skate duty

[jacdac]

Now all he needed was a driver.
It was a crucial part of the plan, because generals and admirals never drove themselves anywhere. They always had a personal assistant assigned to them, an E-4 or an E-5 or an E-6 who served as a chauffeur and a secretary and a baggage handler and an errand runner. Skate duty, as long as the officer you were assigned to wasn’t an asshole.
Source: The Jack Reacher Experiment by Jude Hardin

What does skate duty refer to?

Thank you.

 

[BLUEGLAZE]

It refers to the E-4/5/6 (the enlisted person); 'skate' because it's an easy job as long as the officer isn't an asshole.

 

[kentix]

WR dictionary

skate

to do something, esp. one's work, in an overly relaxed or superficial way:[no object] He skated through his assignments and handed in the bare minimum.

The use here isn't exactly the same as the example but the general idea is the same - easy work.

 

[jacdac]

Thank you.