Shortly after the British Procurement Committee delegation arrived in Washington, John was recalled to the Operations Planning Division by Major General Boer. Pen @ fun @ pavilion wWw. ｂｉｑUｇE。 infoThis time the British came with a big order of almost $300 million, and all the arms dealers started to go crazy. Major General Bull needs John to come back to take charge, otherwise Martin will definitely not be able to carry it.

Fortunately, the work on the side of the Army Aviation Command is almost complete. The shelves of the Statistics Control Office have been erected, and the data inventory and the implementation of asset transparency will be left to Major Thornton. This kind of work of raiding people's nests and exposing people's secrets is most appropriate for Thornton, who is not afraid of offending people, to do it, and John will not participate.

Back in the battle planning office, John first went to report to Director Boole. Pushing open the door to the Commissioner's office, Major General Bull was talking to Brigadier General Nevins and a bald colonel who looked a little familiar.

"John, welcome back." Seeing him come in, Major General Bull was very happy: "General Arnold is very satisfied with your work during this time, and has praised you several times at the meeting of the chiefs of staff. ”

"Well done, didn't disgrace our battle planning department." Deputy Director Nevins patted John on the shoulder: "Let me introduce you, this is the new strategic section chief of the department, Colonel Ridgway." ”

No wonder John felt that this bald head was familiar, and this was not the "old friend of the Chinese people", General Ridgway, who succeeded MacArthur as commander-in-chief of the United Nations forces.

John remembers that Ridgway was also from the 15th Infantry Regiment, and when Marshall was the regimental commander, he was the company commander of the regiment's direct company. Marshall moved him from the position of assistant chief of staff of the 6th Army to operational planning, apparently in an attempt to tighten control over the core division of the operational planning division.

John soon had another question in mind, though. Li Qiwei became the head of the strategy section, so what about Lieutenant Colonel Gero? After the transfer of the former head of the strategy section, John and most of the department thought that Jairo's takeover was a foregone conclusion.

Could it be that Jairo's promotion was just in vain? Or was he also sent aside?

Nevins guessed John's thoughts: "Jairo is now the colonel's deputy commissioner, taking over the original Wells' work. ”

That's good, John breathed a sigh of relief. In the Operational Planning Division, the deputy director in charge of logistics and supply planning intersected the most. Now that Jairo is in charge, it couldn't be better.

After a brief conversation, John was ready to take his leave. Bull, Nevins, and Ridgway clearly had something to discuss, and he was too discerning to keep going.

"Wait a minute, John." Major General Bull stopped him, and then took out a medal watch from a drawer: "I have a gift for you." ”

Maj. Gen. Bull came out from behind his desk, "To thank Lieutenant Colonel John Vanderbilt for his outstanding service to the Army over the past four months, I think it's time to give this to you. Congratulations, Lieutenant Colonel Vanderbilt, we are so proud of you! ”

With that, Major General Bull pinned the Army Service Medal to the left chest of John's uniform. Brigadier General Neves and Colonel Ridgway both stood and applauded him and congratulated him loudly.

Although the Army Service Medal is only a seniority badge awarded by the Department of the Army to new officers (the Army Service Medal is awarded to officers who have completed a basic, orientation, advanced training course or have successfully completed 4 months of service). The medal can only be awarded once, and was established by the War Office in 1981 (the circumstances require a hint of advance), and it is not at all comparable to the medal, but John was much more agitated than when he received the award at the Finnish Embassy.

It's been four months since he joined the army, and he finally has a "pay stub". You know, this little strip pinned to the left chest of the uniform is a soldier's resume. He shows you what awards you have received, where you have served, what military operations you have participated in, what military skills you have, and so on.

Many veterans who have served for more than two years can make up two or three lines of merit watches, but John's left chest has been empty before. Insiders know at a glance that this lieutenant colonel is a rookie who has just joined the army. Now, he was finally able to shake off that embarrassment, and the Army Service Medal at least showed that he was a qualified officer recognized within the military.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you." After John saluted everyone, he hugged everyone present excitedly, even Ridgway, who met him for the first time.

When John returned to his office, Martin and the others had prepared a small celebration for him. Pakarina, the little beauty, also prepared a chocolate pie just for him. This moved John so badly that he immediately said that he would pay out of his own pocket in the evening and invite everyone in the department to the Washington Hotel for dinner.

John's decision was met with even louder applause. These days, going to the Washington Hotel to eat is not something that ordinary people can afford. Not to mention Pakarina and Miller, even a colonel-level officer like Martin rarely has the opportunity to eat there. Among the officers of the Army Staff, it is estimated that only John can make such a decision without blinking.

After getting off work in the afternoon, John went straight to the Washington Hotel with a few subordinates. Except for John and Martin, who had been here once, everyone was a little excited.

Pakarina chirped like a happy canary and grabbed John and asked questions, curious about everything. The shy Miller was a little restrained, and when he first entered the hotel, his expression was serious, his eyes did not squint, and his waist was straight, like an honor guard.

Captain Chandler was also uncharacteristically today, not only no longer avoiding John, but also taking the initiative to say a few flattering words. It seems that after Wells was transferred, this guy finally recognized the situation and began to take the initiative to move closer to John.

Everyone had a great time at this meal. The $5 a fine steak is a scoop for everyone, not to mention the specialties and drinks that you won't find anywhere else.

Pakarina, in particular, has no resistance to those exquisite little desserts after the meal. John simply packed her a few of the special treats that made her almost jump for joy.

After eating, John "unexpectedly" met Randolph again in the hotel parking lot. He had also just finished dinner here with several Newport News shipyard executives.

"Randolph, I didn't expect to run into you here again." John greeted him warmly.

"What a coincidence, John." Randolph smiled and said, "I'm going to look for you at the Army Staff in a few days." What are you? ”

"A colleague from my department." John proudly pointed to the medal on his chest: "I just got it today, and my colleagues came over to celebrate." ”

Randolph, who had served in the British Royal Navy, of course knew what it was, and quickly congratulated him. Then he asked John in a low voice, "Do you have any arrangements for a while, I just have something to look for you." ”

John would not refuse, and he wanted to get a sniff from Randolph to see if Sir Freeman would be interested in the Hughes Aircraft Company product this time.

So the two turned around and went back to the hotel, and found a secluded corner of the café and sat down.