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© 2014 by Author
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I enlisted in the Air Force in June 1958. Shipped out for Basic at Lackland that same day. Spent about five weeks at Lackland. Pulled out and along with a number of others sent to Kessler for 292X1 school.
Following completion of X1 school at Kessler I was sent to Goodfellow for X2 school. Did not quite understood the logic of both X1 and X2 school. The Air Force did unusual things from time to time.
My initial assignment was at the 6989th RSM at Misawa AFB in Japan for a two year assignment. It did not take long to realize I had been sent to paradise. What a great assignment. Almost a year to the day I was notified of a promotion to A1C along with re-assignment to Clark AFB in the Philippine Islands. I along with seven others were being sent there to establish a new Non-Morse section. I was devastated.
When we arrived at the 6925th RSM there was no equipment nor personnel. Sometime later the equipment was finally received and installed. Concurrent with the equipment installation our additional personnel arrived. They were all jeeps, fresh from school at Goodfellow. Needless to say those of us transferred from Misawa had our hands full, until the new guys were trained and able to work effectively on their own.
I did not enjoy the 6925th. Morale was absolutely in the ditch. I began to hear stories about graft and corruption at all levels. Over time I became aware of many of the things that were occurring. It was so bad I contacted a friend in Hawaii that worked for the IG. The result was an IG inspection. When it was over the Squadron Commander, along with a Lieutenant in the orderly room, were relieved of their duties. The NCO in the Chow Hall went to prison. Morale immediately picked up. Not long after my time was up. I applied for a 3D promotion and transfer to a remote area.
I was accepted and was promoted to Staff Sergeant, along with a set of orders for transfer to Trabzon, Turkey, Tuslog Det. 3-1.
Let me begin by saying Trabzon, on many levels, was a great assignment. My time there was very enjoyable and perhaps the high point of my time in the Air Force. I have many fond memories of my time there.
Before leaving the P.I. my enlistment had been extended to include my time in Trab. At Trabzon, as my time in the USAFSS was drawing to a close a full court press began, encouraging me to re-enlist. No problem as that was my intent. I requested re-assignment back to Misawa. In just a few days I was told I would be going back to Misawa. The re-enlistment process began. A couple of days later I was told my assignment to Misawa had been cancelled. The intent was to send me back to Goodfellow as an Instructor. No Thank You!
During my entire time in the A/F I had either attended College on base, when available, or taken correspondence courses. In addition I had taken a College placement examination. The officer at Trab who had been my primary contact regarding re-enlistment called me in. He said their 'final offer' was to enroll me in the Boot-Strap program. I would be sent to the University of Maryland where I would complete my College work and become an officer after graduation. I recall looking him straight in the eye and asking, "Following graduation and becoming an officer, would someone guarantee I would remain in Security Service. They could not and a few days later I was on board THY headed back to the states and discharge.
I am now retired and live in Houston, Texas. To occupy my spare time I have become a published Author. My latest book is titled, "The United States of Texas". So far the reviews have been excellent. In case anyone is interested, it is available at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, or any other book store. You can read the first couple of chapters by looking up the book on your computer plus get a feel for what the book is about.
I am looking forward to participating in the Merhaba-USMilitary website discussions.
Regards,
Joe Hornsby
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Me on the left. The guy on the right was SSgt Boots. He was about to board THY headed home. Boots was a big buddy of the sergeant we called the "Sheriff" because he was in chage of the Air Policemen.
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