Jump to content
  • Welcome Guest

    For an ad free experience on Online Baptist, Please login or register for free

Last one to post in this thread wins


Recommended Posts

  • Members

When I was in the Air Force living in the barracks, there was many airmen that had no car. With the way health care has gone that would seem to make it difficult for them.

I would guess that more than 50% of those in the FMS Barracks in those days did not have a car.

Seems to me the Air Force has not necessary changed for the good. Of course who am i to say such a thing?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

Yes, I would have to, I remember my drive from my home in Southwest Arkansas to Blytheville AFB after my leave was up from returning home from Tech school at Canute AFB. That was the furthest I had ever driven from my home town. I still remember several moments of that trip, stopping at a drive-in, eating a hamburger for dinner. Arriving in Blytheville wondering if it would be difficult to find the base. It was not, I still remember walking into the lobby of the barracks, wondering what to expect.

At first I had 3 roommates, one of the 3 had a car.

Which my car was old, an old 1957 Chevy, out of all that I have had I still think it has been my favorite.

I recall many of those in my barracks, many of them way before the next pay day they were broke, not a penny to their name. It seemed not to bother them, for next month turned out about the same as this month. For them they seemed happy as long as they could spend all of their money, them have a place to lay their head, 3 meals per day in the chow hall.

If they smoked they were bumming cigarettes for at least a whole week before pay day. I remember some of them would go to the BX on pay day, buy whatever amount of cigarettes they though would get the to the next pay day.

Once in a while if they got desperate they would sell packs of cigarettes as much as half price in order to have the necessary dollar or two.

Later I move into the room with two airmen that I worked with, all of us had a car. I enjoyed the barracks much more from that time one. One of them because a good friend, we are still in contact, the other one died a few years ago from cancer.

Rodney always called me stingy, because on pay day I still had some money, not much, but I was not broke. On Air Force pay back them generally none of us airmen had much money at anyone time period, except for those who gambled.

Most weekend on the 2nd floor after payday there was a card game started on Friday night that generally lasted till early Sunday morning. Some walked out of it broke & defeated looking, yet most would be right back in the game after the next pay day.

The 2 main winners always had a pocket full of money, which I never spent much time around them, gambling was not my interest, & I am very happy it never was.

The room I moved into with my 2 good friends, their roommate had been sent PCS Thailand. I never will forget the reel type tape recorder he had. It was big an expensive looking, had about 8 speakers on it. He had one tape that had a man walking down a wooden side walk with spurs on. When he would start that tape you would hear him slowly walk into the 1st speaker, fade away, them into the next one, & so on, them seemly walk out of the room. I suppose he had more money in that thing that I could have dreamed of.

I suppose in today's Air Force, there is still a mixture as they were in those days.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

I never did like San Antonio. I went there once before basic and didn't like it. Now a days in the dorms after you get out of tech school you do not have a roommate. You get your own little room. With where I was for the last part of my tech school we were told that the rooms per reg were to small for us to be sharing with one room mate but we had to deal with it anyway.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

The only part of San Antonio I saw was the Air Port, & inside the air port. We were all setting there and a fellow walked up & stared screaming at us to get out, get on that blue bus, them to the base we went.

I don't recall the time, but that night they sent us though a line set up outdoors giving us our military stuff, at every step someone was hollering at us. Them we get on another bus, I believe at that time the majority of us were scared out of our mind wondering what in the world we had got into.

The bus stopped in front of a barracks, we unloaded, line up in front of the barracks, i know it was way after 12:00 midnight. We were sent into the barracks & told to go to bed, we would need all the rest we could get.

The next thing I know I woke up to a nightmare that covered a few weeks, included in the night mare was spinal meningitis quarantine. An airmen in the barracks next to us died, I believe that was about the 4th week. During the spinal meningitis quarantine we could not come in contact with anyone in another flight, they could do nothing that would make us tired, for that would make us more easily to catch spinal meningitis. Our excises were about 5 of the most simple excises, with a short rest period in between each of them once per day. We could not do hardly any marching at all. Just to the chow hall & back to the barracks. At the chow hall we had to wait until the flight in front of us got though, them for everything to be cleaned up, them we could enter. And yes, it was a very long process feeding us 3 meals per day.

Usually in the morning leaving breakfast we would stop by the marching pad giving those that smoked a smoke break. Usually the same thing after dinner & supper. Many of the TI’s did not do this. It was nice just to stand around for a few minutes outside.

Them they decided to graduate us early, 3 days after the quarantine lifted, so you can guess, we were very good at the marching pad gradating services!

The next day they loaded us on 3 road busses sending us to Amarillo AFB. There they put us in some barracks that had been shut down for several years. There had to be at least a 1” of dirt on everything within. They told us to spit shine it, we did. At about the end of the 1st week they sent us, as guinea pigs, though a brand new obstacle course. Add to that we were soft, not in great condition, & they were unhappy with us. Thankfully they did not punish us, maybe they realized what we had been though

At 2 weeks they send up on to Chanute AFB. I spent 5 days waiting to enter my tech school class, 2 of those days were spent on KP. I know that some spent as long as 2 weeks waiting to start tech school. I felt sorry for them.

I was sure happy when all of this was over & I was on my way. That day was June 8, 1966.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

The first night seems very familiar to me. the main difference was we got our stuff from a line inside. I remember people telling before I left that first night you will lay down and look straight up because your afraid to move and then what did I do. what did I get myself into. I deff had that same thought.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

Lets see if my memory will do some recalling.

They had us put the few civilian clothes we had in our duffel bags, hanging it on the bed post towards the outside wall of our barracks. I believe it was night 4 or maybe 5. One night an airmen was missing from his bed. He was reported missing. Sometime later that night we were told an AP found him at the backside of the base. Reportedly he had only his Air Force issues underwear on. His duffel bag with his civilian clothes in it tucked under his arm, trying to climb the fence.

We never saw him again, reportedly they gave him & undesirable discharge sending him home free of charge.

Some of us talked about him a few times, it did seem that our TI focus on him quite a bit, perhaps unnecessarily. We thought if the TI had lightened up he would not have done that.

It seems if one does something, whatever it may be, that draws attention to him early on, its not good for you. In fact I was told by someone that went thru before I to be sure and do nothing early on, blend in with the crowd, to catch the attention of the TI, this fellow did not get that advise I suppose.

Back in those days it seemed anything other than an 'Honorable Discharge,' would brand you for life, maybe I'm wrong, but today it seems not to make a difference.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

Our first night we went into the dorm, the sgt told us how to make our beds, told us to make them, then he cam back in to inspect them. He tore up the first three beds and then flipped the entire fourth bed, yelling and cussing, made everyone strip our beds, remake them and then go to bed.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.



×
×
  • Create New...