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3. That the piloting of Catalina Hydroplane No. 37 be assigned to the subofficer of Air Battalion No. 42 who has had the greatest number of disciplinary actions and reprimands in his service file for the current year;

4. That in view of the state of technical deterioration of PAF Catalina Hydroplane No. 37, due to its many years of service, it be examined weekly by a mechanic of Air Battalion No. 42 of the Amazon District, who will be transported for this purpose, discreetly and in mufti, to the logistics center of the SSGFRI;

5. To earnestly beg Capt. Pantoja that the Special Service take the greatest care and precaution with the Catalina Hydroplane because it is a true historic relic of the PAF, since it was in this noble machine that, on 3 March 1929, Lt. Luis Pedraza Romero linked the cities of Iquitos and Yurimaguas in direct flight for the first time;

6. That the fuel as well as all other expenses that the maintenance and use of the PAF Catalina Hydroplane may incur be the exclusive responsiblity of the SSGFRI itself;

7. (a) That this Decision be communicated only to those it affects or mentions; and (b) that because of its top-secret nature, whoever divulges or shares its contents beyond the mentioned exceptions be punished with sixty days at hard labor.

Internal Order of the Medical Corps
of the Vargas Guerra Military Encampment

1. Major (Medical Corps) Antipa Negrón Azpilcueta, PA, will select from among the corps of male nurses and practical health officers in the Infectious/Contagious Illnesses Section the individual he considers most scientifically and morally trained to fulfill the duties that the instructions from the Command of Region V (Amazon) specify for the future Medical Assistant for the Special Service for Garrisons, Frontier and Related Installations (SSGFRI).

2. In the course of the present week, Major Negrón Azpilcueta will impart to the male nurse or military health officer selected, accelerated theoretical-practical training, with a view toward the duties he will have to discharge in the SSGFRI, which essentially will consist of detecting the infestation of nits, bedbugs, lice, crabs and mites in general as well as venereal diseases and chronic infectious/contagious vulva-vaginal diseases in the female recruits composing the convoys, immediately before their departure to the utilization centers of the SSGFRI.

3. Major Negrón Azpilcueta will supply the Medical Assistant with a first-aid medical kit, including probe, pallet and rubber finger cot for vaginal exploration, two white smocks, two pairs of rubber gloves and an adequate number of notebooks from which the latter must send weekly dispatches to the Medical Corps of the Vargas Guerra Military Encampment on the quantitative and qualitative operation of the Post of Medical Assistance of the SSGFRI.

4. Communicate this order only to concerned parties and file it with the classification “Secret.”

Report of Second Lt. Alberto Santana, PA, to the Command
of Region V (Amazon) on the pilot operation carried out
by the SSGFRI in the Horcones Post, under his command

In accordance with his received instructions, Second Lt. Alberto Santana has the honor of remitting to the Command of Region V (Amazon) the following report on events that have occurred in the post under his command on the Napo River:

As soon as informed by his superiors that the Horcones Post had been selected as the site for the initial experiment of the Special Service for Garrisons, Frontier and Related Installations, he prepared to put all facilities at the disposal of the operation for its success and radioed Capt. Pantaleón Pantoja to inquire what arrangements should be made in Horcones prior to the pilot project. To which Capt. Pantoja responded by informing him that none was needed because he personally would be transferred to the Napo River to supervise the preparations and the progress of the test.

In fact, on the day of 12 September at approximately 1030 hours, a green hydroplane with the name
Delilah
painted in red letters on the fuselage, piloted by an individual nicknamed “Crazy,” landed on the Napo River, carrying as passengers Capt. Pantoja, dressed as a civilian, and a woman named Chuchupe, whom it was necessary to carry off the plane because she had fainted. The reason for her light-headedness was that she had been greatly frightened during the flight from the Itaya River to the Napo River, due to the plane’s shaking in the wind and to the pilot, who, according to the assertion of the aforementioned, had performed continual risky and pointless acrobatics, intending to amuse himself by increasing her terror, which her nerves could not withstand. Once the said woman had recovered, she attempted to assault the pilot with words and crude gestures, and it was necessary for Capt. Pantoja to intervene in order to put an end to the incident.

With their nerves calmed down after a quick snack, Capt. Pantoja and his collaborator proceeded to put everything in order for accomplishing the experiment, which was to be observed on the following day, Tuesday, 13 September. The preparations were of two sorts: participational and topographical. In regard to the first, Capt. Pantoja, assisted by the undersigned, established a list of users by asking the twenty-two noncommissioned officers and soldiers of the post one by one—the subofficer was excluded—if they wanted to take advantage of the Special Service, explaining to them for the purposes of this questioning the nature of same. The troops’ first reaction was one of incredulity and distrust, and all answered by refusing to participate in the experiment, thinking it had to do with a ruse, as when they are asked for “Volunteers to go to Iquitos” and the ones who step forward are ordered to clean latrines. It was necessary for the aforementioned Chuchupe to appear and speak to the men in gross language so that their suspicion and doubt could be displaced, first by a great hilarity and then by an excitement of such magnitude that it was necessary for the subofficers and the undersigned to act with maximum energy in order to calm them down. Out of twenty-two noncommissioned officers and soldiers, twenty-one registered as candidate-users, the exception being Pvt. Segundo Pachas, who indicated that he was exempting himself because the operation would take place on Tuesday the 13th and that, being superstitious, he was sure it would bring him bad luck if he participated in it. According to the indication of the male nurse of Horcones, Corp. Urondino Chicote was likewise eliminated from the list of candidate-users because he was afflicted with an eruption of mange, capable of being spread via the respective female recruit to the rest of the unit. Which left a definitively established list of twenty users, who, when consulted, agreed that the fixed price should be deducted from their pay check by the SSGFRI as repayment for the service being offered them.

In regard to the topographical preparations, they consisted basically of preparing four locations assigned to the specialists of the first convoy of the SSGFRI, and these preparations were carried out under the exclusive direction of the so-called Chuchupe. She pointed out that since rain was possible, the sites should have roofs and preferably not be contiguous, in order to avoid auditory interference or emulation, a request that, unfortunately, could not be fully satisfied. Having inspected the roofed installations of the post, which, as the command knows, are few, the provisions storehouse, the radio post and the infirmary were selected as the most suitable locations. Due to its size, the provisions storehouse could be divided into two compartments, using boxes of foodstuffs as a dividing wall. The aforementioned Chuchupe then requested that a bed with its own straw or rubber mattress be placed in each location; or, in its absence, a hammock, with a waterproof oilcloth in order to avoid seepage and the deterioration of the material. They immediately proceeded to transfer four beds (chosen at random) along with their mattresses from the troops’ barracks to said locations, but because it was not possible to obtain the requested sheets of oilcloth, tarpaulins used to cover machinery and armaments when it rains were substituted. At the same time, once the mattresses were covered with tarpaulins, mosquito netting was installed so that the insects so abundant at this time of year would not interfere with the utilization activities. It being impossible to provide each location with the chamber pot that Corps Leader Chuchupe requested—since the post did not have even one of said artifacts at its disposal—four feed buckets were provided. There was no difficulty in installing in each location washbasins with their respective buckets of water, nor in providing each site with a chair, a chest or bench on which to place clothes, and two rolls of toilet paper. Seeing how wasteful our female recruits are with this last item—there not being in such an isolated area anything like newspaper or wrapping paper to substitute for it—and how there are case histories of hives and skin irritations among the troops because they have used leaves from trees, the undersigned begs his superiors to be kind enough to order headquarters to replace said items as quickly as possible. The so-called Chuchupe specified at the same time that it was indispensable to hang curtains in the locations that, without leaving them in total darkness, would soften the sunlight and create a certain dimness, which, in her experience, is the most suitable atmosphere for rendering service. The impossibility of obtaining the flowered curtains that Corps Leader Chuchupe suggested was no impediment: First Sgt. Esteban Sandora ingeniously devised a series of curtains from the troops’ blankets and greatcoats, which served the purpose rather well, leaving the locations in the necessary half light. Also, in the event that night should fall before the operation was completed, Corps Leader Chuchupe had the light bulbs in the locations covered with pieces of red cloth, because she insisted that the red glow was the most suitable for servicing. Finally, the aforementioned Corps Leader, maintaining that the sites should have a certain feminine touch, proceeded on her own to make little bouquets of flowers, leaves and wild stalks, which she gathered with the aid of two recruits and placed artistically on the headboards of the beds in each location. With which the preparations were concluded and all that remained was to wait for the convoy’s arrival.

On the following day, Tuesday, 13 September, at 1415 hours, the first convoy of the SSGFRI anchored broadside on the dock of the Horcones Post. When the transport ship—recently painted green with its name,
Eve
, inscribed in large red letters on the prow—was barely visible, the troops halted their daily tasks, broke out in shouts of enthusiasm and tossed their hats into the air as a sign of welcome. Following Capt. Pantoja’s instructions, a guard patrol was immediately set up to prevent any civilian element from approaching the post during the pilot experiment—really a quite unlikely danger if you keep in mind that the closest town to Horcones is a Quechua Indian village two days upstream on the Napo River. Thanks to the determined collaboration of the female recruits, the disembarking took place with complete regularity. The transport ship
Eve
was commanded by Carlos Rodríguez Saravia (Subofficer in the Marines, camouflaged as a civilian), with a crew of four men, who, under Capt. Pantoja’s orders, remained on board during the entire stay of the
Eve
in Horcones. Two of Capt. Pantoja’s civilian collaborators presided over the convoy: Porfirio Wong and an individual with the nickname of Freckle. In regard to the four female recruits, whose appearance on the gang-plank was greeted with rounds of applause from the troops, they answered to the following names (the four refused to divulge their surnames): Lalita, Iris, Knockers and Sandra. The four were immediately gathered together by the so-called Freckle and Chuchupe in the provisions storehouse in order to rest and receive instruction, while the aforementioned Porfirio Wong stood guard at the door. Keeping in mind the restlessness that their presence provoked in the men of the post, it turned out to be useful to keep the women quartered until the hour fixed for the start of the operation (1700 hours), but it caused a little difficulty within the SSGFRI. Because, after having spent some time recuperating from the fatigue of the journey, the female recruits named above tried to leave the location, alleging that they wanted to get to know the surroundings and stroll around the post. Not being permitted to do so by those in command, they protested loudly with shouts and obscenities and they even attempted to force their way out. In order to keep them secluded, it was necessary for Capt. Pantoja to enter into the provisions storehouse. By way of anecdote, it can be mentioned that soon after the convoy’s arrival, Pvt. Segundo Pachas requested to be included among the users, indicating that he was prepared to challenge his bad luck, but he was refused because the list had been drawn up definitively.

At 1655 hours Capt. Pantoja ordered the women to occupy their respective positions, which had been chosen by lot thusly: provisions storehouse, Lalita and Knockers; radio post, Sandra; infirmary, Iris. As supervisors, Capt. Pantoja himself was placed at the door of the provisions storehouse, the undersigned in front of the radio post and Subofficer Marcos Maravilla Ramos in front of the infirmary, each with his own stopwatch. At exactly 1700 hours, that is to say, when the troops had hardly finished their duties and chores (with the exception of guard duty), the twenty users were ordered into formation and asked to indicate the woman of their choice, thus engendering the first serious difficulty, due to the fact that eighteen of the twenty resolutely indicated their preference for the so-called Knockers and the remaining two for Iris, which left the other two women without candidate-users. In consulting on what decision to take, Capt. Pantoja suggested and the undersigned put into operation the following solution: the five men with the best conduct record for the month, according to service files, were directed to the location of the requested Knockers and the five with the highest number of punishments and reprimands to that of the one named Sandra because she has the most disfigured appearance of the four women (abundant smallpox scars). The others were divided into two groups and directed, by drawing lots, to the respective positions of Iris and Lalita. Once the four groups of five men were formed, it was briefly explained to them that they would not be able to exceed a maximum stay of twenty-five minutes in the location—top time for a normal service according to the regulations of the SSGFRI—and those who waited were ordered to maintain maximum silence and composure in order not to bother their companions in action. The second serious difficulty arose at that moment, since every man fought to be at the head of his respective group in order to be the first to obtain each specialist’s services, and this led to shoving and verbal altercations. Once again, it was necessary to impose order and resort to the system of drawing lots to arrange a pecking order in the lines, all of which meant a delay of some fifteen minutes.