I joined the Navy while still in High School. There were 11 kids, so I knew my chances of parents paying my college tuition was a fantasy. I scored 98 on the ASVAB and they wanted me to be a Nuc (Nuclear Power Program). I said no way and accepted Advanced Electronics and Sonar School. My first enlistment was spent between Basic Electronics and Sonar A-school in San Diego and six months aboard the USS Towers (DDG-9). My second enlistment was better because I went aboard USS Fanning (FF-1076), homeported in San Diego for four years. We were deployed off IRAN when the hostages were taken from the US Embassy. The Iranians had the Harpoon missile (a ship killer) and our orders were to run toward their coastline to see it they would target us, it was not fun. Many nights spent with a pucker factor. At one point we were underway for 108 consecutive days, a record at that time for smaller ships. The "cruise" lasted 11 1/2 months. I was voted Pacific Fleet Sailor of the Year and they let me off the ship first, I was on the 11 o'clock news.
My third enlistment found me taking more schooling and shore duty as an instructor at Sonar School. During that time, I attended Gunsmithing school and worked as a Gunsmith on the side. Then I received orders to USS California (CGN-36), homeported in Alameda, CA. I found out how much fun it was to see Nucs working (not). We sailed around the world through both Panama and the Suez Canals. By this time I was a Chief Petty Officer (E-7) and got to call my own shots. I qualified as Combat Systems Watch Officer (rare) and Officer of the Deck Underway (rarer still). I earned my Surface Warfare and Air Warfare Pins, and had a lot of collateral duties (Drug and Alcohol Advisor, Ship's Diver, Ship's Photographer, Training Officer, (small) Boat Officer, and Expert in Rifle and Pistol Quals.
My last enlistment included a tour of shore duty at Naval Systems Command (they own all the equipment on ships and submarines) in San Diego working with civilians. They flew me to Dubai when the USS Princeton was hit by a mine. It was right after the oil well fires started. Two of us patched up the Anti-submarine Warfare (ASW) systems on the ship and flew back to San Diego. I also tied a Missile Test Set to a Talos Missile aboard the USS Long Beach to find out why the missile would not pass a firing test. The Test Set glitched as the missile went out of the magazine onto the launcher and we found a 115VDC Firing Circuit wire pinched in the switchboard door. I received a caution and a Letter of Commendation for that little stunt.
Somewhere along the line I survived three years of recruiting duty (and some Gunsmithing) in Missouri. Every day I committed a felony, but I survived, putting 112 sailors in the Navy. Then I served three years in Japan aboard USS Bunker Hill (CG-52) the first Cruiser with vertical-launched missiles. Not a great tour because that ship served as the Admiral's Flagship and ASW was a complete afterthought. So I was bored much of the time. I finished my 22-year enlistment back at the ASW (now Surface Combat Systems) Training Center in San Diego where I was advanced to Senior Chief Petty Officer (E-8). I dedicated and re-named an Advanced Training Building (Bldg. 11) to Daniel V. Gallery Hall, he was the only Commanding Officer to ever capture an enemy submarine, the German U-505. I was on the news again for that one and my last award was the Navy Commendation Medal.
After that I became a teacher with a Master's degree in Education and a California Teaching Credential K-12 from Chapman University is Orange, CA. I loved teaching but I hated the kids, so I quit after a year and became a Defense Department Consultant at Booz, Allen & Hamilton (BAH), a private company in San Diego. My last Navy Commanding Officer was now my Department Head at BAH. After three years, I moved to the DC office of BAH, because the money was good there. After 15 years, I retired again with a nice 401K (they matched 10%) and an employee stock plan (I was vested based on my age). I sold the house in Manassas, VA and bought a 1987 54' Gulfstar twin-engine sailing ketch in Punta Gorda, FL to sail around the world. I earned a USCG Master's License (it was pretty easy after working as an OOD in the Navy. I sailed North to Boston and lived in a few marinas in CT, VA, and FL. I joined the USCG Auxiliary and did Vessel Safety Inspections and at-sea recoveries. Came time to sell the boat, so I bought an 11 acre property in the Jacksonville FL area. I left out about half of the details, but this is enough for now.
