After arriving at Kompanie XII in Mainz, Scharff trained in British nuances and military organization. During the spring of 1943, he was promoted to Hauptgefreiter and transferred to headquarters in Wiesbaden. Unsatisfied with his job of "manufactur[ing] little round holes" as a clerk at Headquarters,Toliver, p. 25 he joked to the adjutant that he had figured out that the cost of each hole he punched was five pfennig. The adjutant informed the general of Scharff's calculations, and the general summoned Scharff and told him that he did not like low-ranking personnel "figuring out costs what were none of their business."Toliver, p. 26 However, after hearing Scharff's story, the general agreed to send himonly one of three allowed per yearto the Luftwaffe interrogation center at Oberursel, Germany, to interpret for the interrogators.
