A staff sergeant sent us this one from Iraq. He was doing a safety inspection and was checking the outlet where Marines were plugging in a microwave oven*.

I suppose this innovation works, if you have a dismal enough definition of “works.” But honestly, could anyone think this was OK? You could show this photo to someone who had never done an iota of electrical work and I’m pretty sure they’d frown and ask, “That’s not right, is it?”

Please, folks, don’t get creative around electricity. A MEF is a Marine Expeditionary Force, not a Marine Expediency Force. You’d think Iraq was dangerous enough already.

Technical note: This plug and socket are those used for wiring electrical mains in the United Kingdom (240V, generally), specifically the standard UK 13A mains appliance cable, featuring the European standard color code (green/yellow stripe for earth, blue for neutral, brown for live). The right-hand socket (with the round holes) is an obsolete form of UK mains socket, still apparently in use by the military. The drill bit is in the place where the fuse would normally go ( UK mains plugs each have a fuse in the plug), and obviously since it wouldn't fit, the rear cover of the plug had to be removed. In order to operate the appliance, you would have to turn on the switch on the socket, which would of course make the drill bit live.