In this episode of The Rockford Files we learn something about Jim Rockford's service in Korea. What we learn was that he was a scrounger, a whole lot like the character he played in The Americanization Of Emily which incidentally is one of my top three James Garner films.
While fishing on the pier with Rocky, Jim Rockford gets a frantic television message from Frank Maxwell who was his old commander in Korea telling him to call him back at a phone booth he was at. Those days before cellphones. No Maxwell at the other end of the phone when he calls back. Later on Maxwell is reported killed in an automobile accident, but neither the army nor his daughter Jesse Welles believes that.
In fact she retains Garner for his usual fee to find out what happened. The viewer knows what happened from the beginning because Maxwell is shown facing his murderers. It should have been kept from our knowledge by the writers. It's the one weakness in the story.
It is some people on the base that Maxwell is the commander of and the soldier crooks have a really interesting scheme to smuggle military weapons off the base. In fact Mitchell Ryan is down from Washington to investigate this as well and he and Garner butt heads frequently.
That's nothing however to how Garner and gang member Charles Napier antagonize each other. Garner in fact seems to really like doing that.
The mystery of this show is what was going on. They should have not let us know who from the beginning.