Stateside Duty

When I left Istanbul, I was allowed to go on leave for a month before my next assignment.

I was assigned to Westover AFB near Springfield, Massachusetts. However, this was merely the "jumping off" point for a series of Temporary Duty (TDY) Assignments. Over the next year and a half, my life was more “normal” Air Force than it was in Turkey. I was back to wearing a uniform everyday and living in a barracks. My duty assignment changed drastically too. I was now responsible for searching out and documenting security violations. I attempted to document who was passing classified information on “open” telephone lines, and predicting the movements of the Strategic Air Command. It was a “Country Club” assignment mostly because we were commanded by Major Delaney, who was really only concerned with his golf game. As long as we kept the operation running smoothly, he was not involved with mundane issues, and he could play golf…he was happy.

The only thing that “sort of sucked” was that I was the only single NCO and was therefore in charge of running the barracks and “babysitting” fifty young Airmen. I was called by the Air Police several times a month to come and pick up some of my “people” who were drunk, and would face charges if I did not come and get them immediately. There was a great deal of standing in the shower holding up a “young troop” who had too much to drink, being “hurled on”, and trying to get them sober enough for duty the next morning. It was a real joy!

Part of our job assignment was to provide documentation for the Operational Readiness Teams who flew in unannounced and inspected a Bomb Wing for how well they could respond to an attack. Sometimes this meant the end of a career for a General or “Bird” Colonel. The other aspect (as I stated earlier) was to insure that the President, Vice President and personnel in Congress were not discussing classified information on “open lines”. You can’t believe the amount of tact required to tell people at this level to SHUT THE DUCK UP. Those of you who know me well…know that tact is one of my strong suits.

For the most part it was a lark, and there was enough free time that several buddies and I rented a cottage on Cape Cod for two summers. I assure you that we had an absolute BLAST.

It was also very interesting (although not as exciting as Turkey) as I was assigned to the Pentagon for about three months and got to enjoy Washington, D C, and the ten to one ratio of women to men. I had time enough to watch the House and Senate in operation, to personally visit my Senator (Walter F. Mondale) who I met socially several times over the next few years. More about that in a later log.

I got to see upstate New York (which is very beautiful), Massachusetts in the fall (which has the most incredible colors), and romance several very lovely women.

Until next post, ENJOY!