A Veteran's Journey

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Trivia Questions (Answers @ end)

1. Who said, “Sometimes people don’t know their dreams until they’re in it. Other times, their dreams escape them because they are too busy being busy.”?
2. In what movie (and who said it) did we hear, “The Navy Diver is not a fighting man, he is a salvage expert. If it is lost underwater, he finds it. If it’s sunk, he brings it up. If it’s in the way, he moves it. If he’s lucky, he will die young, 200 feet beneath the waves, for that is the closest he’ll ever get to being a hero.”
3. In what song (and who sang it) did we hear the following?
   Everybody’s got their dues in life to pay,
   I know nobody knows
   Where it comes and where it goes
   I know it’s everybody’s sin
   You got to lose to know how to win

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Your airman will make requests for their first duty station selection while at Basic Military Training (BMT). They will fill out a form, known as a “dream sheet,” to list their assignment preferences. They will have the opportunity to fill out eight stateside bases and eight overseas bases if they want.

 — From the “official” Internet military glossary of BS.

“Don’t Expect Much”

Joining the Navy was probably the first major decision I made in my life. I was 18 years old, recently flunked out of college, working at a scuba dive shop in Tallahassee, Florida, and trying to figure out my next “journey.”

So…

I joined the Navy. It sounded like a good idea at the time.

At the recruiter’s office, I “selected” my rating (Aviation Boatswain’s Mate-Handler). I had no idea what that meant, but I liked airplanes.

Why the Navy and not the Army, like my dad? Good question. I was into scuba diving (my one and only “A” in college). I figured I’d have more opportunities to dive in the Navy than the Army. It was really that simple.  

Recruiter: “The Navy needs ABHs. You’ll probably be able to go anywhere in the world.”

Note: I’m sure he told that to everyone who walked through his doors.

After boot camp (Orlando Recruit Training Center), I attended ABH “A” School to learn the traits of an Aviation Boatswain’s Mate-Handler: Aircraft handling and aircraft firefighting. I loved both aspects of that job.

During the last part of “A” School—for me, in Lakehurst, NJ—the instructors had us fill out a form… a “Dream Sheet.” The idea is that you would tell the Navy where you wanted to go for your next assignment and then they would send you wherever they wanted you to go. It was really that simple.

So, the recruiter was maybe right. I could select anywhere I wanted to go.

From my limited few months in the Navy (boot camp & A school), I’d heard that the West Coast was probably the best choice (as opposed to the East Coast). Others may disagree, but I have no Navy experience on the East Coast.

So, I chose the West Coast for sea duty and the Philippines for shore duty.

Back then in the mid-70s, the sea/land rotation for ABs was 4/2: four years at sea, then two years shore duty. That, of course, means you’d serve for six years. Since I’d only signed up for four, I knew I’d have sea duty for my entire Navy “career.” That was fine by me.

My choice was not that I wanted to get that far away from home (I lived in Florida), but because I had heard the west coast had better cruises. My orders read, “Report to Naval Air Station Agana, Guam.” I guess I couldn’t get too much farther away from home now, could I? I was into scuba diving, so this new duty station would hopefully be a diver’s dream.

Now if I could just figure out where in the hell Guam was.

NAS Agana, Guam

A week or so before I graduated “A” School, I received orders to report for duty at NAS Agana, Guam. I’d been assigned to the Crash & Rescue Division. I was initially a little confused about the sea/shore duty. I soon learned that NAS Agana, Guam was considered “sea duty” even though it was a land station.

Go figure.

I spent 15 months in Guam, and I’ll tell you… it was a paradise (at least for me). One day on, one day off; 24-hour duty. I worked the Port Section, as opposed to the Starboard Section.

Even though we worked a 24-hour shift, we didn’t have to stay awake that entire time. The Crash Barn had rooms for each crew of 4 or 5 ABHs. In fact, Crash had six fire trucks. I learned to drive them all within a few months of arriving. That certainly helped me when I transferred later to an aircraft carrier.

Of course, there is a slight difference between driving a fire truck on a Naval Air Station of a 1,000 acres versus driving on the flight deck of 4.5 acres with dozens of aircraft. But that’s another story.

During those 24-hour shifts, three of the trucks—and their crews of 4 or 5—would spend two, 4-hour shifts out on the “hot spot,” watching aircraft take off and land. The airfield served not only the Navy aircraft squadrons but also commercial aircraft—the civilian airport was located directly across the airfield.

We received crash & rescue training for all commercial airliners, including the Boeing 727s, 707s, 747s, Lockheed L1011s, and Douglas DC-10s. Back in the mid-70s, those were the major jet manufacturers and models.

And my days off? Yep, I dove… a lot. The water was crystal clear, and the reefs were nothing short of spectacular. Truly, a diver’s paradise. On top of that, I took flying lessons and received my pilot’s license while in Guam. You could say I took advantage of my time while stationed in Guam.

The Detailer

The Navy is usually pretty good about planning your next duty station. About six months prior to your scheduled departure date, someone in Navy ULM (“Upper Level Management”) begins to work with you to help determine your next duty station. I personally thought it was a crock, since I knew the Navy would send me wherever it wanted me to go. But I guess in the long run, it is a morale booster since they do ask.

The person in charge of this horse hockey is called a Detailer.

The Navy actually sent a detailer out to Guam to meet with a bunch of us and ask us where we wanted to go. I told him my choice would be either Key West or Italy. I lived in Florida, so Key West was a no brainer and would be closer to home. I had also heard that NAS Naples, Italy was a great duty station, so that was another option. The detailer told us that since we were already on the west coast, we would probably be assigned to a ship on the west coast, most likely San Diego or San Francisco.

So much for the “dream sheet.”

I was scheduled to leave Guam sometime in February 1975 and wasn’t sure where I was headed. That would come later. I did think about extending my tour of duty in Guam for another nine months, which was not all that uncommon. But a couple of beers and a few more ass chewings from the senior petty officers helped me decide differently.

USS Kitty Hawk

My orders finally came through on January 15, 1975. I learned earlier I would be assigned to the aircraft carrier USS Kitty Hawk, CV-63, stationed out of San Diego, California. I wasn’t sure when I had to report to her, but I finally found out, “No later than 20 MAR 1975.” That was plain and clear. I knew I would be leaving Guam sometime during February, but not sure when. The Navy always waits until the last minute, or at least the last month, before they lay the big date on you. But you are so ready to leave that it does not matter.

I also knew that several of my good buddies would also be transferred to Kitty Hawk. Glenn Law and I would leave Guam and head back to the states on the same flight. Gary Borne had already transferred to Kitty Hawk. James Young, who was with me at boot camp, A School, and Guam, would also be on Kitty Hawk.

I spent two and a half years aboard Kitty Hawk. I made one Westpac cruise in 1975, then spent a year in the Bremerton Shipyards before returning to (North Island) San Diego in April 1977. In some sense, that seemed like three different tours: Guam, Westpac, Bremerton.

I left Kitty Hawk (and the Navy) in July 1977. I’d spent Three Years, Eleven Months, and 29 Days (But Who’s Counting) in the service. I joined when I was 18 and left when I was 22.

Like many of my shipmates, I’d do it all over again.

My Current “Dream Sheet”

This has been one hell of a year, full of ups and downs, anxieties and fears, challenges and opportunities, and some things I’d rather forget. But as my dad’s 80th Infantry Division motto states, “Always Move Forward.”

I will tell you this—my latest venture.

Becky and I recently returned from visiting our daughter & husband and… their new baby boy. Their first child, our third grandchild. He decided he wanted to make an appearance a month before his due date.

Our daughter called us a couple of weeks ago at 9:45 in the morning. My wife and I were packed and on the road by 11:05. We even prepared our house in Gainesville for a potential hurricane. Fortunately, Hurricane Lee bypassed us.

I remembered several times during my stint in the Navy when orders came through for shipmates to make an almost immediate departure (from Guam to Diego Garcia); they had two days to gather whatever they needed for a 60-day TDY (Temporary Duty). Not a lot of time to prepare.

This is stretching it, but…

I remembered walking out onto Kitty Hawk’s flight deck for the first-time during flight ops. Even though I’d been in the Navy for 18 months, being on the flight deck was a brand-new experience for me. “Keep your head on a swivel; don’t venture near a jet intake; watch out for aircraft turning—they’ll blow you down. And don’t step over the Foul Line—it could mean instant death.”

Well, holding a newborn baby for the first time, I had the jitters. “Hold his head up; lay him in the crock of your arm; don’t hold him too tight; watch where you’re walking.”

Needless to say, I was ecstatic, I was anxious, I was nervous, but… I am a grandfather.

By the time we left to drive back to Gainesville, he and I had bonded. I read to him, I got to feed him, I got to sing to him, and yes, I got to change him (several times). It was hard to leave, but you know what? We get to see him again in the not-too-distant future.

That’s my current “dream sheet.”

Until we meet again,
Andy

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Answers

1. Lisa Yee, Maizy Chen’s Last Chance.
2. Men of Honor (2000), Master Chief Billy Sunday (Robert DeNiro).
3. Dream On (1973), Aerosmith; written by Steven Victor Tallarico.

Previous blogs mentioned in this post:

• #4—From Civilian to US Navy
• #73—Boot Camp: “Hello Dollys…” and Other Things I Can’t Forget
• #35—US Navy “A” School (ABH)
• #53—You Always Remember Your First
• #131—Japan Air Lines 747: Engine Out
• #25—“Livin’ the Dream:” Life Aboard an Aircraft Carrier
• #49—Westpac ’75: After Six Months, We’re Coming Home
• #30—USS Kitty Hawk @ Bremerton Shipyards, Part 1
• #42—The Shipyards, Part 2
• #61—There’s a Reason for the Flight Deck “Foul Line”

Andy Adkins is a US Navy veteran (’73-77) and the author of several books, including You Can’t Get Much Closer Than This-Combat with the 80th “Blue Ridge” Division in World War II Europe, published by Casemate Publishers (2005) and selected as the Book of the Month for the Military Book Club. His newest novel, NEVER FORGET, is the story of A Vietnam Veteran’s Journey for Redemption & Forgiveness; NEVER FORGET is offered as a FREE (PDF, eBook format) download. Adkins also writes a weekly blog, “A Veteran’s Journey.”