- When a pushy retention officer comes to the camp to persuade staff to extend their terms of service, Klinger, distraught at his domestic situation, is persuaded to do so.
- Klinger receives a letter form his ex-wife Laverne, who is dating a butcher. Laverne describes how leaving Klinger was a mistake. Klinger thinks she wants to get back together with him, until she reveals that she is marrying Klinger's best friend Gus. Klinger is humiliated and thinks he cant step in Toledo ever again.
In OR, Pvt Hutchinson (Sam Weisman) is recently assigned to MASH 4077 as a nurse. He has worked with Dr Worsely back in the US and observed his surgical technique for repair of peripheral nerve damage. Winchester was performing an operation reading from a book and didn't know how to prevent scar tissue. Hutchinson makes suggestions to Winchester, which he simply does not like. Hutchinson insists that he was not a sight seer and he was a technical member of Worsely's team for over an yr. Everyone asks Winchester to accept Hutchinson's suggestions.
When an pushy retention officer Sgt Joe Wickers (Barry Corbin), comes to the camp to persuade staff to extend their terms of service. As CO Potter is obliged to encourage his officers to extend their tours of duty. BJ and Hawkeye are miffed with Joe as he tries to sweet talk young men into endangering their lives. Joe talks to Hutchinson (who is on a short service commission) who gets into a fight saying that unlike the other nurses (who are automatically made officers), he wasn't made an officer (and was given the rank of a Private) since the army only recognizes "female" nurses. Potter holds a meeting with the officers to encourage them to re-enlist, and Hawkeye, BJ and Winchester cant stop laughing at the suggestion, forcing Potter to call the meeting off.
Klinger, distraught at his domestic situation, is persuaded to re-enlist, by Joe, who has found from Igor, about the letter that Klinger received. Joe corners Klinger when he is drunk and gets him to sign the re-enlistment form (he tells Klinger that every man in Khakhi is his family in the army). Next day Hawkeye finds that Joe took advantage of Klinger's vulnerability to get him to re-enlist for 6 yrs (Rizzo was the other man who agreed to re-enlist). Hawkeye talks to Klinger and finds that he wants to re-enlist voluntarily, but he hasn't taken the oath yet. Klinger tells Potter that he wants to re-enlist. Potter is really angry at Hawkeye when he suggests that army cannot be a "choice" for anyone.
A few hrs later, Hawkeye convinces Klinger that he should be a free man, free from the army and that he still loves Laverne, but hates her guts and wants nothing to do with her. But by then Klinger has already been sworn in by Potter. Hawkeye confronts Potter who says that he administered the incorrect oath (on purpose), so Klinger is still technically not re-enlisted. But by that time Klinger has jumped ship and gone AWOL. he returns a few days later dressed again in one of his zany outfits. Klinger is back !! Margaret thinks army has not been fair with Hutchinson as he as good a nurse as any of them. Margaret and Potter give Hutchinson Margaret's old Lt. bars and give him an unofficial and honorary promotion to Lt.
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