Aviation Electrician's Mate "A" School

In January 1959 a new class starts at Aviation Electrician's Mate "A" School located on Naval Air Station, Jacksonville, Florida. What a nice surprise to get off the airplane that flew there and find it is humid and warm! A big contrast to the cold, icy, freezing weather in Norman, OK. The wind in Norman didn't come sweeping down the plains like it says in the musical, it comes SCREAMING down the plains! Oklahoma ceased to be my favorite musical! In Norman, you often had to lean your upper body forward when walking into the wind or it would blow you backwards. Warm moist air seemed much more preferable! The new favorite musical is South Pacific with Mitzi Gaynor.

After reporting into the school office we are assigned to a company where we will march to the chow hall for meals, the school for classes, and to and from our barracks. That feels completely normal after Boot Camp and Aviation Fundamentals School. "A" School is 15 weeks. Boot Camp was 10 weeks, Aviation Fundamentals School was 10 weeks, and now 15 weeks of Aviation Electrician's Mate School. Sure didn't expect this much classroom work in the Navy!

The first few weeks of school were math. Starting with the instructor testing us to determine how much math we already knew. Then they started with simple solving for one unknown with Ohm's Law. V=  IR . Voltage = Current X Resistance. Pretty simple stuff but we spend at least two weeks on simple arithmetic and basic algebra. I'm already bored.

Next we are learning about electrical power generation with generators, alternators, and inverters. By now I've figured out how to manage my $80 plus a month income and therefore am taking the bus downtown to have fun and checkout the pretty girls. And promptly fail the test on electrical generation. The star student fails the test. They are annoyed and I am assigned to three hours a day of night school study hours in addition to eight hours of regular classroom droning. For a week. Not fun. No liberty. After the week or so of extra study hours and passing the tests, they return me to regular school hours. It is so elating it's time to go back to town and celebrate! And fail the next weeks test. They are FURIOUS this time. Going to can me from "A" school and assign me to the fleet to perform manual labor, The Chief of the school calls me into his office to have my new orders prepared. "What the fuck is the matter with you???" "Do you WANT to be shitcanned from school and sent to the fleet?" "No Chief I don't, I'm completely in the wrong here and I PROMISE that if you keep me I'll will not screw up again and I'll attend night school or whatever you want me to do to stay here." "I won't go to town until after I know I passed the Friday test. Promise." The Chief let's me stay and on May 15, 1959 I graduate from Aviation Electrician's Mate "A" School and am designated as an AEAA. An Aviation Electrician's Mate Airman Apprentice. It's a good thing to have a Navy career job specialty.

My orders are to VP-26, Patrol Squadron 26 at Naval Air Station Brunswick, Maine. Before they fly me there, the Chief who has been our Company Commander all during A school tells me, "You should consider making a career of the Navy because somebody has to. Somebody has to be here to lead the guys who only do one enlistment. You should think about it."

Ten months in the Navy and one Chief steers me to the best specialty for me and a second Chief thinks I can lead other men someday. Both of them put me on the path to have a Navy career.