One of my readers sent me an email that Sunday was the 51st anniversary of his discharge from the Army. That reminded me that today, Oct 14, is the 50th anniversary of the end of my four years of active duty from the Navy. It wasn’t my discharge, that came two years later.
Back then, there was a six year commitment which came in various forms. There was six months of active duty followed by 5.5 years of active reserve. That was next to impossible to get. There was two years of active duty followed by two years active reserve and two years of inactive reserve. There was four years of active duty followed by two years of inactive reserve which is what I enlisted for. And there was six years of active duty.
I joined the Navy to get out of the draft and to get an electronics school. I was guaranteed one prior to enlisting either Electronics Technician, Fire Control Technician, or Aviation Electronics Technician. ET was my first choice and I got it.
Some of my classmates had enlisted for six years to get additional schooling, For example, if you wanted to be a Nuclear Power ET, you had to enlist for six years. That’s what the classmate who wound up marrying my ex-wife did. Data Systems ET was a six year enlistment.
Immediately after we started ET School they started pitching sumpin’ called SET (Selective Electronics Training). Commit to six years and get another few weeks of Electronics School and some equipment schools known as C schools. They used to do that with a four year enlistment but changed it shortly before I enlisted. They wanted to get us four year guys out to the fleet as soon as possible because of the war going on.
Another thing they started pushing was after SET, you could reenlist and go for STAR (Selective Training and Retention). They would send you to a B school which was like and engineering electronics program. The nice thing about that was you got an automatic bump in rank on graduation without having to take the test. So, If you were an E4, when you graduated, you would be an E5 without having to take the E5 test.
Back then they had variable reenlistment bonuses. Some ratings were more critical than others. The Navy had more Bos’n’s Mates than they needed, but were short on ETs. As a result, ETs were one of the handful of rates with the highest reenlistment bonuses. If I remember correctly, if I had reenlisted when I got out, I would have gotten $12K. Since I would have been in a war zone at that time it would have been tax free. Back in 1969 $12K tax free was a lot of money.
Ron, my Wednesday poster, was an ET, and reenlisted under the STAR program. There was also an officer program that they pitched to us, NESEP (Navy Enlisted Scientific Education Program). Ron wound up in that and finished up his Navy career as an officer.
As for me, I was not the military type and was four and out. I did however go from inactive to active reserve to earn some additional money while attending college. I would go to meetings on Wednesday nights at the Naval Reserve Center near the St. Louis airport. Two other guys and I would sneak out after muster and spend a couple of hours at the enlisted men’s club drinking beer and make it back to muster out. Every now and then, they would notice us missing and come and collect us at the club and chew us out. Then we would have to behave for a few weeks.
When I dropped out of college, I dropped out of the Naval Reserve.
Fifty Years ago today, I left Treasure Island, which was a Naval base in San Francisco Bay. Among other things it was a training center. I went to an UHC transceiver school there. While I was waiting for my separation, I was in the cafeteria drinking coffee and heard Led Zeppelin for the very first time on the jukebox. They were playing Communications Breakdown.
1969.
Fifty years ago.
Sitting here drinking beer tonight after work on top of Nob Hill, six miles away from treasure island, it was fleet week here last week, Blue Angels and everything, flying low and rattling the windows, 1969 seems like yesterday.
I had a draft lottery number of 18 (1971). So, I went to the Naval Air Reserve recruiter. Three days before being sworn in, my letter from Uncle Sam arrived. I could no longer do the straight reserve program (boot, A school, then one weekend a month and 2 weeks a year for the balance of six years). My options were 3 years minimum of active duty in any service, or 2 years in the Army with a US service number (RA was fro volunteers, US fro draftees). I still went to Naval Air Reserves – but the TAR program. So, I did boot, A school (AQ), then 3 years active duty on a reserve base, followed by a year of drill weekends. It was a convoluted set up. But, I got into an electronics career out of it and spent my navy career in Dallas, TX.
Did 2 active, 3 active reserve and 1 inactive reserve. Went active in 62 after using up the 3 active reserve. First stop was Treasure Island and then to the USS Ranger. One Westpac and one overhaul at Hunters Point. Grew up in the Navy. Dad was Naval Academy and 30 years. He enlisted me at 17, think saw Vietnam coming and didn’t want me drafted. Forever grateful. Wouldn’t have had those early any different.
Fifty years ago in August I married the best lady I have ever known. Very lucky guy.
In 1961 I flunked my pre-induction physical, getting a 1y classification. When I asked what that meant, I was told that they would probably draft women and children first.
On the 17th it’ll be 50 years since separation from the Army. Got a 7 day drop when I’d been hopin’ for 30 days. If they’d sent me to Korea or back to Viet of the Nam when I got out of the hospital, instead of Okinawa, there was the opportunity to extend ’til you had less than 5 months and you’d get out immediately. Not sure that I’d’ve taken ’em up on it for the extra time in-country. I knew one guy who stayed the extra few months over there and ended up gettin’ out as an actin’ E6 after 19 months. Guess it pays to be buddies with your CO.
As it was; I was given my DD214, told I was transferred to Active Reserve, but never got orders to report anywhere or go to meetings or trainin’. After another 4 years they sent me my Honorable Discharge and that was it.
During my time with Battery B of the 30th Arty I sat through the obligatory re-up talk but the Top Kick’s heart wasn’t in it any more than mine was.
40 years ago I was in RTC San Diego starting week 1 of Boot. My plan was 4 years and out. Medically retired in January 2000 due to severe hearing loss both ears. January 20 2020 I will have been out as long as I was in.
Delayed Enlistment Program from May-Oct 1980 for avionics.
Active duty Oct’80- Aug86 … extended my 4yr. enlistment to accept my last assignment, where I met my wife of 35yrs.
No inactive reserve commitment due to the extension … some really great (and NOT so great) memories along with several life long friends and a beautiful wife.
I barely beat the draft by joining the Navy in 1967, took two years just to get into my desired specialty, but then stretched four years active into six after they offered me two years in Japan. The memories alone made it all worthwhile.
I had yet another enlistment program that I didn’t even know I had signed up for. I was a “kiddy cruiser” as in the enlistment was called a “kiddy cruise”. If you enlisted before you were 18, I was about 17 1/2, you got out the day before you were 21. Made E5 in 2 yrs, 10 mos and would have re-inlisted for a bump to E6 and the cash, but the idiots (personnel) put me in a re-enlistment group made up of E2’s, and 3’s that were pretty much deck apes and regular mess cooking candidates. During the meeting they just ripped on the brand new Ensign that was supposed to sign us all up and they talked me out of it. Probably for the best. Kiddy cruisers still had to do the six years but it was inactive reserve. I didn’t go active reserve, a huge mistake.
I should have gone kiddy cruise instead of attending college and flunking out. I would have gotten 38 weeks of ET school instead of 28.
You’re a little ahead of me. Delayed enlistment 2/69, 6 years, guaranteed an Electronics Class “A” school based on my ASVAB scores. About half way through ET”A” school at GLAKES on the ETN (Communications) track they asked me if I wanted to be a CT – Communications Tech (later Cryptologic Tech). Once they assured me I’d finish ET”A” school, I said “Sure…why not?”
After ET”A” they sent me directly to Crypto Class “C” in Portsmouth and then to my first duty station in the PI. While there, I extended a year for 7 total to qualify for proficiency pay.
One thing led to another and with no real plan wound up retiring as a Senior Chief Cryptologic Technician (Maintenance) in September of 1990. 22 years active, 29 years retired and shooting for another 20 years of drawing half-pay for doing nothing!
At the end of boot camp they asked me if I wanted to go to CT school. Alas, I didn’t know what that was or I would have said yes. As it was, I became an ETN but that was moot since I served on an LSD and an LST and I wound up working on radar as well as comm gear. My last year on the LST, I wound up standing radio watches. They were shorthanded and would have had to go port and starboard so I volunteered to learn how to do the job. That got me out of standing radar watches which were booooo-ring, especially the midwatch. I found radio watches fun. I especially enjoyed seeing how far I could get my transmitters to transmit. One night the bounces were really good and I was able to send my traffic from ‘Nam to San Francisco.
Went into Army in 1966 and got out July 1969. That was a good year for both of us. Served in 101st and 82nd. Naturally I got a year in RVN, as a radioman.
Glad you made it back. Seems as though the first three targets were MG, officer and the guy humpin’ that PRC.
My daughter just married a Navy man, stationed in San Diego. Big culture shock fot a small town Texas girl!