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My dad was a doctor in one of the ARVN airborne battalions. Around 1960, fresh out of the military med school, he eagerly reported to his first assignment where one of his duties was administering morning sick call. Apparently, word had gotten out that a cherry doc had arrived at battalion. His very first sick call was filled with soldiers complaining of a multitude of ailments. My dad duly examined them and wrote passes excusing them from duty for the day. The next morning, sick call was again packed, and the pattern repeated for a couple of days.
Towards the end of the week, the very pissed off BC showed up at morning sick call. He ordered the soldiers to line up, then walked up to the first soldier. He asked the soldier what his problem was. After the soldier replied, the BC slapped him hard across the face with an open hand. He then moved to the next soldier. SLAP. All the way down the line.
When he was finished, he walked over to my dad and said, "You see Doc? I'm not a doctor, but I just cured all of these soldiers." The next morning, there was a dramatic decrease in the number of soldiers reporting for morning sick call.
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