History of All Kinds

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RhB Michael said:
I don't know if it is use any more and I don't know if it would mount up to the RV buss on MMIII. Communications have advanced so much since the late 60s it probably isn't in use.

Emergency Rocket Communication System is what is was. The Air Force (we) used to go out and swap these packages around regularly to keep the Soviets guessing as to where they were. They watched us, we watched them.

Some days we were dispatched to a site with no work orders. It could have been an ERCS site or a site with a regular BT. We would open the PAH and lower tools and a couple of drawer cases and our TO box full of binders.

After the penetration checklist was ran, we would check seals, check for indicator lamps that were out, do a little light housekeeping, and then settle in for a few hours of spades, or hearts, have lunch, or just shoot the Scheiße. After a few hours, we'd call JC and start the backout and go to the next site and do it again. Other ERCS and non-ERCS sites we really did have maintenance to perform, but was not usually ERCS related. We just didn't want the Soviets to know where these comm packs were located.

They would also send MMT (Missile Maintenance Team) out with an RV van and park it over the door and roll the door back, and pretty much have the same kind of day we had. Their tasks to get that door open was a lot more involved than what we had to do to get in. They would only do one site a day, while we might do three.

During annual code change, that was the dispatch you wanted to be on. All we did was load missile targeting data all day. Usually, but not always, the site was already open by an MMT team, so all we had to do was authenticate onto the site and go to work. If we were there more than an hour something was wrong. We could do about six or eight sites in a day depending upon where the sites were and how easy it was to drive between sites. No site was closer than three miles from the next, but they were usually a lot farther than that. Those were the only dispatches where the entire team was armed. and we took an extra guard with an M-60 or M-249.

If we had to penetrate the sites ourselves, we might only do four sites on a dispatch, or even only three.
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Sounds like you were either EMT or Comm. I was Targeting on MM I & Maintenance Field Supervision on I, II and they were just beginning Force Mod. Wing CO wanted to posture a whole flight of Force Mod in 24 hours, thus beating Whiteman's record. A buddy of mine went to the closest LF...and they got an A-circuit lockout, and didn't penetrate for about a week or ten days! So much for the attempt at a record! IIRC, my T-van blew the freeze plugs in its engine, and we never did get to our site. That vehicle would do that if the temperature was below freezing! Those were the days, back in the '60's!
 


RhB Michael said:
Yes, I was EMT. You had a lockout for that long??? That's incredible.
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Well, the A-pit was designed so unauthorized people couldn't break in without the proper codes. Apparently, whoever was out there last didn't input the right combination. IIRC, the pit was designed to absorb heat so one couldn't use a torch. Don't recall what they had to do, but it took a lot of work. The targeting team chief eventually retired as an O-6, so they didn't blame him for the lockout. As I wasn't planning on going career reserve, MacNamara gave us a six-month early-out. I went into the aerospace industry, which was an interesting career.
 
Those A-circuit doors had to be drilled if there was a lock-out. They had some kind of jig and a template to use so we would know where to drill. I never had to do that, but we were in charge of it if it ever happened. We were also in charge of rebuilding/resetting the locks if it ever came to that. I'm sure glad I never had to perform that maintenance. I remember the time I had with re-assembling one of those locks in tech school. I'm no locksmith that much is certain.

When I was in, it was the cops that had the combination for those A-circcuit locks. If it was like that while you were running the field, then there's the blame. The cop shop guards.

We had the combos for the B-circuit. Each team member had to go down the PAS and open their lock before the B-circuit timer would start to lower the door.
 
RhB Michael said:
Those A-circuit doors had to be drilled if there was a lock-out. They had some kind of jig and a template to use so we would know where to drill. I never had to do that, but we were in charge of it if it ever happened. We were also in charge of rebuilding/resetting the locks if it ever came to that. I'm sure glad I never had to perform that maintenance. I remember the time I had with re-assembling one of those locks in tech school. I'm no locksmith that much is certain.

When I was in, it was the cops that had the combination for those A-circcuit locks. If it was like that while you were running the field, then there's the blame. The cop shop guards.

We had the combos for the B-circuit. Each team member had to go down the PAS and open their lock before the B-circuit timer would start to lower the door.
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Yup! I didn't hear the details, but I think the PAS team wore out a bunch of carbide-tipped drill bits getting it done.
Yeah, my assistant team chief had to get the B-circuit codes. The fun began when there was maximum time on the timer, after we had driven 150+ miles to an Oscar-flight LF. Did you ever have any strange lights as in UFO's? IIRC, in March '67 we had a couple of incidents where an entire flight's G&C's went down! We never saw them, but had to go out the next night to restart the bird at one LF. I never heard an explanation for that phenomenon. (Cue, the theme from 'The Twilight Zone")
 
No, I don't ever remember anything strange happening on any of the LFs, except thinking to myself why am I on a nuclear missile launch facility in the middle of a corn field at 2300 on a Friday night instead of at the NCO Club???

Fortunately I didn't have too many 1600 Standby Team dispatches.
 
RhB Michael said:
No, I don't ever remember anything strange happening on any of the LFs, except thinking to myself why am I on a nuclear missile launch facility in the middle of a corn field at 2300 on a Friday night instead of at the NCO Club???

Fortunately I didn't have too many 1600 Standby Team dispatches.
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0700, 1600, 2100, Crew rest (what was left of the 2100 dispatch), 2 days off...IF we didn't have recurring training in the section. Then our OIC switched to 1600, 2100, Crew rest, and 0700. Of course we had to be in the section two hours ahead of dispatch time to load the truck, get keys and codes. Even before I got married, I would look at the lights in the houses we passed, and wished we had a normal cycle. Lived off-base, and were not allowed to go to the O-club wearing fatigues. As a result, didn't want to have to go "home", change into at least a class-B, and go back on-base. The aircrews (pilots and navigators) could go into the club wearing flight suits, of course We might be "SAC-trained killers", but not part of the flying Air Force. Ah, well, to paraphrase what Lonesome George Gobel said to Johnny Carson, "I went where I was told to go, and did what I was told to do to the best of my ability, and last I heard the only nuclear craters on the North American continent are at the test sites."
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When I got booted up to Field Supervision, some bright soul at Offutt decided MMT team chiefs couldn't sign off on their own on-missile work, so they made three officers and eight SNCO's into certified maintenance inspectors, so we had to arrive at whatever site MMT was about to complete their job, so we could sign off that we watched them connect the cable from the G&C to the RV! That made our schedules almost completely unpredictable.

Well, back to my latest project, trying to kitbash a Mantua logging 2-6-6-2 into something resembling a C.B&Q T-2. Got the kit off ebay, and some of the parts were missing, so time to dive into my parts bin.

Thank you for your service, compadre!
 
We penetrated a site to do a G&C chiller checkout. The can overheated and fried. Not our problem, but the chiller was.

After we get downstairs and run the pen checklist, we were met with disbelief when the checklist pointed us over to the upper umbilical opening for coolant line inspection to find them hanging on the umbilical like they do when not attached. We found out why the can fried. And the chiller was fine.

We told JC and they told us to look again because they didn't believe it the first time we told them. The coolant lines really were just hanging out on the umbilical.

Job Control told us not to touch anything and do not start any maintenance. The DCM and three or four other officers I didn't recognize (probably from MMT) were on the site in about two hours. QC showed up with a handful of people I did recognize having been evaluated in the past by them, and our Senior NCO of the squadron Chief Bunker showed up. What a menagerie. After we explained what we found and the order in which we found it, no one wanted to talk to us again.

They mostly stood around scratching their heads, taking notes, talking amongst themselves, etc. We never saw the DCM on an LF before, and that was the first time ever hearing it for a lot of maintenance people.

We ended up with a letter of commendation from the DCM. I always wondered why, because we were just following the checklist like we were supposed to. I never found out which MMT team was on site before us, or the EMT team that did the last startup just before the can fried. Both teams were responsible for that disaster.

Same to you with your service. We sure didn't get the accolades the flying Air Force got, but it was a job that had to be done.
 
RhB Michael said:
We penetrated a site to do a G&C chiller checkout. The can overheated and fried. Not our problem, but the chiller was.

After we get downstairs and run the pen checklist, we were met with disbelief when the checklist pointed us over to the upper umbilical opening for coolant line inspection to find them hanging on the umbilical like they do when not attached. We found out why the can fried. And the chiller was fine.

We told JC and they told us to look again because they didn't believe it the first time we told them. The coolant lines really were just hanging out on the umbilical.

Job Control told us not to touch anything and do not start any maintenance. The DCM and three or four other officers I didn't recognize (probably from MMT) were on the site in about two hours. QC showed up with a handful of people I did recognize having been evaluated in the past by them, and our Senior NCO of the squadron Chief Bunker showed up. What a menagerie. After we explained what we found and the order in which we found it, no one wanted to talk to us again.

They mostly stood around scratching their heads, taking notes, talking amongst themselves, etc. We never saw the DCM on an LF before, and that was the first time ever hearing it for a lot of maintenance people.

We ended up with a letter of commendation from the DCM. I always wondered why, because we were just following the checklist like we were supposed to. I never found out which MMT team was on site before us, or the EMT team that did the last startup just before the can fried. Both teams were responsible for that disaster.

Same to you with your service. We sure didn't get the accolades the flying Air Force got, but it was a job that had to be done.
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We had one DCM who thought he knew it all. A TE was on its way to an LF with a bird inside. As the truck turned from one road to another, the ground gave way and the TE rolled on its side! Apparently, he got out there and was nosing around. I was out on another dispatch in the area, and heard over the radio, "This is the wing commander: You tell that colonel he is not, repeat NOT to go near that vehicle until EOD can get out there and be sure the third stage is safed!" Later, after the DCM had retired, we got our MIMS squadron CO, also a full bull, promoted to DCM. His name was Earl Lilley, and a finer officer to serve under I never saw! He might show up anywhere, not to harrass, but to see if we needed any help. Off duty, he would show up dressed in Levis, Stetson and cowboy boots. He wore a mustache which he had to trim from a handlebar. We called him "Hipshot Percussion" after a character in the comic strip "Rick O'Shay". Quite a character. But one night about 0300, when my team was out at Mike-1, after a looong day, with no food for about 12 hours, the security NCO refused to wake the cook. Wouldn't even let us have any in-flights. I called Col. Lilley, and he said not to worry about it. I guess he called the Base Support CO, because about ten minutes later the cook was offering to make our bacon and eggs any way we liked! When he retired, he started a horse ranch someplace. He's long gone, Bless him!
Happy Thanksgiving!
 


Nov 24. 1966

The Beatles began recording sessions for their album "Sgt.Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band.

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Today is Monday, November 24, 2025

The History of Today

1859 - Charles Darwin, a British naturalist, published "On the Origin of Species." It was the paper in which he explained his theory of evolution through the process of natural selection.

1871 - The National Rifle Association was incorporated in the U.S.

1944 - During World War II, the first raid against the Japanese capital of Tokyo was made by land-based U.S. bombers.

1947 - John Steinbeck's novel "The Pearl" was published for the first time.

1994 - Prince performed "Peach" on the European MTV Awards. He claimed the song was a "cover tune by a good friend."

1996 - Rusty Wallace won the first NASCAR event to be held in Japan.

1996 - Barry Sanders (Detroit Lions) set an NFL record when he recorded his eighth straight 1,000-yard season.
 
November 24, 1898 - John James Timmerman was born. To me, he was simply Jack, and he was so much more than a neighbor. He and his wife, Irene, lived in the apartment upstairs, but they took me in and raised me as their own. He was the only father I ever knew, and without a doubt, the best man I’ve ever met. I’ll always be grateful.
 
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Today is Wednesday, November 26, 2025

The History of Today

1861 - West Virginia was created (out of Virginia) over a dispute of slavery. West Virginia was against slavery.

1867 - J.B. Sutherland patented the refrigerated railroad car.

1922 - In Egypt, the entrance to King Tutankhamen's tomb was discovered by archeologist Howard Carter. The Egyptian child-king became pharaoh at age nine and died when he was 19.

1941 - U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed a bill establishing the fourth Thursday in November as Thanksgiving Day.

1942 - The motion picture "Casablanca" had its world premiere at the Hollywood Theater in New York City.

1958 - Maurice Richard (Montreal Canadiens) scored his 600th NHL career goal.

1979 - The International Olympic Committee voted to re-admit China after a 21-year absence.
 
Nov 26, 1991 - Cal Ripken wins his first Gold Glove Award
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Cal Ripken adds to his post-season honors by winning his first Gold Glove Award and the first by an Oriole since Eddie Murray in 1984. Cal led AL shortstops in fielding percentage (.986) for the second straight year; in put-outs (267) for the fourth time; in assists (529) for the sixth time; total chances (807) for the fourth time; and double plays (114) for the fifth time. He committed only 11 errors, averaging one for every 73.4 chances.

Cal’s first Gold Glove comes a year after he should have won hands-down. In 1990 he established eight major league fielding records including fewest errors by a shortstop, just 3 errors in 680 chances for a .996 fielding percentage. Cal also set marks for consecutive errorless games (95), and consecutive errorless chances (431).
 
Today is Thursday, November 27, 2025

The History of Today

1779 - The College of Pennsylvania became the University of Pennsylvania. It was the first legally recognized university in America.

1901 - The Army War College was established in Washington, DC.

1910 - New York's Pennsylvania Station opened.

1967 - Capitol Records released the Beatles' "Magical Mystery Tour" album in the U.S.

1980 - Dave Williams (Chicago Bears) became the first player in NFL history to return a kick for touchdown in overtime.
 


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