GUARDSMAN SHANGHAIS WIFE FOR PANAMA ADVENTURE

Secret missions and the military go hand in hand. But when Missouri National Guard Maj. Ken MacNevins set in motion a clandestine endeavor last weekend, it did not require high-tech surveillance devices, disguises or even synchronized watches.

The success of the mission did need his wife's help though.

MacNevins of Holts Summit, near Jefferson City, wanted to surprise his wife Terri with a weekend trip to Panama.

As a part of his job, he has had to spend a great deal of time in South America but has never had an opportunity to bring his wife of 23 years with him. So Saturday, after leading her to believe they would be boarding a boat for a ride down the Mississippi River, MacNevins, 50, led Terri, 46, out to a waiting military C130 aircraft at the Cape Girardeau Regional Airport where the adventure would begin.

As far as surprises go, this one was complete.

"My wife, who's a great person, has never had a very high tolerance for surprises. She's a shake-the-presents-under-the-Christmas-tree type of person," MacNevins said. "But she's been trying to get better at that and she didn't seem to mind being surprised."

And while the MacNevins' short time in Panama was as comfortable and enjoyable as Ken had hoped, the trip there and back was anything but comfortable.

"Have you ever been on a C130?" he asked. "Basically, what you have for a seat is pipes with a red nylon mesh spread across it. So you're bouncing along with a pipe behind your knees and a pipe in the small of your back. And this aircraft isn't quiet.

"When we were sitting on the runway in Cape Girardeau, with the plane warming up its engines, my wife just kind of looked at me like, 'I'm not having fun, here.'"

Leaving Cape Girardeau at 8:16 a.m., the couple arrived in Panama at 2:45 p.m. From there they toured the Pacific side of the Panama Canal, then had dinner along the Avenita Balboa and took in a traditional folk dance at the Tinajas Restaurant.

The next morning, Ken and Terri were at the airport in Panama at 5:40 for an 8:16 flight home. Getting to the airport this early is essential for military personnel traveling on "space-available" flights. This type of travel is also risky, for if the plane was full or soldiers with priority needed the seats, the MacNevins would have been bumped from the flight until another military aircraft was leaving for the United States. There would be no telling when that could be.

Fortunately, the MacNevins had no problem keeping their spots on the flight and Terri showed her soldier husband how tough she can be by promptly falling asleep -- despite the conditions.

"She would have made a good G.I.," MacNevins said. "Sleeping is what most of the G.I.s do on flights like this. But 19- or 20-year-old G.I.s can sleep anyplace -- it's not as easy when you're in your 40s like my wife is."

MacNevins said he probably wouldn't have been able to pull the whole thing off if it weren't for the assistance of their two daughters, Bridget and Kelly, who were sworn to secrecy in true secret-mission fashion.

Overall, the trip was more than just showing Terri a different part of the world. She now has a better understanding of Ken's life as a soldier.

"She told me later that the trip on the C130 was not enjoyable," MacNevins said, adding that she apologized for all the times she had accused him of taking pleasure trips on these flights.

"Traveling in a military aircraft is no luxury. But a trip like that, where the spouse can come along, is something worthwhile," he said. "The spouses can have a feel for what the soldiers do and see the places they see."