It was going to be a very long day. Colonel Sherman Potter had been regaled with stories of Frank Burns' temporary CO stay. Every time the Colonel was going to be gone, whether to ICOR or on leave, the same issues would be coming up: gambling, drinking, early morning athletic activities, fraternization, disregard of military protocol, etc. Every time.

More often than not, more members of the 4077th would want to alert the Colonel to something else Burns had done as temporary CO for the six days Colonel Potter was in Tokyo.

"Damn," Potter said to himself," I'm really getting tired of this. Time to do something."

"Radar," he called out, "Please get me General Rice on the phone."

Radar was always able to get things done as quickly as possible; he started dialing.

While Radar was trying to reach the General, Colonel Potter was checking the latest list of medical supplies on hand. He'd follow up with Major Houlihan later to make certain that the list was accurate, and then create a new list of what to order.

"Colonel Potter, Sir," Radar had stepped into the office, "I've got General Rice on the line." Potter thanked the company clerk and then got on the phone.

"Tom," the Colonel began, "I'm glad I was able to get a hold of you."

"Sherm, you did me a favor,' replied General Rice, "you got me out of our weekly meeting with General Tobin. I might even put you on my Christmas list."

"Old Snoozefest," Potter laughed, "I've sat through a couple of his meetings. He speaks in a monotone and does it very slowly."

"That's about the size of it," Rice laughed, "What's going on at the 4077t ?"

"Tom, it's my second in command. Major Frank Burns. A mediocre doctor with a mediocre personality. Every time I have to leave here for more than a day, he uses his authority as interim CO to create all new rules and restrictions that truly upset the company."

"Sherm, you said this was a continuing problem, "General Rice started, "I'm sure your folks get thrown for a loop."

Potter responded, " I have told him several times to stop. He agrees, but then does it again. Since most of his changes are military based, he can get away with it."

"How many is several?" Rice asked.

"Five times, Tom. All he does it make it harder for the people here.. They have enough real issues to get through without trying to turn this from a hospital to a military base," Potter answered.

"Sounds like he puts a lot of pressure on you to "fix" things," the General stated.

"I just want to come back to the same MASH I leave," Potter noted.

"Okay," the General said, "I may have an idea, but let me think about it and see if it's something we could dol"

"I appreciate it, Tom." Potter stated.'

"Sherm, Anytime, I should be able to reach you in the next couple of days. I hope that we'll be able to do what I'm thinking of," Rice said, "I will get back to you as soon as I can.

Colonel Potter thanked the General and ended the phone call.

Then, it was back to restoring morale by eliminating any rule that Burns had come up with.

He could have used the PA system, but he wanted a more personal touch. He asked Radar to spread the word by walking through the camp and letting people know.

Potter then walked over to where patients were in recovery. "Only 4 men?" He asked Klinger.

"Sir," that rainstorm really SNAFU almost any wartime activities," Klinger answered, "Today was the first day since you left that we could actually see the sun. I got mud all over 2 pair of my best high heels."

"Thank you for your sacrifice," Potter said with a slight grin, "Anything else I need to know?"

Klinger told the Colonel that it had been more quiet than usual, but that Major Houlihan would be able to provide a clearer picture.

3 of the hospitalized men were awake, so the Colonel spoke briefly to each one before returning to his office. He looked at the clock and saw it was just after 1 pm. Based on that, he steadily walked over to the Mess Tent. He had lunch with Father Mulcahy.

The remainder of the day was filling out paperwork, as well as checking files to see who, if anyone, Burns had written up.

About 4:30, General Rice called back.

"Sherman," he began, "I think you'll really appreciate what we can do about your 'Major' problem. Let me tell you about it." While the General was speaking, Colonel Potter smiled and was quite pleased.