Click on the rank insignia of your choice
for a chronological career overview...
1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972/74 1977 1980 1984
1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972/74 1977 1980 1984
There was no such thing as a "draft lottery" back then; and there were far fewer college openings than there are today. An Irish immigrant's kid from the Bronx had only one way to legally dodge the draft: obtain a college scholarship. However, while getting an academic scholarship was simply a matter of obtaining high SAT scores, getting accepted by a college was much harder, since they also looked at HS grades - and there were a dozen male applicants for every classroom seat.
Even getting a job after high school was a problem: employers knew you were likely to be with them no more than 6-9 months before the draft took you away. If you survived the war and returned a few years later, they would have to give you back your job - with all of the promotions you would have made had you NOT been drafted. Their rule of thumb was pretty simple: a "1-A" draft classification meant "no job".
Enlistment - where one could choose a service, ( though not a specific job ) - was a race against time. Waiting lists for some openings were nearly a year long; they might not open up before you were drafted and had no choice.
Promoted to Sgt (E-4) immediately before the two years-in-service point, just as a Weighed Airman Promotion test system began. The 15th TFW and all its personnel recieved the Presidential Unit Citation and the AF Oustanding Unit ribbon at this time. In December 1969, the 43rd TFS began preparations for a unit move to Elmendorf AFB, Alaska, where it would replace F-106s in the Continental Air Defense role.
Five days before Christmas, 1969, I recieved new orders, assigning me to the 388th TFW, APO San Francisco 96288. I would be excluded from the secure ADC assignment in Alaska - and go off to the Vietnam War after all.
In the fall of 1970, F-105G Wild Weasel aircraft arrived from Takhli RTAFB, when it closed; these SAM-killers were supreme technological marvels - and would even be considered so today. EB-66 ECM aircraft of the 40th Tac Elect Warfare Sqdn accompanied them in the transfer to Korat.
The Wing picked up an Air Defense commitment protecting the NE United States in an emergency, from Hanscom Field, Massachusets. As NCOIC of Radar Cal, I had a problem: the test equipment was unreliable for Air-to-Air, and every aircraft which rolled out of the Cal Barn was loaded with live AIM-7 missiles, which I then "hot tuned". ( TAC required a specially-trained 7-level to do this; during the war, every two-striper did it many times a day...)
For many AFSCs ( particularly WCS ), their "plate was already full", without doing someone else's job in addition to their own. In a short period of time, the Operational Readiness of the planes was in serious trouble, as the mission-critical systems on the jet took "back burner" to getting it in the air - whether it could function as a war-making machine or not.
I had heard about the SONYs - but had never seen this homebrew solution to the DVST radar screen's poor-quality TV. These commercial TVs ( 5-inch screen ) were mounted upside-down over the GIB's right knee - right next to the radar scope. Both showed the TV information - but the TV was designed for video, and the radar screen wasn't.
The Radar Cal docks at Bitburg was well-manned with very skillful people. TSgt "Crazy Don" Cratsenburg accidently broke a missile umbilical pin once - and it led to solving the
APM-307 programming mystery. The test set identified the wrong signal as "bad". Crats confirmed it by breaking off more pins, sequentially, until we had established that ALL failures were one step off in the program. I punched - by hand, since no teletype was available - a patch to the program tape that would fix it -
but the Ogden ALC depot wasn't buying it: the 307 just couldn't have been bad for the last five years; it meant every jet that it had "passed" was bad. ( Correct !! )
Bitburg had a continuous presence at the bombing range in Zaragoza AB, Spain. Most folks spent about a fourth of their tour there, on monthly TDY rotations between Bitburg-ZAG. Though Spain was sunny - a big change from Germany - it became a real drag to constantly go off for 1-3 months at a time. However, Bitburg also had some "gravy" short TDY trips, mostly set up as NATO "squadron exchanges" : Bodo Norway, Peshawar Pakistan, St. Andrews Scotland...
Henry Kissinger's SALT talks with the Russians were going well in 1976; it was agreed that the 36th, all of it's equipment and personnel, would withdraw from Central Europe.
Thopse with a year or more remaining on their tour would be moved to Bentwaters RAF, in England ! ( I could live with that ! )
However, just as the first troops were arranging moves, everything changed; we and our planes would still be transferred - but to nearby Hahn AB, Germany, instead. Bitburg would become the home of the first truly operational F-15 Wing. For a time, we shared our space with the F-15 arrivals, and learned quite a bit about them during familiarization. The best part: our families could stay in Bitburg base housing until apartments became available at Hahn in the spring of 1978.
There was very little doubt what the Wing's primary mission was; the Wing insignia even showed a winged demon screaming away from a mushroom cloud. However, just like Bitburg, Hahn also had jets on Zulu ( Air Defense ) alert - but at Hahn, each of the three squadron's aircraft specialized in one of the three mission areas, A/A, A/G, and Strike.
Hahn's Radar Cal Docks had a small, much younger crew of folks than Bitburg - but it had been drawn together from people who had shown true expertise with the APM-307, AWM-20, and "industrial strength" troubleshooting skills.
It became, without doubt, the leading Cal Docks in the world - bar none. The key to it's success was the support given us by our Chief, and by the Deputy Commander for Maintenance. In return for priority equal to that of other scheduled maintenance ( i.e. - acft. delivered on time, and a high repair priority assigned to our parts ), we promised to turn out the jets in half the time allotted for "90 day" missile-system checks and "180 day" full-scale calibrations of all systems. We got to be VERY good at it, doing the FULL system checks/alignments on every jet regardless of its 90/180-day status, and consistently turned them out in UNDER 12 hours ! ( In some places, jets were tied up for THREE DAYS or more in radar cal. )
Eventually, we were performing full cals on every jet in the wing, about once a month - with only a two-slot dock and less than 12 people covering around-the-clock maintenance. The QUALITY showed: a NATO TAC EVAL of capabilities rated us "Oustanding" in all three areas: Air-to-air ( missiles, the hardest to obtain ), Air-to-Ground ( which we maintained to old "Korat" high standards ), and Strike, about which Rdr Cal had very little involvement.
No other Wing, before nor since, has ever equalled this feat.
Near Christmas 1979, playing with a TV-video game IC chip, I saw that it's output was very similar to that provided by video weapons. Our ASM-184 checker - a $100,000 machine - was used to test the AGM-65 Maverick system, but it called for three people, took about half an hour, and left a lot of interpretation up to the operators. I built a prototype video generator/signal scaling board on my kitchen table - tranmitting the video to a TV set in the living room - and wrote a program so the APM-307 could use it. It worked great - and scored two "hits" on the first two jets it checked. It took about sixty seconds to test each missile pylon, and I spent $57 for its component parts. The device was submitted to the AF Suggestion Program. Two awards later, it was patented. ( US Patent #4,584,524 - look it up ! )
Our operation became the model for all Cal Docks in USAFE; our techniques, records/forms, and methods were written into USAFE regulations.
Once promoted to TSgt, I was reassigned to Wing Quality Control, and had to give up my work in Radar Cal. It was left in excellent hands: Ed Pollock, Tim Postlewaite, and Steve Gustafson. One of the saddest times in my AF career was leaving Hahn; after five years in Germany, it had become... my home. I would have extended my tour even longer - but once again, the F-4s were leaving. This time, however, there wouldn't be a capable aircraft ( like the F-15 ) taking over the tradition of excellence; instead, they were downgrading to the F-16.
At Hahn, like no other airbase overseas, GIs and their families were part of the local community. It will always be a high point in my life.
Seymour suffered the ailment common to most TAC units: nothing mattered except the "tires and fires" required to get the jet in the air for another pointless sortie. Though most of the jets were recent vintage, almost none of the mission-critical systems worked. Virtually all radar repairs were considered "delayed discrepancies" by the Wing Staff - and they would be "carried" in the aircraft forms forever without resolution.
I was surrounded by WCS friends I knew at Macdill, Bitburg, Hahn, or all three: P.C. Weakland, Tim Postlewaite and my old Lowry classmate, Dave Smith were all there - but even this lucky reunion couldn't overcome the supremely depressing working conditions. Chosen for promotion to MSgt with only a year's time wearing TSgt stripes, I had a hard decision: decline reenlistment ( and thus promotion ) or continue on at Seymour. The resolution of this conflict came when I put in an overseas volunteer statement: I would accept another extended long tour in Germany ( hopefully, to Spangdahlem ) - just to leave Seymour Johnson early, and return to somewhere which felt more like "home". I got orders to Ramstein instead - and spent less than an undistinguished year at SJ...
But the 86th had a problem: proximity to the command headquarters ( and the career boost if one were assigned there ) made people outdo themselves trying to be noticed. Some were so consumed with transferring to "the North side" that they adopted an "anything goes" attitude: they would lie, cheat, cut throats, falsify reports - anything - to go to USAFE.
All newly arrived Senior NCOs and field-grade officers had to attend a "meet the general" conference during the first month. So it was that at 0720 hrs. on 31 August 1981, I was standing on the Headquarters steps, awaiting the 0730 meeting - when I got the first example of how my new long tour would go...
At 0722, the Red Army Faction car-bomb blew up.
It tossed cars around in the parking lot, blew out every window for blocks, chucked an unexploded propane tank ( full of ammonium nitrate ) through a cinder-block wall, and propelled it's own auto hood completely over the seven-story headquarters building AND the adjoining NATO HQ of the 4th Allied Tactical Air Forces. Fortunately, only 18 Purple Hearts got awarded that day - and no injuries were fatal. ( Despite a DM50,000 reward offered by the Polizei, the terrorists have never been found. )
The malfeasance and corrupt "management" of the 86TFW infested every level of supervision back in '81-'85. Aircraft forms were "pencil-whipped" daily with a wink and a nod from supervision. Once again, I went from Radar Cal ( which had very little support for turning out good jets ) to QC - and the base "Capability Assessment Team": evaluators/umpires for local readiness excercises.
After the third "failing" grade during a local exercise, the team chief ( our NCOIC of Quality Assurance, an excellent 431 crew chief ) was called in by our young Captain OIC - to change the report, regardless of the facts. He refused, and was "fired" on the spot - sent to job control. The Asst. NCOIC ( an AMMO troop ) refused, too, and was sent off to end his career repainting bomb trailers. I was third in line, and also refused. I was condemned to be the NCOIC of the AGS debriefing section, in the 512th TFS. Before it was over, seven senior NCOs ( most of whom were the senior people in their field - in the entire command, not just the 86th ), had chosen to do the right thing, refusing to falsify the report. The new NCOIC of QA was a young TSgt engine troop. No one blew the whistle; too many "innocent" ( read that easily-influenced ) people would have their careers destroyed.
Eventually, I was transferred to other AGS jobs in the 512th: tool room NCO, specialist flight chief, and then the most diheartening blow of all - production superintendent. Once that job is held ( it used to be called "line chief" ), there would be no release from AGS. I could never return to my beloved Radar Cal, or to Avionics Branch, or even to the WCS shop. It would be a long time until retirement...
Nearing one year left on my tour, other portents occurred. ( e.g. - a squadron orderly room snafu which excluded me from WAPS testing - then sent me TDY across the test date; total loss of a travel voucher I turned in - and all of the supporting receipts.) I had to reenlist, or I wouldn't get a stateside assignment - and would be discharged at the port. I still had five years to go until retirement...it was going to be a tough call: hang in there and endure what the Air Force had become ( when "managers" replace "leaders" ) for five more years - or take a discharge and no retirement.
I did the right thing.
An end to Civilian Life
On August 8th, 1967, the Selective Service demanded an audience for an induction physical; conscription was imminent. The Vietnam War was in a build-up stage, and every third man ended up in the Marines. The Air Force and Navy both had long waiting lists for enlistment openings - more than six months long, depending on the field. By February of 1968, the Tet Offensive served to accelerate inductions, and my draft notice called for reporting on March 11th; but the Air Force recruiter had set March 15th as my entry date. He lied, saying he would "fix it" with the induction people upstairs in the old ( 1893 ) Whitehall Street AFEES Station. [ A few months later, the station was bombed by war protesters, and eventually razed instead of repaired. ]
3333 BMTS, Amarillo AFB, Texas
Due to a massive force build-up resulting from the Tet Offensive, this former technical school base was rushed into service as a basic training installation. After a month, new airmen were permitted to select three career fields from a list of technical school slots scheduled to open near the end of Basic. My AQE scores enabled me to enter any field in the Air Force; desiring to stay away from Vietnam and the war, I chose three ( from a slim list of openings ) which would likely remain US assignments: Titan Missiles ( SAC ), Flight Simulators, and non-aircraft Electrician. Naturally, the assignment I was given didn't even appear on the list: "Armament Systems Operator/Mechanic (Pool)".
Promoted to Airman (E-2) upon graduation.
This squadron was segregated from the "six-week wonder" students, since most
WCS, Bomb-Nav, and Missile techs spent about a year in the course of study required. The first portion of the courses was Fundamental Electronics - which actually included advanced subjects through modulation techniques, microwave, computer/displays, sensor devices and the mechanicisms of remote missile guidance. The later portions were specific details of the major
weapons system, including integration to other avionics systems and the hydraulic and pneumatic control mechanisms driving the antenna. I entered the very first tech school class on the brand new F-4E aircraft, scheduled to arrive from the factory in operational units within a few months.
Promoted to A1C ( E-3 ) six months into the course.=
Macdill AFB, Florida
The 43rd TFS was one of the oldest units in the AAF/USAF, dating from World War I. It was an excellent "first real assignment", for TAC was using the "fighter squadron concept", whereby everyone involved in the combat unit - pilots, maintenance, intelligence, ops - was assigned directly to the fighter squadron.
The parent unit, the 15th Tac Fighter Wing, was designated as a "Replacement Training Unit", numbering four squadrons of about 30 aircraft each; all were dedicated to crosstraining pilots/WSOs already competent in other aircraft to use the F-4 in Vietnam. The first airplanes off the assembly line had shipped with lead ballast in place of the AN/APQ-120 Weapons Control System; as fully-equipped jets became available, these were shuttled off to be used by the THUNDERBIRDS aerial demonstration team, which would never be employed in combat. For me, this was excellent OJT; all phases of aircraft employment ( Air-to-Air, Air-to-Ground, etc.) exercised different portions of the weapons system.
Korat RTAFBThe 388th Tactical Fighter Wing consisted of a number of combat units; besides two squadrons of F-4Es, it also contained an EC-121 unit ( Batcat - electronic intelligence and AWACS-style early-warning air defense radar). Unlike stateside assignments, the 388th was deeply involved in direct combat; the generation of sorties occurred around the clock, every day of the year.
Arriving during the "Parrot's Beak" Cambodia incursion, the tour ultimately encompassed four military campaigns, including the 21 Nov 1970 Son Tay Raid to free POWs held in North Vietnam.
Anyone who was assigned to Korat knows that one cannot say "388th" without saying "Dive Toss" as well. The unit was world-renowned for the accuracy of this difficult bombing mode; no other unit ever came close to the criteria used: an aircraft which hit more than 50 feet off-target was grounded until it was repaired. ( This was seven times more accurate than the design specification for the system ! )
Promoted to SSgt, 01 Apr 1971
4501 TFTW; 1st TFW; 56 TFWReturning to MacDill after a Vietnam tour, not much had changed; they still had 120 F-4Es in four squadrons, but the 15 TFW name had been inactivated. Temporarily, it was known as the 4530 Tactical Fighter Training Wing, and the mission was the same: train replacement aircrews for Vietnam. By this time, however, the use of the AN/APM-307 ( a huge, trailer-mounted "simulated threat target" system, which slipped over the nose of the F-4 ) was firmly entrenched for the radar calibration functions. This 180-day event took 36 hours to accomplish, but
often failed due to the early ( faulty ) programming of the 307. As a result, the machine wasn't trusted by the troops. I spent the nine months remaining on my four-year enlistment there uneventfully, and was discharged. I returned home, and was employed for a computerized-security firm in New York City.
--- FAST FORWARD one year and eleven months ---
I returned to the USAF, keeping my old rank of SSGT ( since 7-skill-levels were always in short supply ) but losing all Time-in-grade. This time, the wing was called the 4501st TFTW, and even that would change in a month or so, when the 1st TFW designation would move to MacDill. In the 1st AMS ( Avionics Maintenance Squadron - TAC had dropped the "fighter squadron" concept ), I was assigned as Midnight shift flightline supervisor, then to the Radar Cal (ibration) Section, and learned about the APM-307. With the VN war drawing down, Weapons Control troops were finally permitted a little longer time in the states between isolated short tours. ( Average was 9-14 months during the war; sometimes, six months of this time was TDY to the war, anyway ! )
In spring of 1975, TAC decided to move the 1st TFW designation to Langley AFB, Va - TAC's own home base - and changed the unit to the 56th TFW; as
always before, only the name moved there. Coincident with the move, they
began a test of something radical: the "Production-Oriented Maintenance Organization", first called "POMAC" and now known as "POMO". The 56th was the first AF unit to do this, and it involved "cross-utilization" of specialists ( avionics, engines, mechanical ) to do the "gas station attendant" duties of the 431x0 crew chiefs. It was a DISASTER.
Luckily, I recieved orders to the 36th TFW in Bitburg, Germany. I still had not solved the Radar Cal/APM-307 programming problems - and TAC seemingly could care less. Perhaps a non-training wing, like Bitburg, would be different...
July, 1975, and Bitburg - and Germany - seemed like a dream come true. For the first time, I would be going to somewhere outside the country where I could take my family; it was an ACCOMPANIED, extended long tour - and I was granted "concurrent travel".
( I wouldn't have to find someplace for the family to live while I went on ahead and found an apartment at the new location; we could go on the same plane ! )
The 36th had a real mission: they were the Air Defense for Central Europe, and had 2-4 aircraft on missile-armed Zulu alert at all times. ( They also had a variable number of jets on Victor alert.) With three squadrons, they also had a secondary commitment for Ground Support, and were one of a very few units using the video-guided GBU-35/37 HOBO - a standard 500lb. or 2000lb. bomb fitted with a tiny TV guidance unit in place of the nose fuse. A local modification installed little TV sets in the back seat, for better video.
Hahn, which had been a dreary place in 1975 - when even family housing was painted a dull forest green - had been spruced up, with varied earth tones: tan, brown, beige...and the famous Hahn green.
The place was rather isolated, perched upon a 2,000 ft. ridgeline, surrounded by forests and no village even approaching the size of a town. It often had a low overcast; mostly, we saw the sun twice a day: at sunrise, before it passed behind the clouds, and late in the evening, when it dropped below them again. The area was very enjoyable, though; Bernkastel, Krov, and Breidel ( names well-known to those with a taste for white Mosel wines ) were 10 minutes away.
After 5 years in Germany, returning to the States was a shock: the United States had changed considerably - and Goldsboro shared weather with the Phillipines. Temperatures ranged as high as 106 degrees F. with 100% humidity and no breeze at all.
( From my arrival in May through mid-September, there wasn't a single day the temperature did not exceed 95 F. - a real shock to a body acclimatized to Germany's temperate 50-70 degrees every day. )
Ramstein was amazing. Kaiserslautern's Vogelweh Housing area, Landstuhl Army Hospital, and Ramstein AB made up the largest American community outside the United States - about 50,000 military and dependents.
With HQ/USAFE command occupying the North side of the base, it was really the "land of the big BX". You would think it would be a very comfortable tour: there was an excess of "base" housing in Vogelweh, and there were even many jobs to be had for dependents ( unlike most overseas bases).
Get your own Free Home Page
Just a Test :
