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The=
VS Hangar is coming to life as the Squadron Coffee Mess is busy serving up=
the morning scuttle butt to the enlisted ranks. All the Chief Petty Office=
rs (E-7,8,9) and First Class Petty Officers (E-6) have cut in front of ever=
yone slowing the line down even more. The Officers have their own mess upst=
airs at least that’s a plus. Coffee and powdered donuts, breakfast of=
AW Champions. The brave get the micro-waved bean burrito! Mus=
ter is at 0800. The Squadron is lined up. The divisions are formed, Mainten=
ance, Air Operations, Personnel and First Lieutenant. The respective Divisi=
on Officers have reported to the Executive Officer. Colors are presented and the Commanding Officer has =
a few remarks. The=
next deployment for the Squadron has been set for a July departure with &#=
8220;Ports of Call” in the North Atlantic. Work-up exercises in Rosie Roads, Puerto Rico will comm=
ence immediately. There is a moan from the ranks. The=
Sailor of the Quarter is announced with all the pomp and circumstance. The=
necessary family photos are taken. The CO turns command over to the XO who=
requests the Division Officers and Chief Petty Officers (CPOs) to conduct =
a uniform inspection. Yikes! AW =
Division! Attention! Open ranks for inspection, Dress right, Dress! The CPO=
addresses the Division Officer, “Ready for inspection!” The Di=
vision Officer and the CPO walk the ranks looking for problem areas. As alw=
ays, the gigs for AW’s are long hair, long beards, sloppy uniforms, u=
npolished shoes and belt buckles. Wha=
t else for a bunch of guys that sit around in “Rooms marked as SECRET=
—AUTHORIZED PERSONNEL ONLY” listening to hi-tec Department of D=
efense stereos playing sounds of submerged Russian Submarines, Russian Surf=
ace Ships noises, oceanographic sounds, aquatic noises, electronic counter measure alerts and RADAR nois=
es. Our heads are elsewhere, ”Far Out!” is said a lot in the AW=
shop. The= shops 1st Class (E-6) dispenses with the punishment for flunking the inspe= ction. Field Day!! Training is cancelled! Out come the |
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swabs, buckets, scrub brushes and buffers. We even use wool blankets und=
er the buffers to get the floors looking like glass. Rou=
nd about 1000 you beg the Chief to let you bug out early to “<=
span
style=3D'font-family:"Century Gothic";mso-default-font-family:"Century Go=
thic";
mso-ascii-font-family:"Century Gothic";mso-latin-font-family:"Century Got=
hic";
mso-greek-font-family:"Century Gothic";mso-cyrillic-font-family:"Century =
Gothic";
mso-latinext-font-family:"Century Gothic";font-style:italic;language:EN;
mso-ansi-language:EN'>get a haircut”, right! First things first. Dri=
ve around base for awhile getting your head right. Head over to the chow ha=
ll for lunch. Stop by the package store for a six pack of beer or a bottle =
of wine and head out to Goddard Park for some Frisbee throwing. Aft=
er taking the “long way” back to base and arriving at th=
e Hangar about 1330 without the haircut—The Chief wants an excuseR=
30;. “Well, Chief... the lines where long, it seemed like every squad=
ron had a uniform inspection today. The barbers were very busy and to top i=
t off, it was payday so the lines where long everywhere except the chow hal=
l. I’ll get it cut over the weekend,” I promise, with crossed f=
ingers. The=
afternoon training session is behind closed doors as always. A couple of t=
he Squadrons S-2 Trackers are=
being fitted with a new type of radar detection equipment manufactured by =
Singer-Link. The Russians have new kinds of radars in use and development. =
We are wanting the finger prints of their new systems. This equipment will =
get it. The new ECM (Electronic Counter Measures) equipment is a light-year=
jump from the ALD-2B currently in use. Lat=
e afternoon 1530 or so, the “Secret Room” is secured. All the c=
lassified material has been accounted for, filed and locked in the safes. L=
ooking around, the guys notice the AW Division Officer has been gone for aw=
hile. “The AW Division CPO left as soon as everyone got back from lun=
ch!”, the last AW in said. Now the Shop 1st Class is in charge. Can w=
e slide? We begin to pester him. Since he lives on base he waits to the las=
t minute to dismiss us! What a Lifer! Fin=
ally!...Liberty! Liberty! Liberty! The weekend has begun! Oops! Better chec=
k the Plan of the Day “POD” for the weekend. What the F—-=
!? I’m scheduled for Duty Driver this weekend! Rats! DUTY WEEKEND! But=
that’s another story! |
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Some East Coast VS Hangar NAS Quonset Point Circa Spring 1972 |