Misawa AB, Japan - Jun 13 to Jun 27, 1987

My boarding pass and a pic of me waiting for military transportation with comrades at the Narita Airport in Japan

A business card I was given at the hotel I was staying in Misawa, Japan. The taxi driver's must not know any English.

A boat trip to King Kong Island, hee hee.

A Buddhist statue I visited

My name written in Japanese. Also a pic of Judy and me.

The squadron I worked with while at Misawa AB, Japan

TDY number 2 - A NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) evaluation at Misawa Air Base located in the remote town of Misawa, Japan.

Apparently I found a camera and brought it with me on this TDY. As you can tell, I wasn't a great photographer.

Misawa seems like a thousand years ago but I do remember some things.

The flight to Japan was a commercial flight and it seemed to last forever. I don't know why we didn't fly military during this period. This was a time when people could smoke on airplanes. The smoking area was in the back of the plane, but I remember by the time that extra long flight was over the entire plane was smoke filled. There was no way a non-smoker could get away from it. Also, this was a time when I used to smoke, so yes, I contributed to the pollution of innocent lungs.

I remember arriving at the base and getting briefed on the culture, prohibited locations (brothels, bath houses and pharmacies), and that we couldn't drive while in country. The women had a separate briefing - it was to let us know there were very few woman on the base, to go out in groups of two or more for safety, and to be extra careful because rape was a problem on this base.

The NATO evaluation was one week long. It was an exercise where we were tested on our abilities in a combat situation. I remember wearing full chemical warfare gear for a lot of the time. I was assigned a team and we were given combat scenarios and we had to show how we would accomplish the tasks assigned. At one point, I had to explain to two colonels how I was completing a fabrication repair and how long it would take to complete. At the end of our exercise we received an excellent rating.

I looked at my pictures and couldn't remember where that boat ride or where it was taking me. I didn't even remember visiting the Buddha. Maybe the boat ride was to the Buddhist temple. I do remember walking around in the small town of Misawa and having a local write my name down on a piece of paper. I also remember there were several Pachinko parlors in the town. Pachinko is like a slot machine/pinball machine and you could win steel balls. When you were done playing you could turn in your steel balls for prizes. They had shelves of prizes. I wish I would have taken pictures of those parlors they were quite interesting and always busy with Americans and locals.

I know I didn't have much money back then and the only trinket I have from Misawa is a tiny Kokeshi Doll.

Boise AB, Idaho - Jul 13 to Jul 26, 1986

My first TDY was to the Air Guard located in Boise, ID. This was my first time in the TDY environment, and boy was it different. People went wild, if you know what I mean. If you don't know what I mean, it is when someone takes off the mask of regular life and replaces it with a new mask. Sometimes the mask is one that has no morals, no shame, and no self respect. It was so interesting to see the immediate transformations.

Intriguing as it may seem I was wild in my youth and failed to refrain from such inappropriate activity. In 1985 I was not yet 21 so I couldn't go to the bars. There were several of us Airman in such a predicament. The sergeants immediately remedied that by buying us several flavors of intoxicating beverages and yes we indulged. But soon we got bored and went to the local bars anyway. None of us were cast out because no one's identification was ever checked.
This kind of activity did bring about some most unbecoming behaviors. During this TDY was the first time someone attacked and tried to attack me, and not the last as you will find. I went to meet a friend for dinner and was to meet him at his room. When I arrived he was in the shower so I was asked to wait in his room with Phil, a mutual friend. I was lying on the bed watching TV when Phil attacked me. I tried to scream but he had such a tight hold of me, a very harrowing predicament. By the grace of God, Dean happened to come out of the shower at the right time and wound up saving me from an awkward situation.

I also had my first casual encounter with an older married man, Dean. You would think he would have seduced me and taken full advantage of the situation, but I'm happy to say I walked away unscathed, a bit more educated, and without regret.

Yes, I do recall working on aircraft for the Air Guard during this time. I worked on the airframe of F-4 Phantoms. They were filthy beasts. Yes, I did wonder what I had gotten myself into but allowed the whirlwind called the Air Force to carry me away. I remember working on finger seals (a very filthy job), doing a repair on the tail , and making several replacement parts for common repairs.

Now the tale doesn't end here, let's finish it off with a frightening situation. The Air Guard was considered close, so we all were required to commute in private autos to the TDY location. I didn't have a car so I had a designated carpool. Wouldn't you know I was carpooling with Dean and Phil. Now Dean felt sorry for Phil and on the way home from Boise, decided to stop in Wells, NV at a brothel so they could get it out of their systems. When we arrived at the brothel, which was a dank looking place, I was very upset and couldn't believe my situation. I was sitting in the back seat of a Ford Thunderbird, with a cooler full of beer and two horny males who wanted to get it out of their system. As I recall, I asked what I was supposed to do while they were taking care of business? The reply, you can join us, have a drink at the bar, or stay here and have a beer from the cooler. At this point, I was infuriated but could see I had no way out in such a remote location without a car. I watched them enter the brothel with fire in my eyes. I then commenced to drink a few beers and when I had enough, I took the rest and emptied them and threw them away. I don't know how long I waited but I did with great anxiety and despair. To top it all off, the two tried to borrow money from me for food on the remaining drive home because they had spent their last dime in the brothel. Do you think I caved in, NO WAY!
The irony of this tale, Phil joined the active duty Air Force a few months after this TDY. The weekend before he was to depart to his new duty station he had been to a party where marijuana was present. When he left the party he was immediately pulled over by the police I'm told. He didn't stop and ran instead. I'm sure he knew if he was caught, his Air Force career was over. During the police chase, that was at excessive speeds, his motorcycle went out of control and he was killed. He was only 19.

I don't have any pictures of this time because I was too young and stupid, and I didn't own a camera, but the memories are imprinted forever.

Basic and Technical Training - 1985

Technical School Class Picture

Basic Training Graduation Picture

I joined the Air Force in Dec 1984, went to Basic Training (Lackland AFB, TX) March 1985, and completed my Technical School (Chanute AFB, IL) by July 1985.

When I went to Basic, it was the first time I had ever flown or been away from home on my own. I was scared at first, even cried for a fraction of a second, and then realized I was free and independent and I liked it.

Back in the 80's, I had to smoke to get a break, wait in line once a week to use one of four pay phones, and was degraded every moment the technical trainer had an inkling. Now a days, I've heard you can bring in a cell phone and are given time to make personal calls each day, its a smoke-free environment, and the trainers are not allowed to degrade in any manner.

My technical training was fun because my class was composed of 4 guys and 4 girls and we were all 18 or 19 yrs old. We were swing shift and we had lots of fun goofing off after class. A group of us once got caught by the military police smooching near a static display located near an unused flight line. Apparently it was still considered off-limits even though there were no live aircraft on the base. I don't think I slept for four months I was so busy marching, studying, and goofing around. Hee hee.

I got my first tattoo during technical school. Everyone was getting them. I didn't feel I could afford one so I didn't think anything of it, until my roommate (Mary Beth from Oklahoma) said she'd pay for it if I found something I liked. She already had three and was going for her fourth. I decided to check it out and wound up with a tattoo on my ankle. The artist looked like he was a biker who just got out of prison, but he was nice. Back then I didn't even pay attention if the needle was clean or not, scary don't you think? I guess I would have known by now if I caught something, with all the testing the military does on us these days.