，山路雖然險峻但路面狀況尚可駕駛技術純熟，抵達台北已經晩間九點多了。 空軍北部某高山雷達站進出道路係狹窄的產業道路，未加舗面經常泥濘難行導致車輛墜落山谷意外，空總呈請撥款八千餘萬元由兵工自建為混凝土道路。次長獲報後決定親往現地會勘處長及我陪同，某日清晨空總參謀長林少將率戰管聯隊長及相関人員派出兩輛四輪傳動吉普車至國防部接次長、處長及我往目的地出發，從平地開始上山到站台竟需四個小時，路況甚差車輛常打滑方向盤很難掌控，有一兩次險些滑落山谷，次長絲毫未顯驚慌仍若無其事地與林參謀長交談，到達站台後因為海拔三千多公尺走路略顯吃力要不斷大口呼吸，官兵生活環境艱苦，雖有除濕機但寢具仍然潮濕，次長也同時探視了統一通信指揮部通信站台的官兵們，與雷達站官兵共進午餐後便下山返回臺北，我本打算連夜擬寫提報資料供次長第二天上午向郝總長報告，但次長說不必寫了由他口頭報告即可，真是貼心的長官，知道我們累了一整天需要休息。次日上午次長面報總長後指示儘速籌措經費整修道路，我向處長報告目前可動用之經費只有從國軍年度水電費控管預算中撥用，處長同意後，我即簽會聯五、主計部門以變更科目方式核撥經費支應，均無異議，總長核定後由新竹軍工兵群負責施工並如期完工終於改善該站台進出交通狀況。
懷舊篇-201
（工程官生涯之十四） 後次室五處處長羅少將思慮周密負責盡職対所屬參謀作業耐心指導常常工作到很晚才下班，副處長海、空軍各一位上校，空軍的張賴上校退伍後由空總調來一位李自鈴上校接任（現在是我的臉友）待人親和與同仁互動良好，處內參謀分為工程及營產兩個小組，工程組有黎喆學長（40期）梁鵬同學（41）顧以濱學弟（42）范褔平學弟（43）及我均為工兵科軍官，另有一名空軍的何定生上校及評價聘雇的陳工程師，營產組有楊建武學弟（42）及兩位雇員駱公、王公、兩位中校，業務甚為煩重，每天下午五點半下班鈴響起時全處均無動靜，只見別處人員下班經過本處門口，有時因有事需要按時下班竟像做了虧心事一般悄悄地離開經過處長室門口時還深怕被處長看見，好像一個翹課的學生，其實處長並未規定要同仁加班只是單位長久養成的習性，以前在陸總坐交通車到家均能和爸媽共進晚餐，到國防部離新店近多了反而每天要二佬預留飯菜，基於往新店的公車擁擠不堪加上我覺得每天仍需運動，剛好妻舅買了新機車便將原代步的變速自行車送我，早上我便從新店市公所附近爸媽住處騎自行車上班約四十分鐘到達總統府北側圍牆內的車棚停好車至博愛大樓上班，下班再原路騎回新店，如此每天可有八十分鐘的運動，唯一的缺點就是公車及計程車常常突然切入我的前進路線且排放大量廢氣，後來我便載著囗罩騎，如此方式通勤了約一年多感覺雙腿更有力了。每週六中午下班後先在一樓的大餐廳午餐（或買個三明治）再走到台汽公司西站（重慶南路與忠孝西路口）搭乘往高雄的國光號車返回鳯山休假，週日晚上則從高雄東站乘凌晨十二時多的國光虢回台北，最初不習慣坐著睡（以往在陸總時都躺在平快火車的座位或地板）久了之後便能一上高速公路便睡著直到泰山收費站前的振動路面或駕駛廣播才醒，約凌晨五點到達重慶北路西站附近的終點下車後寛敞的重慶南路完全沒有人車，感覺這城市只剩我一個人，走到辦公室換上軍服到洗手間洗臉刷牙後再略微休息一下迎接新的一週，如此模式又持續了八年之久直到八十二年從鳯山遷居台北方結束我的夜車經驗。
懷舊篇-202
（工程官生涯之十五） 當年辦公室尚無個人電腦辦公桌四張併為一組田字型，我左側是梁鵬同學對面是黎喆學長及顧以濱學弟，或許是簽擬公文太費神了対面二人香煙一支接一支地抽，我騎自行車上班途中已經吸了許多廢氣不想再吸整天的二手煙（當年辦公室是容許公然吸煙的，如今吸煙者幾乎已無場地吞雲吐霧了，我打羽球的國小校園全面禁煙以至抽煙的球友休息的空檔要走到一百公尺的校門外，這幾年巳陸續有兩位比我年輕好幾歲的抽煙球友死於肺癌、實在可怕，我們社區中庭原本有一些不敢在家中抽煙的住戶在那抽煙，可上個月住戶大會決議中庭也列為禁煙區了）於是便載著口罩上班，對面兩位老兄後來只要一點起香煙便會提醒我準備囗罩，某日上午執行官何中將經過本處門口瞄見我正載著口罩立馬進來說＂嘿！那是那位仁兄居然載口罩上班真是少見＂我脱下口罩向他報告原因，他勸説大家要少抽煙順便坐在我的桌子上和大夥閒聊了十多分鐘才離去。幾個月之後我納入國防部定期視查小組隨執行官至三軍各單位視查，也回到陸總後勤署會議室檢查後四組的業務，見到老同事非常興奮，到了左營海軍基地登艦時官兵列隊吹口笛發出各種音調迎接帶隊的海軍中將，我生平還是第一次見到如此陣仗（以前都是在電影中看到）頗感新奇，約十多天的視察結束後回到辦公室撰寫視察報告上呈順利完成任務。
懷舊篇-203
（工程官生涯之十六） 七十五年六月初我簽呈國防部三軍大學、政戰學校、國防醫學院、三軍總醫院、電展室、統指部、總務局⋯⋯等直屬單位下年度水電費預算分配表，公文上呈後次日接到副總長陳堅高上將辦公室參謀來電説副總長要我當面說明預算分配案，因我屬於借調人員配掛上寫博愛大樓字樣的臨時識別證不能進入總統府（副總長室在總統府二樓）乃約定時間由他在總統府地下道出口接我面見副總長，他便引早年部隊伙伕為例，說好的伙伕用一把柴即可煮一大鍋飯，差的伙伕則耍耗費好幾把柴，國軍一定耍珍惜能源不得浪費，大約說了二十分鐘的故事，最後特別叮囑務必監督各單位節約用水用電後將公文批可（我調職命令七月一日生效後配掛國防部正式識別證可直接進入總統府洽公）。後來有一次奉命隨同陳副總長赴空軍花蓮基地觀看戰機模擬在坑道中拖行任務。一行十餘人在松山機場搭乘C一47專機，沒有空調每個座位椅背上插著一把白色鵝毛扇（有一姆指粗的木柄像是孔明常用的），登機後供乘客使用（後來空軍採購了一批小型客機納入專機中隊也汰換了那些老飛機）到達花蓮基地後該聯隊預先在停機坪地面劃出坑道寬度及轉彎角度再實際以戰機拖行測試，任務結束後隨同副總長巡視營區狀況便乘原機返回臺北。
懷舊篇-204
（工程官生涯之十七） 軍中所有承辦工程人員依據的法令就是國防部頒的紅皮書「國軍軍事營繕工程教則」，然因沿用多年部份條文已不合時宜，處長下令工程小組研究修訂，每位同仁分配部分章節約一百頁，完成後交黎喆學長彙整上呈經長官核定便交由印製廠印製新教則頒發全國軍各單位遵行，対於各級承辦工程金額權限適度調整，也加強各單位確保工程品質的責任。 我到職約半年後對經辦業務已進入狀況，我經常協調連繋的單位是空總後勤署的設施組，剛到職時與該組通電話時他們常一開囗就説＂教官好＂或＂報告教官＂令我很不習慣心想我又不懂飛行也沒當過教官，後來才明白空軍習慣對上級長官一律稱教官（我們在陸總時都稱國防部的承辦人＂學長＂或＂長官＂）。本處負責海軍工程的范中校奉准至桃園的中央大學企業管理班受訓半年左右，處長指示由我代理他的業務，自此身兼海、空軍兩個軍種所有工程業務，經常下班返家用完晚餐後仍需簽擬公文，白天在辦公室因電話干擾多因此較為費神思考的提報或大簽案多在家中（爸媽住處）完成草稿次日上班時再以正式簽稿紙繕正感覺效果不錯。代理海軍工程期間也讓我有機會出差至海軍蘇澳、基隆、左營、澎湖等基地增廣見識。
懷舊篇-205
（工程官生涯之十八） 後次室主管國軍彈藥的三處實施全國軍彈庫安全檢查會請本處派員納入編組，由於我在陸總時曾經主管過彈庫整建工程，處長乃指派我參加，會同政三、政四⋯等單位至三軍各營區執行任務，我主要負責彈庫設施部分的安全評估，至於數量、溫濕度控制、翻堆記錄⋯等則另有專人檢查。所有行程由三處承辦人詹中校規劃，歷時約二十天圓滿完成任務。 計劃次長室（聯五）每年定期編組至各軍種實施施政計劃聯合查証考核，我奉命納入考核小組會同主計、政三等部門由計次室助次王中將領隊至澎湖、海官校、空官校、左營⋯等工程案現地查核執行成效，並立即在受檢單位提報優缺失狀況，每次均由我第一個報告，那些中、少將階主官均神情專注不時低頭作筆記，因為這些均將納入事後的查証報告上呈郝總長批示發佈的，全程查証完畢後約一週所有編組人員在計次室會議室針對各案逐一評比優、甲、合格、不合格。主持會議的海軍中將助次對於海軍單位工程均希望提升等级，最後仍以表決為準，我感覺出他似乎不太滿意最後的評比結果。在部內服務期間體會到海軍非常團結，只要我收到海軍工程申請公文立馬會接到一堆來至國防部各單位的海軍長官電話詢問＂公文收到了嗎？那項工程確實是單位需要的＂也常有長官直接來辦公室找我。每年過年海軍總部加菜聚餐時都會邀請在國防部服務的海軍軍官回去團聚餐後還帶回領帶、鋼筆⋯等小紀念品回來向我們炫耀，令我們陸、空軍人員頗為吃味（當然我們也知陸總遠在龍潭且人數過多是不可能比照辦理的）總之海軍的軍種特性就是像一個大家庭一樣，不過每個家庭中的兄弟受寵程度仍然有別，我的觀查依序是艦令部（潛艦、洋字號、運輸艦）、軍區、陸戰隊（希望海軍人員見諒）希望幾十年後的今天海軍能対所屬一視同仁。
懷舊篇-206
（工程官生涯之十九） 我國潛艦單位成軍過程計分為三個階段，第一代「武昌計劃」採購義大利兩艘S－1海蛟號及S－2海龍號小型潛艦在國內淡水及左營組裝，1969年成軍因為性能不佳於1972年除役。第二代「水星計劃」自美國接受有償軍援二戰時代兩艘SS－478海獅及SS－426海豹柴電動力潛艦於1973年成軍。 第三代「劍龍計劃」向荷蘭採購兩艘SS－793海龍及SS－794海虎柴電動力潛艦分別於1987至1988年成軍（陳水扁曾於2004年7月搭乘潛艦下潛作秀）。左營基地劍龍乾塢工程完工後我奉命前往參與驗收，該乾塢長120米寬22米深11米，容水量八千噸是海軍五座乾塢中最大的，施工單位以影片介紹乾塢進水排水作業狀況，塢門係超大方型中空浮筒以拖船拉至定位注滿水使其下沉封閉乾塢再將塢內水抽乾此時海水壓力會將塢門更加密封，接著便可進行潛艦之拆卸維修任務。進水時只需打開進水口閘門自然注入海水即可。至今該座乾塢已經歷時28年了，目前海軍正計劃自製第四代潛艦及陸續強化潛艦武力配備。
懷舊篇-207
（工程官生涯之二十） 我到任後次室之時正值空軍完成「太武山計畫」即向美國採購洛克希德.馬丁公司生產的十二架C－130中型戰術運輸機，配置於屏東439聯隊第十飛行大隊101及102中隊是運輸機隊的主力機種。空軍為因應新機種任務需要同時也完成必要的機場擴建工程。 東沙島是南海諸島的四大群島之一位於最北端，1979年劃歸高雄市旗津區中興里，距離汕頭最近僅有140海哩，1986年東沙機場跑道擴建完成後空軍實施C－130機首航東沙試降及驗收跑道工程任務，我奉令參加隨同空軍總司令陳桑齢上將及十多名將領一行共四十餘人從松山搭机起飛順利降落東沙機場，島上駐軍為海軍陸戰隊，上校指揮官向我們簡報介紹島上狀況，完成跑道工程（長1550公尺寬30公尺厚 0.23公尺）驗收後乘車繞行全島僅需十餘分鐘，島上防禦火力為90mm.76.2mm及40mm火砲，雖屬老舊高砲但據官兵表示若是對付海面船隻卻挺管用的。中午在官兵餐廳共進午餐有一道菜是當地產的沙螺味道不錯，餐後參觀士兵閒暇時的沙畫工廠，先將花鳥動物等繪於薄木板上再將膠水依不同顏色之順序逐次塗上，並依序將染了各種顔色的細沙撒上，當色沙沾附圓案後多餘的就回收再用，許多士兵聚精會神地學習製作，不僅習得手藝也可打發時間。我們一行在下午三點多搭乘原機返回臺北順利完成首航及試降任務，後來該型機種採定期航班運補島上物資。
懷舊篇-208
（工程官生涯之二十一） 許多好友早年乘坐火車經过大崗山時都可見到東側的山頭上有兩顆白色大球体，那便是空軍的雷達站，两座塔分别負責測高及测距，战管 人员則稱他老大塔及老二塔，我七十五年至後次室任職時正值空軍執行桐城計畫將北部两個南部一個高山雷站換裝為三D雷達，僅有一個塔台由兵工自建，因為之前有色塗料會阻隔電波因此所有雷達站之圆球体天線罩均為白色目標明顯，配合桐城案之同時也研發出不影響電波之有.色塗料將天線罩改為迷彩色，次長極為重視本案且親赴三個高山站台勘查施工進度。空軍所有雷達站係由戰管联隊督導指揮而戰管联隊直屬作戰司令部（八十八年改為作战指揮部）因換裝後效果很好空軍乃於八十七年起全面推動安宇計畫更新战管雷情系統汰換舊型雷達。
懷舊篇-209
（工程官生涯之二十二） 當年除了負責空軍三個高山雷達站換裝工程外尚奉命対一般雷達站及海軍近海雷達站官兵生活設施改善需求全面瞭解，因此國內山區海邊的海空軍大小雷達站幾乎都隻身走遍了，許多站台營舍老舊衛浴設備簡陋，突顯偏遠小單位官兵的艱苦，經評估後籌撥部分經費加以改善。 四十七年台海戰役期間美軍派遣第八十三中隊一批F－l04A協防台灣，當時我國空軍只知其最大空速為二馬赫足足比F－86F快了一倍，砲戰結束後共軍已逐步換裝俄製米格l9，我國空軍乃於四十九年開始實施「阿里山計畫」，由一號至十一號空軍共接收二四七架各型F－1O4戰機，使用過F－l04A、F－l04B、Fl04D、F－104G、F－104J，前後接收來自美國、荷蘭、丹麥、西德、日本等國的F－104戰機延壽換裝（多為二手貨），五十四年空軍汰除F－1O4A換裝高性能全天候多用途戰鬥轟炸機F－104－G。 七十五年我至後次室任職時正執行阿里山十號計畫，以F－5A戰機向丹麥空軍交換一批F－104戰機，我至新竹基地勘查相関工程時一併暸解維修作業，見機工士官熟練的更換零件後在安全揷孔中揷入專用一吋多長的鋼絲再將兩頭交叉像扭麻花般扭出固定圈數，多一圈或少一圈都不行（就像某知名小籠包指定揑幾個摺一樣），維修軍官同時說向日本買的一批F－104J戰機內部原有的通信設備及武器均遭日方拆除，幸經我方技術人員研究自行組裝後才能執行任務。 當年新竹基地也同時試用鋼纖混凝土（除了碎石、沙等骨料外尚加入一定比例之高強度約八公分長半公分寛波浪狀之鋼纖）舗設部分跑道，後來評估対小型火砲尚屬有效但対先進導彈及重磅炸彈仍無法承受。 隨著空軍陸續採購戰機F－104機便逐年汰除改以F－16A/B Bl0CK 20取代。後來我國又希望採購更先進的F－16C/D未獲美方同意轉而採取F－16A/B性能提昇方案，唯金額方面因美方要求過鉅而一直未能定案。
懷舊篇-210
（工程官生涯之二十三） 國軍老舊營區整建工程係將原有木造營舍拆除重新規劃發包或兵工自建為RC樓房兵舍，然有部份磚牆瓦頂營舍木質門窗及屋樑腐朽下部結構仍完好，為節省預算於七十一年推動國軍老舊營區整新案，針對磚牆瓦頂營舍保留下部結構將木門窗改為鋁門窗、水泥地坪改為磨石子、外牆改為洗石子、屋頂部份全部換新（包括人字架、桁材、椽條、屋面板、油毛氈、掛瓦條、水泥瓦）一律兵工自建，以陸軍及海軍陸戰隊為主要對象，我至後次室任職後次長林中將甚為重視整新案成效，某次且親赴中南部視察陸戰隊及陸軍施工狀況，處長及我陪同乘大福特車南下，陸戰隊無論施工品質、人員編組、材料管制儲存、簡報內容⋯等均優於陸軍，令我不得不佩服這個軍種貫徹命令達成任務的能力，之前我在陸總時曾會同陸軍一批部隊長至台中某陸戰隊營區參觀整新工程示範，有些軍官還説那不過是様板而已，此刻我真的瞭解每個陸戰隊營區都是一樣的水準。次長也非常滿意陸戰隊執行夲案的成效，順利完成視察任務後便原車返回臺北。
懷舊篇-211
（工程官生涯之二十四） 空軍救護隊成立於三十九年六月，前身為嘉義之直升機分隊四十三年擴編為救護中隊七十二年八月更改番號為空軍救護隊隸屬空軍嘉義聯隊。七十五年我任職後次室時正值空軍執行「華山計畫」採購S－70C－1型直升機十四架編組為海鷗救難中隊，其中四架（7001一7004）加裝沙發固定作為專機使用，其實S－70C就是UH－60黑鷹直升機的民用型號，主要任務係搜救落海之飛行員，一般民間山難則訂有責任區分，海拔2500公尺以上屬於該隊任務不足2500公尺歸航警隊負責，費用由全體國人買單，我曾赴嘉義基地實地勘查相関棚廠設施工程狀況，也略為瞭解該單位任務。二十餘年之後空軍於101年由歐洲直升機公司以36億元添購三架EC－225超級美洲山獅二式（Super Puma MK）直升機加入救難任務，但遺憾的是在同年的三月二十六日一架編號7017的海鷗直升機在蘭嶼附近進行醫療後送任務時因天候惡劣不幸墜海，六名工作人員僅有一位蔡姓中士生還令人惋惜。希望國人多注意安全遇惡劣天候不要登山、出海徒增救難單位之負担及風險。
懷舊篇-212
（工程官生涯之二十五） 七十五年八月二十一日至九月三日怪颱韋恩三次影響台灣地區兩次登陸造成澎湖及中部地區空前損失，媒體対其形容為「一個颱風、二次登陸、三次警報、四次轉向」。位於馬公的海軍基地受損嚴重，許多營房屋頂都不見了，我隨處長前往勘查災損後立即籌撥預算整修。同年蘇澳地區亦遭遇地震，海軍碼頭多處下陷及開裂，經現地勘查後亦檢討經費修復。同時一併勘查該基地龍淵工程執行狀況。 海軍陸戰隊左營桃〇〇營區之司令部房舍老舊漏雨，為配合七十八年的建軍四十週年隊慶開放營區供官兵家屬參觀，亟需整建一棟新的司令部大樓，經陸戰隊自籌經費二千萬元並將整建計畫報呈國防部核定，我收到公文後便通知陸戰隊安排時間現地會勘，我到達左營該司令部後主管工程的上校組長（陸官37期工兵科學長）引我至副司令辧公室，副司令說明需求狀況及未來新大樓配置地點，正巧當日天雨副司令辦公室地面放置兩個塑膠盆接住漏下的雨水，隨後我觀查司令部其他房間也有類似情形，返回部內後立即將實況簽報長官核定同意案內計畫，陸戰隊乃按計畫整建完成新的司令部大樓迎接擴大舉辦的隊慶活動。
懷舊篇-213
（工程官生涯之二十六） 曾因四十七年八二三砲戰而停航的金門機場在軍事作戰考量下遷移至尚義改由空軍班機飛航，至七十六年因往返台金旅客日益增加政府為因應民意需求於當年九月由遠東航空公司首航金門一台北航線為台金民航空運開啟新的紀元，後來陸續有復興及立榮等公司加入營運。七十六年初我奉命至金門勘查尚義機場跑道及相関設施工程狀況，所見缺失部份由空軍立即改進，我在部隊服務時未曾駐守金門，後來在陸總及國防部任參謀時卻常赴金門出差，前後約有十次之多。 空軍的花東油管（花蓮一台東）工程係當年國軍重大工程，我曾至現地勘查施工狀況，為確保安全所有焊接處均需經X光檢驗防止日後油品滲漏，然而人為的破壞則防不勝防，後來曾發生台東地區歹徒租用農地以種荖葉（包檳榔的材料）為掩護架設黑網遮蓋從油管盜取軍油後加入油罐車運出變賣，真是膽大包天。
懷舊篇-214
（工程官生涯之二十七） 我在後五處任職約一年半的時間與長官同事均相處愉快也走遍了所有海空軍的基地及大多數的雷達站台增進不少知識，基於本處當時已無上校空缺，處長非常関心部屬發展，某日處長找我至處長室說道總務局局長室上校參謀退休他有意推薦我去接任是否同意，我雖然喜愛目前的工作（很有成就感）但也不便辜負長官的好意便答應處長，次日處長告知局長已同意我去任職。不久之後由海軍調來一位海軍鄧合釗中校接替我的空軍工程業務，我們銜接了一個月左右他非常謙虛有禮很快便進入狀況，我收到調職人令後次長召見處長及我事前他特別交待一處處長王無冕少將（我在桃園工兵群任監察官時的指揮官）訂製一面上記載我在後次室期間的工作成效，頒發獎牌獎金後並期勉我継續努力，我也同時感謝次長處長的関懷及指導（事後一處處長告訴我說通常退伍的同仁才有獎牌，我算是破例了）我調到總務局局長室（位於總統府的一樓）後開始了我的另一段生涯，然而三年之後的一次事件令我極為震驚。七十九年八月二十一日一架載有十八名將校（三名少將）的空軍小型專機於前往嘉義勘查建安四號工程途中墜毀於雲林東勢郷程海村的農田，機上人員全部罹難，接替我業務的鄧上校也是其中一員，我心中百感交集總覺得是他承接了我的災難，後來在一殯公祭時我特地請假前往悼念，面對他的遺像時我竟忍不住落淚。真是人生無常一夕之間竟折損多名優秀將校，後來當地民衆捐建「空軍十八將軍祠」加以紀念，至今己過了二十五個年頭了，但是合釗兄的音容風範令我永難忘懐。
Translated from the Chinese by AI (Claude) in November 2026. Not yet reviewed by the author. The PDF lost 224 characters its font couldn’t show; they were filled in from context before translating.
Contents目錄目录 (27)
- Nostalgic Piece 188
- Nostalgic Piece 189
- Nostalgic Piece 190
- Nostalgic Piece 191
- Nostalgic Piece 192
- Nostalgic Piece 193
- Nostalgic Piece 194
- Nostalgic Piece 195
- Nostalgic Piece 196
- Nostalgic Piece 197
- Nostalgic Piece 198
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- Nostalgic Piece 200
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- Nostalgic Piece 208
- Nostalgic Piece 209
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- Nostalgic Piece 211
- Nostalgic Piece 212
- Nostalgic Piece 213
- Nostalgic Piece 214
Nostalgic Piece 188
(Engineering Officer, Part 1) In the military memories I have posted recently I mentioned some superiors' inconsiderate behavior, and a classmate suggested that I not write about the bad side of the army, since family shame should not be aired outside (家醜不外揚). But I believe the army is a microcosm of society as a whole: civilian workplaces have bosses who show their subordinates no consideration, and naturally so does the army. Nothing but praise would rob these accounts of their truthfulness and let down the friends who spend their time reading them. I hope my senior and junior classmates will not hesitate to tell me whether this view is sound. After I reported to Section 4 of the Logistics Department, the section chief, Colonel Luo Changchun, took me to meet the head of the department, Major General Liu Furong, but before long he was transferred and replaced by Major General Feng Jimin, who had been the corps' colonel deputy chief of staff when I was an inspector in the corps' Political Branch 3 in Taipei. The section's deputy chief was Colonel Zhang Zhifang. Among the staff officers, besides six senior colonels and lieutenant colonels, there were three senior classmates, Chen Yansheng (class 37), Luo Guozhen (class 39) and Wang Jingkang (class 40), who all looked after me and showed me the ropes. Later, as senior staff officers retired, senior classmates Zhu Longshan, Wang Shijun, Liang Shuwu and Zhuo Shunmin and junior classmate Guo Shimin (郭世民) were transferred in one after another. My responsibilities were the relocation and construction of army schools, hospitals, factories and depots, and the renovation and rebuilding of old factories and depots. At that time, to fit in with local urban development and the needs of war readiness, the Nationalist army was moving schools, hospitals, factories and depots out of city centers to the suburbs. Under the policy of selling property to acquire property, the original sites were classed as unneeded military land and handed over to the National Property Administration to be sold by tender according to law, and after the construction costs were covered, all the proceeds went to the national treasury. In this way local areas developed and the cityscape improved, the military gained new facilities, equipment and machinery, and the treasury took in large sums: truly a policy in which all three sides won. The project I handled to move the Automotive Base Depot (in what is now the Xinyi Planning District of Taipei) to the outskirts of Taoyuan was carried out under this policy. Not only was the plant area many times larger, with new buildings, advanced machinery and greatly increased working capacity, but the total cost could be covered by the price of just a small piece of the original land. A little over two months after I took up the post, headquarters' operations and logistics departments formed a team to survey the abandoned small squad- and platoon-sized mountain and coastal defense outposts and review how they should be disposed of. The team was led by our section's deputy chief, and I was ordered to join it; the five of us went around the island for about ten days, with army units along the way providing vehicles in relays (like changing horses at post stations in ancient times). The deputy chief knew where every outpost was like the back of his hand; he even found a little squad post in the Wuhe hills in the east hidden by thatch grass taller than a man, and we all admired him enormously. One day, as scheduled, we reached the Longquan division in Pingtung to change vehicles and had lunch in the division headquarters mess. The division commander, deputy division commander, chief of staff and political director sat at our table; remote units seldom had officers from headquarters visit. The chief of staff greeted me very warmly, and during the meal he even told the deputy chief, "Lieutenant Colonel Li was an excellent engineer battalion commander; we always thought highly of him." Hearing those words, I found my food rather hard to swallow. After a short rest following lunch, we set off in a jeep provided by division headquarters along the South Link Highway toward Taitung to continue the survey.
Nostalgic Piece 189
(My Career as an Engineering Officer, Part 2) The only trip around the island I have ever made in my life was in a military jeep, travelling on duty to mountain areas and seashores. Once the joint inspection was successfully completed, the next job was preparing material for the military briefing. In those days a military briefing was held once a month, at which the Chief of the General Staff led the Commanders-in-Chief of the services in reporting to Chiang Ching-kuo on how military tasks were being carried out. Our section was ordered to provide briefing material and albums of photographs showing the old camps, factory buildings and ammunition depots after rebuilding. Because time was so short, we had only two days to collect the photographs, order extra prints, paste them into seven albums and label every picture. On the second day the section chief ordered the whole section to stay and work overtime, and only at four in the morning was all the briefing material finished. Every Monday and Friday officers had to stay overnight at Army Headquarters, and at seven in the evening films were shown in Zhongzheng Hall, but our section was almost always working overtime in the office. Now and then I found time to go to the gymnasium to play basketball. After I came to headquarters I felt I was not getting enough exercise, so I used the midday break to play badminton in the gymnasium, and that was the first time I played on a proper court; before, I had only played one-on-one in parks or on open ground. At one in the afternoon I was back at work in the office. There were no computers then, and all official documents, memos and drafts were written with fountain pens. Each of us had a bottle of the ink he was used to, and to save money each of us kept a syringe: when an ink cartridge ran dry, we drew ink from the bottle with the syringe and refilled it, using the cartridge over and over, which was also good for the environment. Sometimes, when a superior had cut and revised a memo, it had to be written out again as a clean copy. One senior classmate set the record of having a memo sent back seven times for recopying; in the end he fell out with the section chief and they had a big row, because he felt that after all the revisions it seemed to have come right back to his original draft. A lieutenant colonel who had newly joined the section played excellent table tennis and had won many trophies since childhood, but his handwriting was rather poor. Once he had a document to submit to the Commander-in-Chief, and after the section chief had reviewed and revised the draft, he told me to write out the clean copy and then give it to the officer in charge to stamp with his seal. I couldn't help feeling it was a bit odd ("odd" being a certain mayor's catchphrase), and afterwards, whenever I saw that colleague, I didn't dare look him in the eye. From then on I often noticed him using his spare time to practise his fountain-pen handwriting diligently.
Nostalgic Piece 190
(My Career as an Engineering Officer, Part 3) Earlier I mentioned the whole section working overtime to prepare photographs and other material for the military briefing. A year later, as more camps finished rebuilding, we had to report to Chiang Ching-kuo again. Our superiors felt that the earlier photographs, all taken from the ground, could not take in the view of the whole camp, and decided to use aerial photography for a bird's-eye view instead. The section chief told me to assist the officer in charge, my senior classmate Luo Guozhen (羅國禎), in carrying out the aerial photography together. After the plan had been circulated to the Operations Department for sign-off and approved by our superiors, the two of us arrived at eight in the morning at the apron of the Light Aviation Group beside headquarters and boarded an aircraft shaped like a big glass ball, open on both sides. The pilot and co-pilot sat in front and we sat in the back, just enough room for four; I was told it was a reconnaissance aircraft. As soon as we had fastened our seat belts we took off. Following the locations we had given the pilot in advance, we flew south, held a steady position at a suitable height over each one, and aimed the cameras in our hands at the target to take pictures. For fear of a camera slipping out of our hands, we wound the straps around our arms. The view at that moment was just like the moment of standing in the aircraft door during parachute training in my student days. Because the weather was fine we were wearing long-sleeved service uniforms, but who would have thought the temperature would drop so sharply up in the air? When we landed at a base in Taichung at noon to rest and eat, we borrowed two jackets, put them on and continued south to Kaohsiung. After photographing the last target we flew straight back to the base at Longtan. We handed the film (slides were shot on reversal film, ordinary photographs on negative film) to specialists to be made into slides, and the task was successfully completed. That aerial photography flight running the length of the island from north to south was a rare experience indeed. The Department Director, Major General Feng, had always been known for his fierceness, and many colleagues were quite afraid of him. A certain senior colonel in our section, perhaps because his way of thinking did not suit the Director's, was often summoned for a dressing-down. Whenever he saw the Director's staff officer standing at our section's door, he would habitually start muttering, "I'm done for, I'm done for, the Director wants me again." Yet to me the Director was not frightening at all. Every time I went to see him he was kind and pleasant, as if we were friends talking things over, and I felt no pressure whatsoever. I accompanied him alone on several trips to central and southern Taiwan (the Director's habit was not to take the section chief but only the officer in charge of the matter), and I felt he was not like some superiors who were very hard to serve; he was also understanding toward his subordinates. Once the Director wanted to go in person to the Army Infantry School in Fengshan to see how the planning of a rebuilding project was going, and I was to accompany him. When I asked him when he wished to go, he said to me, "Don't you live in Fengshan? Schedule it for Friday, and you needn't come back to work on Saturday morning either. Take a bit of leave while you're there." I was truly moved. On Friday, when we reached the Infantry School, the commandant, Lieutenant General Li Zhenlin (李禎林), received us in person and heard the planning briefing, and then we drove around the campus together to study where the main gate should be after the rebuilding. After about half a day we saw the Director off, and I got two days off in a row.
Nostalgic Piece 191
(My Career as an Engineering Officer, Part 4) Serving in a high-level headquarters, one is bound to be given staff studies to do. During my time in the Logistics Department I was ordered to complete two staff study reports. The first was a feasibility study, after the Ordnance Department's Second Ammunition Depot at Kaotan had moved underground into the mountains, on moving the Army Infantry School in Fengshan to Kaotan. Having weighed all the advantages and disadvantages: the Infantry School's present site already had complete training grounds (the hills behind it cover a very large area), and it was right next to the Military Academy and the preparatory school, which made exchanges of instructors and observation of teaching convenient, so that it had already become a military school district; whereas the Kaotan camp was unsuitable in every respect for the Infantry School's teaching and training tasks. The conclusion was that the Infantry School should rather be rebuilt on its original site. After the report was submitted, our superiors adopted the recommendation and ordered the Infantry School to plan for rebuilding on its present site at once. The second study report came about when I was briefing the Commander-in-Chief, General Chiang, on the planning for the construction of a medical building at Army 829 Hospital (in Gongguan, Taipei City, later renamed the Armed Forces 817 Hospital), a project I was handling. The Deputy Commander-in-Chief, Lieutenant General Soong Hsin-lien (宋心溓), took the opportunity to suggest to the Commander-in-Chief that headquarters was now too far from Taipei and the shuttle buses going back and forth consumed a great deal of fuel; since the Army Engineer School in Neihu had just moved to Kaohsiung, could headquarters not be moved to the Engineer School's old site in Neihu? The Commander-in-Chief directed on the spot that the Logistics Department study it. The Director passed the order to our section chief, and the section chief ordered me to complete, within one week, a "Feasibility Report on Moving Army Headquarters to the Former Site of the Engineer School in Neihu." It was truly a great hot potato dropped from the sky. I immediately sent letters to the General Affairs Office, the Transportation Department and the Operations Department asking for the relevant figures, including the number and proportion of shuttle buses serving areas north of Longtan and those serving Taoyuan, Zhongli and Hsinchu, the monthly fuel consumption, and whether, in wartime, it would be more advantageous to move to the tactical command post in the mountains of Taipei County from Neihu or from Longtan. After an overall assessment I found that the shuttle buses for Taoyuan, Zhongli, Hsinchu and other places were also quite numerous and increasing year by year, so moving to Neihu would not save much fuel, and for combat readiness and mobility it was not as good as Longtan either. Weighing all the pros and cons, the conclusion was that headquarters should stay at Longtan. More than thirty years later, Army Headquarters is still there, and on the Engineer School's old site in Neihu the National Defense medical complex was built (including the National Defense Medical Center, the Tri-Service General Hospital, the Aerospace Medical Center and other units).
Nostalgic Piece 192
(My Career as an Engineering Officer, Part 5) Our section chief, Colonel Luo, was transferred to be commander of the logistics command of a certain army group, a major general's billet, in charge of service units for engineering, signals, transportation, quartermaster supply, chemical warfare and so on. This post was usually given to an officer of the engineer branch, though of course there were exceptions, which engineer officers jokingly called "losing our turf." Before the section chief left, I asked him how he had come to have me transferred from that small, remote unit in Pingtung to the section. He replied that when a lieutenant colonel staff officer's post in the section fell vacant, he had asked the deputy director of the Engineer Department, Major General Cao Youping (曹友萍) (my commander when I first served as inspector of the Taoyuan engineer group in early 1977 (year 66 of the Republic)), to recommend a suitable candidate, and out of many lieutenant colonels and majors the deputy director had recommended me. It suddenly struck me that what happens to a person is more or less a matter of cause and effect; had I loafed about and slacked off back in the Taoyuan engineer group, things would have turned out quite differently. In the Fourth Section of the Logistics Department I was away on duty trips five or six days a month on average. I usually wore civilian clothes and put my uniform and peaked cap in a suitcase or bag (at such times I really envied the navy and air force their garrison caps, which were far more convenient). I took the train from Zhongli Station, and on arriving at a station in central or southern Taiwan I went to the station's Transportation Officer's office, changed into uniform, and took the military vehicle sent by the unit to my destination to carry out the task. If I rode the train in uniform and had no seat, standing in the aisle didn't feel right, and dozing off in a seat was unbecoming of an officer. A certain senior colonel in our section was in charge of an important project at Qishan in Kaohsiung and often had to go there for site inspections and acceptance checks. Sometimes he would come over to me with a document and say very politely, "Yi-Min, my young friend, there's an XX task at Qishan next week on X. Would you mind going for me?" When I agreed, he would go back to his seat delighted and immediately write a memo to the section chief. In those days the road from Kaohsiung or Fengshan to Qishan had been churned by gravel trucks into potholes and clouds of dust. The drive took over an hour, and we were often bounced right off our seats. Once, riding in a nine-seat military van, a captain in the back row was thrown up and his head hit the roof with a loud bang. By the time we got to Qishan everyone's bones were nearly shaken apart, and the thought of the return trip still to come filled us with dread. Things are fine now; National Freeway No. 10 is fast and smooth.
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(My Career as an Engineering Officer, Part 6) After my transfer from Pingtung to Army Headquarters, I spent the seven nights of each week in four different places. On Mondays and Fridays I stayed overnight in the officers' quarters on the fourth (top) floor of headquarters, six to a room with three bunk beds. Being the most junior, I slept on a top bunk. There was no air conditioning, only one Tatung electric fan, and in summer it was too hot to sleep. There were still inspections of our quarters, but the standards could not compare with those of our training at the Military Academy. Every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday I took the shuttle bus back to Xindian to stay with my parents. As soon as I came in the door a hearty dinner would be ready, the three of us would enjoy a happy meal together, and afterwards I washed the dishes (that was a must). At noon on Saturday I took the shuttle bus for Hsinchu to the railway station, caught the next train to Kaohsiung (usually with no seat), then changed to the local train for Pingtung, got off at Fengshan and walked home, by which time it was already past five in the afternoon. Sometimes my wife would ride over on her scooter with our three-year-old daughter to meet me at the station exit, and whenever my daughter saw me she would always shout with joy. I spent the night at home, and on Sunday we usually went to the amusement area on the top floor of the Datong Department Store in Kaohsiung. After ten in the evening I would put my bag on my back, leave home and walk to Fengshan Railway Station. My daughter would often hug my legs and cry, "Daddy, don't go!" while my wife comforted her, and I would take the chance to slip out the door. Along the way most of the shops were already closed and there were few people or cars about. On my Walkman I listened to the radio's late-night programmes and Sima Zhongyuan's frightening ghost stories, and after about half an hour's walk I reached Fengshan Station, took a train to Kaohsiung and changed to the last ordinary express train to Taipei. The last carriage was practically taken over by us from Army Headquarters and by students of the Armed Forces University. People slept on the seats and on the floor, fully equipped, with sleeping bags in winter. The conductor came to check tickets as soon as the train set off (having to step over the passengers lying on the floor one by one), and as soon as he left he very thoughtfully switched off the lights in our carriage, since everyone was travelling a long way. At a little past five in the morning we all got up, and some middle-school students had also come aboard. Soon we reached Zhongli, and when we came out of the station, taxi drivers waiting in line came up to tout for passengers: fifty yuan a head to Army Headquarters. After arriving at headquarters I rested a little and then greeted a new week. I lived this way for four years in all.
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(My Career as an Engineering Officer, Part 7) For the repair and rebuilding of the army's old factories and depots, a project I was in charge of, every year we carried out on-site checks of the needs in the plans the various units had submitted. I was paired with a first lieutenant from the Third Section of the Engineer Department who had graduated from an institute of technology, and the two of us went to the units for about half a month of on-site assessment, mainly so that no one could suspect that one person was calling all the shots. Following the principle of neither hindering the troops' missions nor wasting the national budget, we granted what should be granted and cut what should be cut. Every case I verified carried a detailed statement of reasons, and I won the full trust of my superiors; not one was ever sent back. Here, briefly, are a few cases as I remember them. First: the timber bumpers on the loading and unloading platforms of an army group's ammunition depot in the Taoyuan area (which kept trucks from damaging the platforms when backing up) were broken, and over seven million yuan was requested to replace them all with teak. When I examined the site, I found that apart from a few that had rotted, the great majority of the bumpers had been broken by impact. I thought of how harbour quays are fitted with car tyres to stop ships from hitting them, so I wrote a memo, got it approved, and replied to the army group to resubmit its plan using this alternative. In the end the problem was solved for 270,000 yuan, saving over six million yuan of public money. After the work was finished I went to inspect the site and found it worked well, and the depot's officers were all very satisfied. Second: at the Chenggongling camp, the corrugated iron roof of a quartermaster storehouse had rusted and was leaking, causing the equipment to go mouldy, and the roof needed replacing. My inspection showed that it really did need urgent repair, and I wrote a memo and got approval to replace it with a galvanized steel roof. Afterwards, whenever I took the train back to Kaohsiung on Saturday afternoon and passed Chenggongling, I always looked out for the storehouse on top of the little hill on the right. From the workers taking off the roof to seeing the new roof the following Saturday, I felt a sense of satisfaction. Third: the old roofs of the hangar-style workshops at the Engineer Base Depot in Wuri, Taichung, were damaged and needed rebuilding, and I went to inspect the site. The depot director, Major General Dong Ruilin (董瑞林), had been my company commander in my fourth year at the Military Academy. He made a point of showing me around the depot grounds, which he had completely reorganized (they used to be in a terrible mess), and I in turn told my old company commander that headquarters' regular inspection report had recorded the depot's achievements, and that the Commander-in-Chief, General Chiang, had moreover specially praised its performance at a monthly meeting. But because the cost of the repairs was too great to be met from the existing budget, the matter had to wait until there was money to spare in a later year's budget to be reconsidered, and for this I have always felt somewhat apologetic toward my old company commander. Fourth: once I went to an infantry division in Chiayi to inspect a project to repair its vehicle maintenance workshop. At noon, as we were about to leave, the officer in charge said the division commander wished to have lunch with us. I had assumed it would be in the division headquarters' dining hall, but instead we were taken to a small dining room for home-made Western food, with the table fully laid, and soldiers in white uniforms standing by to serve us like restaurant waiters. I was very uncomfortable having someone standing beside me watching me eat; in busy little restaurants, if anyone stands nearby waiting for a seat, I hurry off at once. Still, we were grateful for the division commander's kind hospitality. Fifth: my old unit, the Pingtung division, needed to build a storehouse for mobilization equipment in the newly opened camp of its recruit training brigade. When I arrived at division headquarters, the chief of staff received me very courteously and told the deputy chief of staff to go with me to the site. In the army, building a structure does not require a building permit, but it has to be included in the camp's master facilities plan; you cannot just build wherever you like. On checking, I found the storehouse had already been included in the plan and was genuinely needed, so I wrote a memo and got approval for the funds to be allocated.
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(Engineering Officer Years, Part 8) One of the projects I handled was the combined relocation, under the Army's policy of dispersing and relocating its depots and storehouses, of the XX Department in Taipei, the XX Department and XX Center in Taichung, and the XX Factory in Tainan to the mountains of central Taiwan. Originally only the XX Department in Taichung was to move, to Dongshi, and a plot of over seventy hectares at Bogonglong (伯公壠) in Dongshi was chosen. But geological drilling showed that it lay on a sliding layer, so it had to be abandoned, and 196 hectares were acquired elsewhere in the central mountains instead. The plan merged the four units above into the Army XX Center at a cost of NT$5.2 billion, paid for with the value of the land at the original sites. It was the Army's largest project at the time. When I took over the case, only the land purchase had been completed. The user unit, the Ordnance Department, was working with the Engineer Department to draw up the requirements plan. First a briefing was arranged for the Commander-in-Chief, and four soldiers carried a three-dimensional model of the whole site (like the ones at real-estate sales centers) into the briefing room. Once he approved it, the full requirements plan was submitted to the Chief of the General Staff for approval, and a briefing for him was arranged at the same time. As soon as the requirements plan was approved, the work plan (including the main text, the materials list and the construction blueprints) was drawn up and submitted for approval. A single document was often as thick as ten ordinary ones, and the messengers and clerks of the Engineer Department and the Logistics Department had a hard time of it too. Once the work plan was approved, the tender documents were prepared for contracting. Under the rules of the time, military construction first had to be negotiated with RSEA (Retired Servicemen's Engineering Agency), and only if the negotiation failed could it be put out to tender. For this project, the initial site grading, roads, earthwork, drainage and soil and water conservation works were awarded to RSEA through negotiation. After work began, I went to the mountain site about once every two months. Less than a third of the whole area could be used for building, mostly spread along the two sides at the bottom of the valley. Some building plots still needed cutting and filling, leveling and compacting layer by layer to form terraces, and then had to be left to settle naturally for a year before they could be used. During my time at the Fourth Section of Logistics I completed the acceptance inspections of the initial grading and other works. The later works were carried on by the staff officer who succeeded me, and the whole project took eight years to complete. Once, when I accompanied the director on a trip to the XX Factory in Dongshi, we stopped at Bogonglong to look at the site originally chosen for the relocation. The hills everywhere were covered with orchards of big, beautiful pears. Whether they were affected by the ground sliding in the 921 earthquake more than ten years later, I have no way of knowing.
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(Engineering Officer Years, Part 9) At that time the Army 832 Hospital in Taitung planned to set up a small branch hospital on Green Island, and since I was responsible for hospital projects I was sent to Green Island to survey the site. One day I went with the relevant people from the Medical Department, flying from Taitung Airport in a small ten-seat plane. The weather was bad. The pilot and co-pilot checked that Green Island Airport was still open and decided to take off. To our surprise, not long after we were airborne it began to pour, and I glimpsed that the windshield in front of the pilots was nothing but spray. Just then word came that both Taitung and Green Island airports had closed. The pilot kept calling Green Island to request permission to land, and it was finally granted. With poor visibility he managed to line up with the runway and touched down, bouncing up once as we landed (what is called a hard landing). After completing our survey at the site we flew back to Taitung that afternoon. The weather had cleared, and on the final turn to line up with the runway the pilot decided to show off, banking sharply and diving down like an eagle swooping on its prey. Some passengers screamed in fright, but the moment of touchdown was perfectly smooth, so it was a false alarm. Earlier, as an inspector, I had made a six-day work trip to Green Island, and two years later I was there on business again. In my whole life I have been to Green Island only twice, both times on official trips, with no chance to enjoy the local scenery. The Army 829 Hospital in Gongguan, Taipei, had originally taken in patients with chronic illnesses. Its wards were old and often flooded, so a modern medical building was planned. After I took up my post, everything from planning, submitting the requirements and briefing the Commander-in-Chief and the Chief of the General Staff, to contracting and the start of construction, went smoothly and on schedule. One afternoon, as soon as the bidding for the building had been opened, I sent the result up to the director, hand-carried as most urgent. The next morning, at the heads' meeting he chaired, the Commander-in-Chief casually asked the director of the Engineer Department whether the 829 Hospital project had been contracted. Neither the director of the Engineer Department nor the director of the Medical Department could answer, so our director immediately reported to the Commander-in-Chief that the contract had been awarded the previous afternoon to XX Construction Company, for over X hundred million, with XXX left over from the budget. The Commander-in-Chief was very pleased (the director told me all this afterwards). That afternoon the director also praised this in the conference room in front of the whole department, and asked everyone to make sure that on important cases the superiors were given the latest information as quickly as possible. The new building of the 829 Hospital was finished on schedule and improved the quality of medical care. Later it became the Armed Forces 817 Hospital, and a few years after that it was handed over to the Department of Health and absorbed into the local medical system.
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(Engineering Officer Years, Part 10) During security education month, each section and office of the department nominated one officer for a speech contest, and the section chief appointed me to represent the Fourth Section. It was the first speech contest of my life. I promptly and very carefully wrote a ten-minute speech and memorized it over and over, even muttering it to myself on the shuttle bus to and from work. On the day of the contest the whole department gathered in the conference room, and the seven contestants went up to speak one after another. The director presided in person, and all the section chiefs and office heads served as judges. Many contestants kept looking down at their notes, and some even read their scripts all the way through. I went up empty-handed and delivered what I had memorized, using gestures and raising and lowering my voice to hold the audience's attention. When the scores were in, I had won first place. The director presented the prize on the spot (a set of porcelain teacups inscribed by the director) and gave me a recorded commendation. After that I never took part in another speech contest. To encourage sports and raise unit morale, Army Headquarters held basketball, badminton and table tennis competitions among its departments and offices. From our section, senior classmate Chen Yansheng and I joined all three teams, senior classmates Luo Guozhen and Wang Jingkang joined the basketball team, and young Guo Shimin (郭世民) joined the badminton team. When we reported this to the section chief he gladly agreed, saying that more exercise was a good thing. In its first basketball game our department met my old employer, the Political Warfare Department. When I was in the Political Warfare Department, the team had strong players such as senior classmate Tang Hsiung-Fei, my friend Jiang Jixiang (from the Political Warfare College team) and Xu Xilin (徐鍚麟), and I was not among the starting five. This time I was in the starting lineup, and right from the tip-off I scored eight points on my own with shots and drives, putting us ahead 8 to 0. The other side hurriedly called a timeout and assigned a small, nimble player to shadow me. Even when I occasionally got the ball, two men would immediately double-team me so that I could do nothing. In the end the Political Warfare Department, with its deeper bench and greater skill, beat us. Afterwards our department won against both the Engineer Department and the Quartermaster Department. In the first table tennis match we again faced the Political Warfare Department. I was put in the singles against Major Huang Guoliang, a junior classmate from the Political Warfare College who later became a major general and department director at the Ministry of National Defense. It was a fierce battle, and in the end he won. After all the matches, the Political Warfare Department advanced. In the first badminton match we faced the strong General Affairs Department. A lieutenant colonel from the Third Section and I played doubles against the General Affairs director, Major General Jin, and the deputy director, Colonel ○. We had only two or three years of playing behind us, while our opponents had at least a dozen and often practised with the Luguang badminton team (Chen Nengbiao (陳能彪), Ge Xinming (葛新銘), Zhong Jiazhen (鍾佳珍)…). In the end we were no match for the two veterans. Our department's other pairs also lost, and we were eliminated. Our department's results were poor across the board this time and we clearly needed more practice, but it left us with a special memory.
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(Engineering Officer Years, Part 11) One day I received instructions that Chinese Television System (CTS) wanted to film a documentary on the Army's depot relocation projects, and that I was to handle the arrangements. After coordination it was agreed that I would first write the shooting script, using the standard script format to number and list in order the shots to be filmed, and then fill in the explanatory material for each group of shots in the narration column. After the master tape was shot, CTS would have a professional record the voiceover from the narration. On the day of filming I took a seven-seat military station wagon to CTS to pick up the film crew of three (the person in charge, the cameraman and a camera assistant) and went to the new site of the Automotive Base Depot in the suburbs of Taipei County to do the job. The joint main workshop was nearly finished, and we filmed it and the other work areas one by one according to the script. Before each shot they measured the light with a sheet of white paper in front of the lens. Once everything was ready, the crew member beside the cameraman counted down four, three, two, one, and then everyone concentrated entirely on the camera. Almost every location was shot two or three times or more in pursuit of perfection. It took the whole afternoon to finish, and the part actually broadcast, after editing, was only about fifteen minutes. No wonder television actors often record through the night for what turns out to be only one or two episodes on air. The hard work behind the glamour of performers usually goes unseen. One of the school and hospital relocation cases at the time was the combined move of the Army Medical Service School at Waishuangxi in Shilin, Taipei, and the Army 804 Hospital in downtown Tainan to the Jianxing camp in Longtan, Taoyuan. Everything, from the site survey, the allocation of units and the requirements planning to construction and the move, was carried out according to plan. It markedly raised the standard of medical care in the Longtan area, and combining the school with the hospital improved the training as well. In my roughly four years at the Fourth Section I successfully completed the tasks my superiors gave me and visited most of the Army's camps, large and small. The major projects I had handled were still under way and were carried on by the staff officer who succeeded me, and I was ordered on to my next post: the Fifth Department of the Office of the Vice Minister for Logistics at the Ministry of National Defense.
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(Engineering Officer Years, Part 12) Colonel Luo Changchun, the section chief who had transferred me from the Pingtung division to the Fourth Section of Logistics at Army Headquarters, had by early 1986 (year 75 of the Republic) been promoted to major general and department director of the Fifth Department of the Office of the Vice Minister for Logistics at the Ministry of National Defense. Just then the lieutenant colonel staff officer in charge of Air Force projects in his department left, while a number of projects urgently needed to get under way, so the director told me to come to the Ministry of National Defense for the staff officer examination. I went to the Fifth Department on the second floor of the Bo'ai Building, west of the Presidential Office, to see the director, and the question he set me was "How to strengthen the quality of construction projects in the ROC armed forces." Drawing on my experience overseeing projects as an inspector in Political Warfare and handling projects in Logistics, I wrote seven sheets of ten-line paper and bound them with covers, and the director submitted it to the vice minister for his decision. About three days later the director told me the vice minister had written "transfer him at once." Because the formal transfer would take two to three months, I was first seconded on loan, and in early April 1986 I reported to the Fifth Department. My predecessor took half a day off to come back for the handover. He opened the filing cabinet, checked the case folders over to me and gave me six or seven documents already logged on triplicate routing slips and awaiting action. As time was short, he said that if there was anything I didn't understand I could simply request the original files from the records room. Fortunately I had been through something similar when I joined Army Headquarters. From then on, every day after I arrived at work my desk was piled high with documents and files, and I studied every project in detail, from how it originated and how it had been carried out to where it now stood. The vice minister, Lieutenant General Lin Kecheng, had served in the military procurement mission in the United States. He spoke foreign languages well and was warm toward people. The executive officer (chief assistant vice minister), Vice Admiral He Bingrui (何炳銳), was tall and big-hearted and treated his subordinates like brothers and friends. The assistant vice minister, Major General Zhao Yu (engineers), was refined, gentle and kindly. Even nearly thirty years after I left the vice minister's office, the old colleagues from those days still got together for meals with the three former superiors from time to time every year, which shows how much cohesion good leaders can bring to a unit. I was in charge of Air Force projects and the annual water and electricity budget of the three services. My first task was the project to improve the living facilities of the anti-aircraft artillery units at the Air Force bases. For many years the anti-aircraft units had mostly lived in curved-roof Quonset huts in the corners of the airfields. These were made of aluminum sheeting and looked like a milk-powder can sliced in half lengthwise, enlarged, and laid face down on the ground. Living conditions were very poor, so a budget of two hundred million was set aside to build two-story barracks at every base. After I accompanied the director on site surveys at each base, the funds were allocated and the work carried out under the supervision of Air Force Headquarters. All of it was completed on schedule and thoroughly improved the living facilities of the anti-aircraft officers and men. At that time many types of Air Force equipment were due for replacement, such as 3D radar, 35mm rapid-fire guns, the S-70C helicopter (the Seagull Squadron's, often seen on television in disaster relief) and the C-130 transport. The C-130 had four engines, could take off and land on short runways, and replaced the old C-119 we had jumped from as cadets. Related facilities had to be built at the same time. The vice minister went south twice in person to survey the sites, with the director and me accompanying him, traveling both ways in the large Ford seven-seat station wagon of the Ministry of National Defense's motor pool. Air Force Headquarters was represented by its chief of staff, Major General Lin Wenli, who came with the relevant personnel.
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(My Career as an Engineering Officer, 13) I accompanied the vice minister and the department director on an inspection of the mountain combat-readiness works in the Pingtung area. The night before, we stayed at the Armed Forces Hero House in Kaohsiung. When the vice minister learned that my home was in Fengshan, he at once told me to go home for the night. He also said I need not hurry back to the Hero House the next morning, but could simply wait in Fengshan for their car to pick me up on the way to Pingtung. I did as he said and spent the night at home, but the next morning I still went to the Hero House to arrange breakfast. After the meal we went straight to Mount Dahan in Pingtung for the on-site inspection. On the mountain we happened to meet Lieutenant General Pan Limen, director of the Army Engineer Department, who was also there inspecting the construction troops; he had been my commander when I was a company commander in the corps engineer group in Hsinchu. The director asked how I was doing and encouraged me to keep up the good work. Having completed the inspection, we came down the mountain and headed back to Taipei. The mountain road was steep, but the surface was reasonable and the driver was skilled. It was past nine in the evening when we reached Taipei. The access road to an air force radar station high in the mountains of northern Taiwan was a narrow, unpaved farm road. It was often muddy and hard to drive, and vehicles had gone over the edge into the valley. Air Force Headquarters requested more than 80 million NT dollars to have the troops themselves rebuild it as a concrete road. When the vice minister received the report, he decided to inspect the site in person, and the department director and I went with him. Early one morning, Major General Lin, chief of staff of Air Force Headquarters, together with the commander of the air control wing and other staff, sent two four-wheel-drive jeeps to the Ministry of National Defense to pick up the vice minister, the department director and me. From the plain up the mountain to the station took four whole hours. The road was in terrible shape; the vehicles kept skidding, and the steering wheel was hard to control. Once or twice we nearly slid into the valley, but the vice minister showed not the slightest alarm and went on chatting with Chief of Staff Lin as if nothing had happened. The station stood at over 3,000 meters, so walking was a little hard and we had to keep taking deep breaths. The officers and men lived in harsh conditions: even with dehumidifiers, their bedding was still damp. The vice minister also visited the officers and men of the Integrated Communications Command's relay station there. After lunch with the radar station's troops, we came down the mountain and returned to Taipei. I had planned to stay up that night drafting a briefing for the vice minister's report to Chief of the General Staff Hau the next morning. But the vice minister said there was no need; he would report orally. He was a truly considerate superior, who knew we were tired after a long day and needed rest. The next morning, after the vice minister reported to the chief of the general staff in person, the chief ordered that funds be found as quickly as possible to repair the road. I reported to the department director that the only money available was in the controlled budget for the armed forces' annual water and electricity costs. With the director's approval, I sent the request for countersignature to J-5 and the comptroller's office, allocating the funds by reassigning the budget line, and neither raised any objection. Once the chief of the general staff approved it, the corps engineer group in Hsinchu carried out the work and finished on schedule. At last the station had a decent road in and out.
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(My Career as an Engineering Officer, 14) Major General Luo, director of the Fifth Department of the Office of the Vice Minister for Logistics, was thorough in his thinking and dedicated to his duties. He guided his staff officers patiently in their work and often stayed late. There were two deputy directors, both colonels, one from the navy and one from the air force. When the air force deputy, Colonel Zhang Lai (張賴), retired, Air Force Headquarters sent Colonel Li Ziling to replace him (he is now my Facebook friend). He was friendly and got on well with everyone. The department's staff officers were divided into two sections, engineering and military property. In the engineering section were my senior classmate Li Zhe (class 40), my classmate Liang Peng (class 41), my junior classmates Gu Yibin (class 42) and Fan Fuping (class 43), and I, all engineers by branch. There was also an air force officer, Colonel He Dingsheng, and Engineer Chen, a contract employee. The property section had my junior classmate Yang Jianwu (class 42), two civilian employees, old Mr. Luo and old Mr. Wang, and two lieutenant colonels. The workload was very heavy. Every afternoon when the bell rang at half past five for the end of the day, nobody in our department moved; we only watched people from other departments pass our door on their way home. On the occasional day when I needed to leave on time, I slipped out quietly as if I had done something wrong, afraid the director would see me as I passed his office door, like a student skipping class. In fact, the director never required anyone to work overtime; it was simply a habit the unit had built up over many years. When I worked at Army Headquarters, I rode the shuttle bus home and could always have dinner with my parents. The Ministry of National Defense was much closer to Xindian, yet now my parents had to keep dinner warm for me every day. The buses to Xindian were terribly crowded, and I also felt I still needed daily exercise. As it happened, my brother-in-law (my wife's brother) had just bought a new motorcycle, so he gave me the geared bicycle he used to ride. In the mornings I cycled from my parents' home near the Xindian town hall to work. In about forty minutes I reached the bicycle shed inside the north wall of the Presidential Office, parked, and went to work in the Bo'ai Building. After work I rode back to Xindian the same way. That gave me eighty minutes of exercise a day. The only drawback was that buses and taxis often cut suddenly into my path and spewed exhaust, so later I wore a face mask while riding. I commuted this way for over a year and felt my legs grow stronger. Every Saturday, after work ended at noon, I first had lunch in the large dining hall on the ground floor (or bought a sandwich). Then I walked to the Taiwan Motor Transport Company's West Station (at the corner of Chongqing South Road and Zhongxiao West Road) and took a Kuo-Kuang express bus to Kaohsiung, going home to Fengshan for the weekend. On Sunday nights I took a Kuo-Kuang bus back to Taipei from Kaohsiung East Station a little after midnight. At first I was not used to sleeping sitting up; in my Army Headquarters days I had always lain across the seats or on the floor of the ordinary express train. In time I could fall asleep as soon as the bus got on the freeway, and stay asleep until the rumble strips before the Taishan toll station or the driver's announcement woke me. We reached the terminal near the West Station on Chongqing North Road at about five in the morning. When I got off, the broad Chongqing South Road had not a single person or car on it, and I felt as if I were the only one left in the city. I walked to the office, changed into my uniform, washed my face and brushed my teeth in the washroom, then rested a little before welcoming a new week. This routine went on for eight years, until we moved from Fengshan to Taipei in 1993 (year 82 of the Republic), and that was the end of my night bus rides.
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(My Career as an Engineering Officer, 15) In those days the office had no personal computers. Our desks were pushed together in groups of four, like the Chinese character 田. On my left was my classmate Liang Peng, and across from me were my senior classmate Li Zhe and my junior classmate Gu Yibin. Perhaps drafting documents was simply too draining, because the two across from me smoked one cigarette after another. I had already breathed plenty of exhaust on my bicycle ride to work, and I did not want to breathe secondhand smoke all day as well. (Back then smoking openly in the office was allowed. Today smokers have almost nowhere left to light up. The elementary school campus where I play badminton is entirely smoke-free, so the players who smoke have to walk a hundred meters to the school gate during breaks. In the past few years, two of those smoking badminton friends, both several years younger than I, have died of lung cancer, which is truly frightening. In the courtyard of our housing complex, some residents who did not dare smoke at home used to smoke there, but at last month's residents' meeting the courtyard too was declared a no-smoking area.) So I wore a mask at work. Later, whenever one of the two gentlemen across from me lit up, he would remind me to get my mask ready. One morning the executive officer, Lieutenant General He, passed our door, caught sight of me wearing my mask, and came straight in. "Hey! Which fellow is this, wearing a mask to work? That's something you don't see often!" he said. I took off the mask and explained why. He urged everyone to smoke less, then sat on my desk and chatted with us for ten minutes or so before he left. A few months later I was included in the Ministry of National Defense's regular inspection team and went with the executive officer to inspect units of the three services. We also went back to the Army Headquarters Logistics Department conference room to review the work of the Fourth Section, and I was very excited to see my old colleagues. When we boarded a ship at Zuoying naval base, the officers and men lined up and piped a series of calls on their whistles to welcome the vice admiral leading the team. It was the first time in my life I had seen such a ceremony (before, I had only seen it in films), and I found it quite novel. The inspection lasted a little over ten days. Back at the office, I wrote the inspection report and submitted it, and the assignment was done.
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(My Career as an Engineering Officer, 16) In early June 1986 (year 75 of the Republic), I submitted a memo with the allocation table for the coming year's water and electricity budgets of the units directly under the Ministry of National Defense: the Armed Forces University, the Political Warfare College, the National Defense Medical Center, the Tri-Service General Hospital, the Electronics Development Office, the Integrated Communications Command, the General Affairs Bureau and others. The day after it went up, a staff officer from the office of the deputy chief of the general staff, General Chen Jiangao, telephoned to say the deputy chief wanted me to explain the allocation in person. As I was on loan, I wore a temporary pass marked "Bo'ai Building" and could not enter the Presidential Office, where the deputy chief's office was on the second floor. So we arranged a time, and the staff officer met me at the exit of the Presidential Office's underground passage and took me to see him. The deputy chief told the story of army cooks in the old days: a good cook could cook a big pot of rice with a single bundle of firewood, while a poor cook would burn several bundles. The armed forces, he said, must value energy and never waste it. He talked for about twenty minutes. At the end he urged me to make sure every unit saved water and electricity, and then he approved the memo. (Once my transfer order took effect on July 1, I wore the ministry's regular pass and could enter the Presidential Office directly on business.) Later I was once ordered to accompany Deputy Chief Chen to the air force base in Hualien to watch a simulated exercise of towing fighter planes through a tunnel. Our party of a dozen or so flew from Songshan Airport in a VIP C-47. It had no air conditioning. Tucked into the back of each seat was a fan of white goose feathers with a wooden handle as thick as a thumb, like the one Kongming always carried, for passengers to use once aboard. (Later the air force bought a batch of small passenger aircraft for its VIP squadron and retired those old planes.) At the Hualien base, the wing had marked out the width of the tunnel and the angles of its turns on the apron, and then fighters were actually towed through the course as a test. When the exercise was over, I went with the deputy chief to look over the conditions in the camp, and then we flew back to Taipei on the same plane.
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(My Career as an Engineering Officer, 17) The rules that everyone handling construction in the military followed were set out in the red book issued by the Ministry of National Defense, Regulations for Military Construction Works of the ROC Armed Forces (國軍軍事營繕工程教則). After many years of use, however, some of its provisions were out of date, and the director ordered the engineering section to study and revise it. Each of us was given several chapters, about a hundred pages. When we were done, senior classmate Li Zhe compiled the drafts and submitted them. After the superiors approved, the new regulations were printed by the Army Printing Plant and issued to every unit of the armed forces. The revision adjusted the cost limits for projects that each level could handle and strengthened each unit's responsibility for ensuring construction quality. About six months after I took up the post, I had a firm grasp of my work. The unit I most often coordinated with was the facilities section of the Air Force Headquarters Logistics Department. When I first arrived, the people there would open phone calls with "Hello, Instructor" or "Reporting, Instructor," which made me quite uncomfortable. After all, I knew nothing about flying and had never been an instructor. Only later did I learn that in the air force it was the custom to call all superiors "instructor." (At Army Headquarters we had called the officers handling our cases at the ministry "senior classmate" or "sir.") Lieutenant Colonel Fan, who handled navy construction in our department, was approved to attend a business management course of about six months at National Central University in Taoyuan. The director told me to take over his work in the meantime, so from then on I handled all the construction for both the navy and the air force. I often had to keep drafting documents at home after dinner. During the day, phone calls constantly interrupted me at the office, so I drafted the briefings and major memos that needed careful thought at home (my parents' home). The next day at work I copied them out neatly on the official drafting forms, and I found this worked well. Covering navy construction also gave me the chance to travel on duty to the naval bases at Su'ao, Keelung, Zuoying and Penghu, which broadened my horizons.
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(My Career as an Engineering Officer, 18) The Third Department of the Office of the Vice Minister for Logistics, which was in charge of the armed forces' ammunition, carried out a safety inspection of all ammunition depots and asked our department to send someone to join the team. Since I had been in charge of depot rebuilding projects at Army Headquarters, the director assigned me. Together with the Third and Fourth Political Warfare Divisions and other units, we went to camps of all three services. I was mainly responsible for assessing the safety of the depot facilities; other specialists checked quantities, temperature and humidity control, restacking records and so on. Lieutenant Colonel Zhan of the Third Department planned the whole itinerary, and after about twenty days the mission was successfully completed. Each year the Office of the Vice Minister for Planning (J-5) organized teams to carry out joint verification and evaluation of each service's administrative programs. I was assigned to the evaluation team, together with the comptroller's office, the Third Political Warfare Division and others. Led by Lieutenant General Wang, an assistant vice minister for planning, we went to Penghu, the Naval Academy, the Air Force Academy, Zuoying and elsewhere to check the results of construction projects on site. We reported the strengths and weaknesses we found right there to each unit inspected, and every time I was the first to report. The commanders, all lieutenant generals and major generals, listened intently and kept bowing their heads to take notes, because all of this would go into the final verification report submitted to Chief of the General Staff Hau for approval and release. About a week after the inspections were finished, all the team members met in the planning office's conference room to rate each project as excellent, good, satisfactory or unsatisfactory. The navy vice admiral, an assistant vice minister, who chaired the meeting, wanted the navy units' projects rated higher, but in the end the vote decided. I sensed that he was not very pleased with the final ratings. During my years at the ministry, I came to see how united the navy was. Whenever I received a navy request for a construction project, I would immediately get a stream of calls from navy officers in various units of the ministry asking, "Did you get the document? That project really is something the unit needs." Senior officers often came to my office in person as well. Every Lunar New Year, when Navy Headquarters held its holiday banquet, it invited the navy officers serving at the ministry back for a reunion. Afterwards they brought back small souvenirs such as ties and fountain pens and showed them off to us, which made those of us from the army and air force rather jealous. (Of course, we knew that Army Headquarters was far away in Longtan and had far too many people to do the same.) In short, the navy's character as a service was like that of one big family. Still, in every family some brothers are favored more than others. By my observation, the order was the Fleet Command (submarines, the "Yang"-class destroyers and the transport ships) first, then the naval districts, then the Marine Corps (I hope navy people will forgive me). I hope that today, decades later, the navy treats all its own equally.
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(My Career as an Engineering Officer, Part 19) Our country's submarine force was built up in three stages. In the first, the "Wuchang Project," two small Italian submarines, the S-1 Hai Jiao and the S-2 Hai Long, were bought and assembled at home in Tamsui and Zuoying. They were commissioned in 1969 but, because they performed poorly, were decommissioned in 1972. In the second, the "Mercury Project," two Second World War–era diesel-electric submarines, the SS-478 Hai Shi and the SS-426 Hai Bao, were received from the United States as paid military aid and commissioned in 1973. In the third, the "Jianlong Project," two diesel-electric submarines, the SS-793 Hai Long and the SS-794 Hai Hu, were bought from the Netherlands and commissioned in 1987 and 1988 (Chen Shui-bian once rode one of them on a dive in July 2004, as a show). When the Jianlong dry dock at Zuoying Base was finished, I was ordered there to take part in the acceptance inspection. The dock is 120 metres long, 22 metres wide and 11 metres deep, and holds eight thousand tons of water, the largest of the navy's five dry docks. The builders showed a film of how the dock is flooded and drained. The dock gate is an enormous hollow rectangular pontoon. Tugboats tow it into position, it is filled with water so that it sinks and closes off the dock, and then the water inside the dock is pumped out, at which point the pressure of the sea presses the gate even more tightly shut. A submarine can then be taken apart and repaired. To flood the dock, one only has to open the sluice gates and let the seawater flow in naturally. That dock has now been in service for 28 years, and the navy is currently planning to build a fourth generation of submarines itself and to keep strengthening the submarine force's weaponry.
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(My Career as an Engineering Officer, Part 20) When I took up my post in the Office of the Vice Minister for Logistics, the air force had just completed the "Taiwu Mountain Project," buying twelve C-130 medium tactical transport aircraft made by Lockheed Martin from the United States. They were assigned to the 101st and 102nd Squadrons of the 10th Group of the 439th Wing in Pingtung, and became the mainstay of the transport fleet. To meet the needs of the new aircraft, the air force also carried out the necessary airfield expansion works. Dongsha Island (Pratas) lies at the northern end of the four main island groups of the South China Sea. In 1979 it was placed under Zhongxing Village in Cijin District, Kaohsiung City; its nearest point on the mainland is Shantou, only 140 nautical miles away. After the runway extension at Dongsha airfield was completed in 1986, the air force carried out a first C-130 flight to Dongsha to make a trial landing and accept the runway works. I was ordered to go along with the Air Force Commander-in-Chief, General Chen Sangling (陳桑齢), and a dozen or so other generals, more than forty people in all. We took off from Songshan and landed safely at Dongsha airfield. The island was garrisoned by the ROC Marine Corps, and the colonel in command briefed us on conditions on the island. After the acceptance of the runway works (1,550 metres long, 30 metres wide and 0.23 metres thick), we drove around the whole island, which took only ten-odd minutes. The island's defences were 90 mm, 76.2 mm and 40 mm guns; they were old anti-aircraft guns, but the officers and men said they were quite effective against ships at sea. At noon we had lunch together in the troops' mess hall, and one dish was a local sand snail that tasted rather good. After lunch we visited the sand-painting workshop where the soldiers spent their free time. They first drew flowers, birds or animals on thin wooden boards, then applied glue colour by colour in sequence, sprinkling on fine sand dyed in each colour in turn; once the coloured sand had stuck to the design, the excess was collected to be used again. Many soldiers were concentrating hard on learning the craft, which not only taught them a skill but also helped pass the time. Our group flew back to Taipei on the same aircraft a little after three in the afternoon, having successfully completed the first flight and trial landing. Later this type of aircraft flew scheduled runs to bring supplies to the island.
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(My Career as an Engineering Officer, Part 21) Many friends who travelled by train in the old days past Dagangshan will remember seeing two big white balls on the mountain top to the east. That was the air force's radar station. The two towers handled height-finding and range-finding respectively, and the air control personnel called them "Big Brother Tower" and "Little Brother Tower." When I joined the Office of the Vice Minister for Logistics in 1986 (year 75 of the Republic), the air force was carrying out the "Tongcheng Project," replacing the equipment at two mountain radar stations in the north and one in the south with 3D radar; only one of the towers was built by our own troops. Because coloured paint had previously blocked radio waves, the spherical radomes at all the radar stations were white and made conspicuous targets. Alongside the Tongcheng Project, a coloured paint that did not interfere with radio waves was also developed, and the radomes were repainted in camouflage. The vice minister attached great importance to this project and personally went to all three mountain stations to inspect the progress of the work. All the air force's radar stations were supervised and commanded by the Air Control and Warning Wing, which came directly under the Combat Command (renamed the Operations Command in 1999). Because the new equipment worked very well, from 1998 the air force went on to carry out the "Anyu Project" across the board, upgrading the air control and radar intelligence system and replacing the old radars.
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(My Career as an Engineering Officer, Part 22) Besides the equipment upgrade at the air force's three mountain radar stations, I was also ordered to make a thorough survey of what was needed to improve living conditions for the officers and men at the ordinary radar stations and at the navy's coastal radar stations. So I travelled alone to almost every large and small navy and air force radar station in the mountains and along the coast of Taiwan. Many stations had old barracks and crude bathrooms, which showed how hard life was for the troops in small, remote units. After assessment, funds were allocated to make some improvements. During the Taiwan Strait battle of 1958 (year 47 of the Republic), the US military sent a group of F-104As of the 83rd Squadron to help defend Taiwan. At that time all our air force knew was that their top speed was Mach 2, fully twice as fast as the F-86F. After the bombardment ended, the Communist army gradually re-equipped with the Soviet-made MiG-19, so in 1960 (year 49 of the Republic) our air force began the "Alishan Project." Under Alishan Nos. 1 to 11, the air force received 247 F-104 fighters of various models, flying the F-104A, F-104B, F-104D, F-104G and F-104J. These F-104s, taken in over the years from the United States, the Netherlands, Denmark, West Germany, Japan and other countries (mostly second-hand), served to extend the fleet's life and replace older aircraft. In 1965 (year 54 of the Republic) the air force retired the F-104A and switched to the F-104G, a high-performance, all-weather, multi-role fighter-bomber. When I joined the Office of the Vice Minister for Logistics in 1986, Alishan No. 10 was under way, trading F-5A fighters to the Danish air force for a batch of F-104s. When I went to Hsinchu Base to inspect the related works, I also learned about their maintenance. I watched a maintenance NCO skilfully replace a part, then insert a special steel wire a little over an inch long into the safety hole and twist the two ends across each other like a fried dough twist, for a fixed number of turns; one turn more or one turn fewer would not do (just as a certain famous xiaolongbao (soup dumplings) shop specifies how many pleats each dumpling must have). The maintenance officer also told me that on a batch of F-104Js bought from Japan, the Japanese side had removed all the original communications equipment and weapons, and only after our own technicians studied the problem and fitted them out themselves could the aircraft fly missions. At that time Hsinchu Base was also trying out steel-fibre concrete (in addition to aggregates such as crushed stone and sand, a set proportion of high-strength wavy steel fibres about eight centimetres long and half a centimetre wide is added) for paving part of the runway. It was later judged effective against small-calibre artillery but unable to withstand advanced missiles or heavy bombs. As the air force went on buying fighters, the F-104s were retired year by year and replaced by the F-16A/B Block 20. Later our country hoped to buy the more advanced F-16C/D, but the Americans would not agree, so we turned instead to an upgrade programme for the F-16A/B; however, because the American side asked too high a price, it was never finalised.
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(My Career as an Engineering Officer, Part 23) In the rebuilding of the Nationalist army's old camps, the original wooden barracks were torn down and replaced with reinforced-concrete barrack buildings, either newly designed and put out to contract or built by the troops themselves. However, some brick-walled, tile-roofed barracks had rotten wooden doors, windows and roof beams while the structure below was still sound. To save money, in 1982 (year 71 of the Republic) a programme was launched to renovate the Nationalist army's old camps. For brick-walled, tile-roofed barracks, the lower structure was kept, the wooden doors and windows were replaced with aluminium ones, the cement floors were redone in terrazzo, the outer walls were given a washed-pebble finish, and the roofs were entirely replaced (including the trusses, purlins, rafters, roof boards, tar felt, tile battens and cement tiles), all of it built by the troops themselves, with the army and the ROC Marine Corps as the main units involved. After I joined the Office of the Vice Minister for Logistics, the vice minister, Lieutenant General Lin, took a keen interest in the results of the renovation programme, and once went in person to central and southern Taiwan to inspect the work of the Marine Corps and the army. The department director and I went with him, driving south in a big Ford. In construction quality, staffing, the control and storage of materials, the content of their briefings and so on, the Marine Corps outdid the army in every respect, and I could not help admiring this service's ability to carry out orders and get the job done. Earlier, when I was at Army Headquarters, I had gone with a group of army unit commanders to a Marine Corps camp in Taichung to see a demonstration of renovation work, and some officers said it was nothing but a showpiece. Now I truly understood that every Marine Corps camp was up to the same standard. The vice minister was also very pleased with how the Marine Corps had carried out the programme, and after the inspection went smoothly we drove back to Taipei in the same car.
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(My Career as an Engineering Officer, Part 24) The Air Force Rescue Group was founded in June 1950 (year 39 of the Republic). It began as a helicopter detachment in Chiayi, was expanded into a rescue squadron in 1954, and in August 1983 was redesignated the Air Force Rescue Group, under the air force's Chiayi wing. When I was serving in the Office of the Vice Minister for Logistics in 1986, the air force was carrying out the "Mount Hua Project," buying fourteen S-70C-1 helicopters to form the Seagull Rescue Squadron; four of them (7001–7004) were fitted with fixed sofas for use as VIP transports. The S-70C is in fact the civilian version of the UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter. Its main task was searching for and rescuing pilots who had come down at sea. For ordinary mountain accidents, responsibility was divided: above 2,500 metres it was the squadron's job, below 2,500 metres it fell to the aviation police, and the cost was borne by all the people of the country. I went to the Chiayi base to inspect the hangars and related works on site, and also gained some understanding of the unit's mission. More than twenty years later, in 2012, the air force bought three EC-225 Super Puma Mk II helicopters from Eurocopter for NT$3.6 billion to join the rescue missions. Sadly, on the twenty-sixth of March that same year, a Seagull helicopter numbered 7017 crashed into the sea in bad weather while on a medical evacuation mission near Orchid Island (Lanyu); of the six crew, only one, a Sergeant Cai, survived, which was truly tragic. I hope people will pay more attention to safety and not go climbing mountains or out to sea in bad weather, adding needlessly to the burden and the risks of the rescue units.
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(My Career as an Engineering Officer, Part 25) From 21 August to 3 September 1986, the freakish Typhoon Wayne hit Taiwan three times and made landfall twice, causing unprecedented damage in Penghu and central Taiwan. The media described it as "one typhoon, two landfalls, three warnings, four changes of course." The naval base at Magong was badly damaged, and many barracks lost their roofs entirely. I went with the department director to survey the damage, and funds for repairs were allocated at once. That same year the Su'ao area was also struck by an earthquake, and the navy's wharf there sank and cracked in many places; after an on-site survey, funds were likewise worked out for the repairs. At the same time we also checked on the progress of the base's Longyuan project. The Marine Corps headquarters buildings at the Tao〇〇 camp in Zuoying were old and leaked. With the Corps' fortieth anniversary in 1989 (year 78 of the Republic) coming up, when the camp would be opened to the families of officers and men, a new headquarters building was urgently needed. The Marine Corps raised NT$20 million itself and submitted the building plan to the Ministry of National Defense for approval. When I received the document, I asked the Marine Corps to arrange a time for a joint site inspection. When I arrived at the headquarters in Zuoying, the colonel section chief in charge of engineering (a senior classmate from the engineers branch, 37th class of the Army Academy) took me to the deputy commander's office, where the deputy commander explained their needs and where the new building would stand. As it happened, it was raining that day, and two plastic basins sat on the floor of the deputy commander's office catching the water dripping through. I then looked at other rooms in the headquarters and found the same thing. On returning to the ministry, I immediately wrote up the actual situation and submitted it to my superiors, who approved the plan. The Marine Corps then built the new headquarters building as planned, in time for the expanded anniversary celebrations.
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(My Career as an Engineering Officer, Part 26) The Kinmen airfield, which had been closed to flights because of the bombardment of 23 August 1958 (the Second Taiwan Strait Crisis), was moved to Shangyi for military reasons, and flights were then operated by the air force. By 1987 (year 76 of the Republic) the number of travellers between Taiwan and Kinmen had grown steadily, and to meet public demand the government had Far Eastern Air Transport fly the first Kinmen–Taipei service that September, opening a new era of civil air transport between Taiwan and Kinmen. Later TransAsia, UNI Air and other airlines joined in. Early in 1987 I was ordered to Kinmen to inspect the runway and related facilities at Shangyi airfield, and the air force immediately corrected the faults I found. While serving with the troops I was never stationed on Kinmen, but later, as a staff officer at Army Headquarters and the Ministry of National Defense, I often went there on duty, about ten times in all. The air force's Hualien–Taitung oil pipeline was one of the Nationalist army's major projects of the time, and I went to inspect the work on site. For safety, every weld had to be X-rayed to prevent leaks later on. Human sabotage, however, is impossible to guard against fully. Later, in the Taitung area, criminals rented farmland and, using betel-leaf cultivation (the leaves used to wrap betel nuts) as cover, put up black shade netting under which they tapped the pipeline, stole military fuel, loaded it into tanker trucks and drove it off to sell. What audacity!
Nostalgic Piece 214
(Engineering Officer Career, Part 27) I served in the Fifth Department of the Office of the Vice Minister for Logistics for about a year and a half. I got along well with my superiors and colleagues, and I travelled to every navy and air force base and most of the radar stations, learning a great deal along the way. At the time the department had no colonel's vacancy, and our department director cared a great deal about his subordinates' advancement. One day he called me into his office and told me that the colonel staff officer in the office of the director of the General Affairs Bureau was retiring. He wanted to recommend me for the post and asked whether I agreed. I loved my work (it gave me a real sense of achievement), but I did not want to turn down his kindness, so I said yes. The next day he told me that the bureau director had approved my transfer. Not long after, a navy officer, Lieutenant Colonel Deng Hezhao (鄧合釗), was transferred in to take over my air force engineering work. We worked side by side for about a month. He was modest and courteous and quickly got the hang of things. After my transfer orders came, the vice minister called in the department director and me. Beforehand he had specially asked Major General Wang Wumian (王無冕), director of the First Department (my commander when I was an inspector in the Taoyuan engineer group), to have a plaque made recording what I had accomplished in the Office of the Vice Minister for Logistics. He presented the plaque and a cash award and urged me to keep up the good work, and I thanked the vice minister and the department director for their care and guidance. (Afterwards the director of the First Department told me that usually only colleagues who were retiring received plaques, so I was an exception.) When I moved to the bureau director's office of the General Affairs Bureau (on the ground floor of the Presidential Office Building), another chapter of my career began. Three years later, however, something happened that shocked me deeply. On 21 August 1990 (year 79 of the Republic), a small air force VIP plane carrying eighteen officers (three of them major generals) to Chiayi to inspect the Jian'an No. 4 project crashed into farmland in Chenghai Village, Dongshi Township, Yunlin. Everyone on board was killed, and Colonel Deng, who had taken over my work, was one of them. My feelings were in turmoil; I could not shake the sense that he had taken on the misfortune meant for me. When the public memorial service was held at the First Funeral Parlor, I took leave to go and pay my respects, and standing before his portrait I could not hold back my tears. Life is truly unpredictable: in a single day so many fine officers were lost. The local people later donated money to build the "Air Force Eighteen Generals Shrine" in their memory. Twenty-five years have passed since then, but I will never forget Brother Hezhao's voice, his face and his bearing.