After completing OCS I was sent to CIC (Combat Information Center) and AIC (Air intercept control ) schools in Glynco, Georgi, One of the things I thought strange was that I had to have a yellow Fever inoculation. It was not for going overseas. It was for being stationed in Georgia. The courses lasted over … More Air Intercept Control School
My second encounter with a typhoon came a few years after the first. We were en route to Okinawa where all the amphibious forces in the US Seventh Fleet were assembling for a major exercise. It seems someone had also invited the typhoon to meet us there. Some of the ships had already arrived and … More Typhoon – 2
There are dozens of serious tropical storms in the Pacific every year. Only the worst are designated as typhoons and given names, Assigning names is a relatively new thing, dating from // In 1963 the Valley Forge was in port in Subic Bat in the Philippines. The typhoon was being tracked well to the north … More Typhoon – 1
In the 1960s the US Navy always wanted naval aviators to be qualified to drive ships as well as fly airplanes. Aviators were often assigned to ships in order to achieve this qualification. The ships they were sent to were usually aircraft carriers of some type. Valley Forge had a mixture of aviators in various … More Blind Shiphandling
I’ve mentioned before that my first sea duty was a great learning experience. It was also a time when I had a few accomplishments that I am still proud of. Details about those will come later, The CIC team was full, and I was a fifth wheel CIC school trained officer. That was the reason … More First Duty Assignment – 4
A new officer often encounters situations for which his previous experiences did nothing to prepare him. I had one of those cases when I tried t get men from my division ready for the examinations for advancement in rank. The navy at that time had a system for trying to promote the best men in … More First duty Assignment 3
When I finished my intercept control course I headed for California to join my ship, the helicopter carrier USS Valley Forge. The ship was in drydock, undergoing a major refit. There wasn’t any space available in navy housing ashore, so I lived on board. It wasn’t a great experience. The whole ship was filled with … More First Duty Assignment – 2
First Duty Assignment – 1 Just a bit before the students at OCS completed the course and received commissions the Navy Bureau of Personnel interviewed each one. We were asked if we wanted to serve ashore or afloat. Everyone was cautioned that we were, after all, naval officers. As such we were expected to select … More First Duty Assignment
Joining the Navy? When I graduated from the University of Michigan in 1962 there was still a law in effect, called the Selective Service Act. That law required men to register for military service with their local draft board, and the local draft board would select individuals to be sent to perform service in the … More Joining the Navy
Doing My Job – part 2b There are other aspects to the position of legal officer. I encountered one of them while serving as Operations Officer and Navigator in USS Nantahala, a fleet replenishment oiler. We were scheduled for a visit to the Italian port of Trieste. The city is located at the Northern end … More Doing My Job – part 2b
Wetherhorn 