We got a new Warrant Officer (WOJG) in that year, Arnold Taylor. New in both
ways -new to us and new to the Officer's Corps. He came in wearing a brand
new summer tropical worsted (TW) uniform, but his baggage didn't make it in 
with him. He wound up wearing that uniform for two weeks straight! Even with 
his nightly showers in the BOQ, his TW's kept him pretty gamy. I felt sorry for
him, and after we got to know him, he was a pretty good guy. 

About midway through my tour, the NCO club committee decided to 
purchase some used slot machines from the Air Force NCO club in Ankara.
I was picked to go down, check them out, buy them and bring them back to
Sinop. It being summer time, we took the mountain route in a deuce-and-a-half.
It really was picturesque. One stretch was a single-lane dirt road cut into the 
side of the mountain. It reminded me of the World War II newsreels of the
supply trucks on the Burma Road.

The initial part of the slot machine deal was made by telephone from Sinop
to Ankara, so the club sergeant was expecting me. I, however, was not 
expecting the junk machines that he was offering. There were three: a nickel,
a dime, and a quarter machine, and the agreed upon price was $600. I thought 
that was exorbitant considering the condition of the machines (as I remember, 
the nickel machine didn't even have a back), and called Sinop and told the club
sergeant of my misgivings. He said my feelings were duly noted and to buy the
machines.

So much for my business acumen. From that time forward, the NCO club had 
money for whatever we wanted. Because of the condition of the machines
(I was right about that), they were constantly breaking down, but we had a
secret repairman in the person of the operations crypto-repair NCO. He was
able to keep the machines functioning. When the IG made his annual 
inspection, he asked to see all of the documentation for the money collected
and paid out. Every thing was in order, but the amount of money we had on
hand was staggering. I remember his comment: "Maybe you should change
the odds on these things." 

A second thing that the IG was concerned with was the amount of booze
(mostly beer) consumed on the hill. At that time, any mixed drink was 25 
cents and beer (all American beer) was 15 cents. I asked the NCO club
custodian why all mixed drinks were the same price when differing liquors
had vastly different costs per bottle.  He said he didn’t want to confuse the 
Turkish kid who tended bar, so he arbitrarily made everthing the same price.

During his check of the EM club, the IG was told that some guys spent up to
$75.00 a month at the club. He thought that was outrageous, and asked the
SFC who was helping count the money what he spent a month. He asked 
the wrong guy, because he was noted for his ability to knock 'em back, despite 
working long hours and never missing work. His reply to the IG was, 
"Some months $150.00, some months $155.00. Some months have 30 
days and some have 31 days." The IG let it go after that, and I didn't hear 
anything further about the excessive drinking on the hill.

Sometime later, I went into the club one evening and there was a brand new 
150-play jukebox. The total number of records we had was probably 10 to 
15, so the jukebox seemed a little extravagant. When I said something to the 
club sergeant, the same one who had instructed me to buy the machines, he
told me quite proudly that the jukebox had cost $1500, and he was delighted 
to be able to spend that kind of money just to get rid of it.