CH50 - Runway

Two weeks later,

"Boss."

"Yes?"

"Do we really have to keep doing this?"

"What's wrong with it?"

All the employees, including me, were holding a binding wire in one hand and a binding handle (also known as a Hakal) in the other, constantly twisting the wire.

The work, which involved bending over like planting rice seedlings, was exhausting.

"There's nothing to learn, it's not fun, it's not rewarding, and it's just tiring."

"But it pays well. Our company's daily wage is pretty high."

"Money... is good, but it's not everything."

University students were a bit different from skilled workers.

At first, I thought they just had different thoughts, but hearing it a few times became annoying. Didn't they know it was hard for everyone?

"If you don't like this or that, just go back home!!! It's exhausting enough without you talking all the time!"

This is why I didn't want to work on road construction.

It's really simple labour, and looking at the road to be paved is overwhelming. When doing this kind of work, you just need to empty your mind.

Moreover, we were currently using a bamboo mat method, laying bamboo in a grid pattern and binding it with wire. It was optimized for making runways in the soft, muddy ground of the Vietnamese jungle, but to a university student, it might seem like a crappy method.

It's a technique still used in the 21st century!

"Just one more question. Will this really become a runway?"

"I've told you many times! We create a grid with bamboo, cover it with non-woven fabric, and then cover it with soil to stabilize the base. We need to drain the water from the ground first, then spread gravel and pave with cement."

Though it might look silly, bamboo is very strong and can easily support heavy equipment when woven into a grid.

Moreover, as the soil is spread and construction vehicles pass over it, the bamboo splits vertically, allowing water to drain through the gaps.

It's a cost-effective, quick, and reasonably reliable construction method still valid in the 21st century.

"Can we really make a runway with cement?"

"Hey! I said we could! And you said you'd only ask one question, but you've already asked two!"

"Can I ask just one more?"

"Come here! Go back home! Now!"

I chased after the guy who kept asking questions.

I understood how he felt, but at some point, I lost my temper.

The muddy ground made it impossible to run properly, adding to my frustration.

I didn't know who it was because of the face mask, but I was going to catch him and send him back home.

Honestly, how many jobs in the world are there where you can learn a lot, have fun, feel rewarded, and make a lot of money?

People do jobs others don't want to make money, and much later, they manipulate their memories to recall the hardship fondly.

If you want to learn, go to school and pay tuition.

If you want fun, go to an amusement park and pay the entry fee.

If you want to feel rewarded, join NASA and launch Apollo missions.

"Ah! Boss, just one more question. Do you know my name?"

"How would I know your name!"

"Haha, then that's fine. I'm not going home."

"Catch that guy! Catch him!"

The guy ran away like a cat.

Our work area stretched for several kilometres, making it difficult to catch up.

"Boss, please be patient. That student, despite asking so many questions, is the first to arrive and the last to leave. He's quite helpful for a student."

"Ugh, so annoying."

My legs gave out, and I collapsed onto the ground.

The bamboo mat method was really convenient at times like this.

"You're exhausted, CS?"

"Mark, you're here?"

"Isn't it tough? Have a cold drink."

"Thanks."

Mark appeared out of nowhere and threw me a bottle of cola.

Sweet and cold cola is really the best at times like this.

"CS, there's a lot of buzz about Silverstein lately. They say he hasn't shown up at the port at all."

"They don't need me anymore. Tell him to work like a BR Master."

"It's not about work. Silverstein admires you."

I wasn't worried about the port.

Silverstein understood the caisson method well, and the staff had become veterans.

In fact, it was almost a concern that the dredger hadn't broken down yet, as it was being used so well.

"It's hard to believe, even seeing it. Covering bamboo with soil and running a bulldozer over it."

Mark looked around in genuine amazement.

"This is just the beginning. It'll be really impressive when we build the runway."

"That's why I'm here. I trust your skills, but wouldn't asphalt be better than cement for the runway? It might be tough, but we should try to get asphalt."

"You doubted the bamboo method until you saw it."

"True. Haha..."

Mark laughed awkwardly.

He meant it was practically difficult to get asphalt, but still better than cement.

There are many methods for paving runways, including asphalt, hot mix asphalt, plain concrete, reinforced concrete, and concrete overlay methods. In fact, concrete-based paving was more common in the 21st century.

It's just that, in the 60s, engineers had reservations about concrete methods.

"Don't worry. The maximum weight of the bomber is only 50 tons, right? That's more than enough to take off and land."

Large bombers take off and land in Saigon, and medium bombers are sufficient around Quy Nhon.

They mentioned B-57s and F111s with a maximum weight of 50 tons.

I wasn't interested in bomber types.

What mattered was that I had only ever paved runways for a maximum load of 160 tons (350,000 pounds).

So, the construction specifications I was using now were not just safe but over-specified.

In the 21st century, runways have pavement classification numbers (PCN) based on aircraft classification numbers (ACN). These classifications dictate the required conditions.

Factors like allowable load, flight frequency, tyre pressure, landing gear size, weather, and temperature fluctuations fill the completion report with enormous data.

Especially when paving an international standard runway under the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) standards, it was hell.

The traumatic memory made it ironic that I remembered specifications from the base to the surface layer.

"How does it work?"

Mark asked.

At first, he seemed easy to deal with because he looked lazy, but he was genuine as time went by.

Most importantly, as a military engineer, he was very interested in technology.

"It's not complicated. Just create a shock absorption layer between the base and the surface layer."

"A shock absorption layer..."

It's a dual layer consisting of a stabilized base and sub-base, with aggregate ratios adjusted and non-woven fabric inserted to increase strength.

In the 60s, this technique could be kept as know-how.

"Leave that to me. Just focus on ensuring the runway center doesn't retain water. That's a hundred times more important."

"So, I'm just supposed to do the final inspection?"

I would soon patent this, but experts like Mark needed to be cautious.

"Yes, just write the final inspection report. A concrete flexural strength of 700 psi and a runway strength coefficient of about 150 from a 30-inch plate load test should be sufficient."

"How do you get such enormous numbers for each layer thickness?"

"Excluding the special case of the bamboo mat, a 40 cm concrete slab, a 45 cm shock absorption layer, and a 5 cm surface layer should be enough."

The total thickness is 90 cm, very, very sturdy.

Honestly, this was the only spec I remembered, so that's what I was doing. If there were a computer simulation tool, I could just input the maximum allowable load in the Westergaard theory mode, and the optimal thickness would pop out instantly. I miss the 21st century.

"Is it okay to be that thick?"

"This is the tropics. There's no winter. As long as we drain water from the roadbed well, there's no worry about the runway getting damaged."

"!!! Right. It's the tropics here. No worry about freezing and cracking."

Moreover, the dry season was starting now, so curing the concrete wouldn't be much of a problem.

"Since we're on the topic, let's head to the construction entrance. We were going to pour concrete today anyway."

"Didn't we just cover the soil and lay gravel a week ago, and we're already pouring concrete?"

"That's the characteristic of the bamboo mat method. The ground stabilizes very quickly."

Mark was startled by my words.

No matter how good the US Army Corps of Engineers is, a '60s engineer can't beat a 21st-century engineer.

Of course, in terms of physical strength and guts, I couldn't compare with people of this era.

"Let's go quickly. Hurry."

"By the way, there's been no transport accidents recently."

"Honestly, Lieutenant Colonel Godell did a lot. You should thank him."

"Godell?"

This time, when the LST comes in, I was planning to send the 16 recovering people back home and give them other jobs.

It was a great relief that there had been no additional accidents.

"I've never seen Lieutenant Colonel Godell work so passionately. He went to Saigon, personally explained the operation, and even got troops."

"Really?"

"They named it the Southern Cross Project."

"Southern Cross Project?"

It sounds impressive, doesn't it?

"The layout resembles it. Road 1 and Road 19 form a cross, and connecting Quy Nhon and four other areas with diamond-shaped roads to use as runways. Even though they're medium-sized, the fact that Quy Nhon operates bombers makes it worthy of being called a project. Commanders attending the meeting, including the commander, reportedly gave a standing ovation."

"The commander gave a standing ovation?"

"That's why Da Nang and Cam Ranh camps are in a frenzy. They're all talking about building bases in a diamond shape and laying roads."

"What's this? A competition among supply bases?"

It must have made a strong impression.

Even to me, who knew history, it looked good.

By constructing a base in a diamond shape and connecting it with runways, it closely resembled the basic concept of the Korean Army's battalion base tactics, though on a larger scale.

In other words, the Viet Cong would be wiped out inside and outside the diamond shape. With a safe area, the influence of the US Army could expand from that point.

Honestly, I just wanted Quy Nhon to be intact. There should be only one Hong Kong in Southeast Asia.

"Rumor has it that this project might lead to a second-stage promotion if it goes well. It's being closely watched by Washington and even the Senate."

"Really?"

"So, if you can help make Quy Nhon finish first again, Lieutenant Colonel Godell said he'd release as much rebar as you want as surplus materials."

"?!!!!"

He was essentially telling me to take rebar as a reward.

Under the condition that Quy Nhon camp finished construction first. No problem. It's a jackpot.

"That's good news. I'll have to work hard."

"Give it your best shot. If Godell gets a big promotion, I'll get promoted with him, right?"

Mark seemed to be looking forward to it too.

"That won't come free, Mark."

"Will you share some credit with me? What do I have to do?"

"Train our new employees."

"Those rookies sent to the repair base? They're all working hard."

"Hard work isn't enough. Push them hard. Make them feel accomplished."

Let's have them take classes from the US Army Corps of Engineers.

"Feel accomplished?"

"Accomplishment comes from sweat."

"Ah! I'll double the workload. Will that do?"

"More than increasing the workload, give them challenging tasks."

"Sounds like they're promising rookies."

Yeah, they're classified as prodigies.

One of them, in particular, must feel accomplished.

"If about 20% of them get maintenance certification, I'll definitely finish first in this runway project. I'll mention Mark's name three times in the report."

"Really? So, just get about 60 of them certified?"

"Yes, everyone helps each other in their strong areas. I'll handle the runway, and you handle the maintenance training."

"Hehe, it's been a while since I've been excited. I'll train them like boot camp."

Mark cracked his knuckles and smiled.

"Especially if someone questions if there's an accomplishment in work, push them harder. That's my condition."

"Easy. Easy. Hahaha."

"Shall we toast?"

"Sure!"

We toasted with cola.

Whoever that guy was earlier, he's in for a rough time.

Mark, despite his size, runs really well.

******

Around the same time, at Daese Industrial.

"Yes, yes, we've received the letter of credit for 170,000 yards to Singapore. We'll process it immediately."

"Director, please approve the release of 20,000 sets of military uniforms."

"Manager Kim, why are the boots missing?"

"The 20,000 pairs of boots were sent to Jinhae Port along with mosquito nets yesterday."

"Oh, right. Right. Then, Manager Yang, have you placed the order for socks at Factory No. 3?"

"Not yet. We're supposed to switch after producing the backpack orders tonight."

"Why isn't it done yet? Jinhae is in an uproar. They're supposed to ship the day after tomorrow."

Sambok needed ten bodies.

Especially when shipping military supplies to Quy Nhon every two weeks by LST, staying up all night wasn't enough time.

Military uniforms, boots, socks, backpacks, mosquito nets, wristbands, face masks, and more were loaded endlessly onto trucks.

Though busy, the Navy's help made it a relief not to have to book a merchant ship.

"Director, there's a call from Jinhae saying there's no space to stack the lumber."

"What do you mean? Our lumber yard is over 50,000 pyeong."

"They say it's all full."

"Manager Jeong, go down there immediately and check. If there's really no space, buy the surrounding fields or paddies and merge them."

"Yes, Director."

Sambok had built a separate office next to the Seongsu-dong Factory and hired ten experienced workers.

In the meantime, Chansu had entrusted Sambok with the factory expansion and staffing, allowing him to handle the workload.