The Wild Goose Raid

"The Wild Goose Raid" is the twenty-fifth episode of the first season of The Rat Patrol. It first aired on February 27, 1967.

Synopsis
The Rat Patrol chase an isolated German courier. Soon the courier gets backup. The Rat Patrol are able to knock him off his vehicle to the sand. But when the other Germans are gone, Troy inspects the courier bag and finds it's empty: the courier was able to hand off whatever the contents were.

At the headquarters for the U. S. Army's 3rd Armored Infantry, Troy orders Private Hitchcock to take the jeeps to the motor pool for maintentance.

Troy and Sergeant Moffitt report to Major Reese (William Bryant), who makes it clear that although the Rat Patrol have been assigned to be security for the Allied joint chiefs of staff conference, he doesn't need or want them there. Major Reese details Staff Sergeant Roberts to keep track of Troy. Reese thinks Troy's bucking for lieutenant.

As soon as he's alone in an alley, Troy's accosted by two knife-wielding Arabs (Socrates Ballis and Henry Wills). Roberts goes help Troy. One of the Arabs escapes. Troy pins the remaining Arab to the wall and demands to know who sent him. Hassan was sent by the Germans, they want Troy dead before the plane arrives tomorrow. Once Troy leaves, Roberts kills the Arab with his own knife.

The Rat Patrol go back to the desert to follow up on a tip from Roberts. Troy sees nothing to corroborate Roberts's tip: the Rat Patrol have just been sent on a wild goose chase. Troy decides to break radio silence. Except that the radio's dead. Moffitt and Pettigrew's radio's dead, too. Roberts must've cut the wires.

At the airfield, Troy confronts Roberts, but Reese refuses to believe anything bad about his aide. The Rat Patrol take Roberts back to headquarters. They correctly figure out where Roberts placed a bomb, but they can't find it. When Pettigrew offers to turn on a lamp for Moffitt, Roberts tries to escape. Troy figures out just in the nick of the time that the bomb is in the lamp, and tosses it out the window.

The explosion proves to Reese that he had Troy figured all wrong. Dropping all pretenses, Roberts says that while Troy's insubordination would not be tolerated by the Nazis, and while it might have been good for the Americans today, it will eventually cost them the war.

Main cast

 * Christopher George as Sergeant Sam Troy
 * Gary Raymond as Sergeant Jack Moffitt
 * Hans Gudegast as Hauptmann Hans Dietrich (credit only)
 * Lawrence Casey as Private Mark T. Hitchcock
 * Justin Tarr as Private Tully Pettigrew

Supporting cast

 * Socrates Ballis as an Arab
 * Ron Brown as a lieutenant
 * William Bryant as Major Reese
 * Michael Masters as a guard
 * Martin Milner as Staff Sergeant Roberts
 * Eddie Peterson as a guard
 * Henry Wills as an Arab