Season 2, Episode 4 (September 24, 1973). Written by Patrick McCormick; Directed by Don Weis.
One of the more pointedly anti-war episodes of the early run, "Officer of the Day" puts Hawkeye in charge of the 4077th for a day—meaning he has to handle every administrative, disciplinary, and bureaucratic decision that comes across his desk while the regular command staff rests [1].
The central conflict involves a Korean colonel who brings his sick wife to the camp and pleads with Hawkeye to admit her for surgery. Hawkeye wants to help, but Frank Burns (as commanding officer) blocks him, insisting the rules be followed to the letter. The standoff escalates and culminates in a physical confrontation in front of the colonel's wife, exposing the callousness of rigid military protocol [2].
Meanwhile, a supply thief has been stealing penicillin from the camp stores. Hawkeye tracks him down expecting a criminal, only to discover an elderly Korean man whose sick grandchild desperately needs the medicine. Hawkeye, predictably, lets him go [1].
The episode captures the central M*A*S*H tension in its purest form: a skilled surgeon who was drafted into service, trapped inside a system that constantly obstructs him. The closing image of the colonel's wife being turned away still lands hard, and the early seasons' willingness to let its protagonist fail publicly—Hawkeye does not save her here—gives the episode a weight the later, warmer seasons rarely attempted [2].