My relatives tell me going to the Home Depot parking lot at 6am is still the best method to find day laborers.
Madness string 112834
I had a pretty foolproof way of not 'jumping the chain of command' technically. I would enter the battalion office and wander around looking confused, then some SGT or officer would see this poor confused specialist and ask if I need help with anything. Then I'd immediately say, 'yes, actually I'm wondering if you could take me to your CSM.'