Anyone want to guess what my favorite duty station was during the twenty year career? In the previous post, the reader surely noticed things didn't go too well in my last two years in VA 303. Getting transferred to VA 305 changes everything.
The orders read, "Report for duty by 0800 on 30 June 1974." The problem is, I'm running late and having trouble finding where NAS Point Mugu, and VA 305 exactly are located. After a couple of unsuccessful tries to find them, using a roadside payphone to call the VA 305 Duty Office for a verbal check-in works great. Plus they have accurate directions on what road to take to get to NAS and where VA 305's Duty Office is located on the base. Driving into VA 305's parking lot twenty minutes later sets the tone for what the next two plus years will be like. Standing in the parking lot is a welcoming twosome. It's the squadron Officer-In-Charge and the Maintenance Chief. They are happy to have me! This definitely isn't VA 303! The Chief says, "Your reputation precedes you." I'm wondering if that's the good reputation or one from Chief Griggs. With that welcome, it must be the good rep!
After a few minutes of chit-chat, the Chief introduces me to the AE shop where I'll be working for AEC Deckard. Except Chief Deckard knows I'm senior to all the men assigned to the shop and have years of work center supervisor experience. Chief Deckard informs them I'll be taking his place as work center supervisor and he'll be working on implementing new safety policies recently required by Naval Aviation. In Sep of 1974, VA 305 deploys to NAS Fallon, NV for two weeks. We love going to Fallon! It's a small city with several small casinos where us broke sailors can place dime bets on the craps tables and dollar bets on blackjack. Plus we are all targets for many of the single gals who live in small town Fallon and are looking for a way out.
A few months later the new chief petty officer promotion list is published. Ten names. Again, AE1 Lambert isn't on it. Two months later, one name is added. AE1 Lambert to AEC. Delayed meritorious promotion for technical proficiency. Promotion delayed to 16 Feb 1975. Immediate frocking to CPO. Shock! What the hell is frocking? Frocking means you can wear the uniform immediately but don't get the increased pay until 16 Feb 1975. Still a good deal because wearing the uniform immediately changes your status.
Feb-Aug 1975
Lieutenant junior grade Jimmie C. Nuss is VA 305's Maintenance Officer and he decides his new boot chief should have a desk in the Maintenance Office right next to him. That enables the new chief to fulfill his new job as the Assistant Administrative Maintenance Chief. That's called instant credibility. If it comes from me, everyone knows it's really coming from Mr. Nuss.
First project: Establish an On-The-Job Training Program for the entire maintenance department and ensure accurate documentation. That takes a few months.
Second project: Manage the funding for maintenance training schools. Design the program so someone else can take it over after the program is established, funded, and it works. That also takes a few months.
While these projects are in work, I'm also keeping an eye on the aircraft electrician work center. There's some good men in the shop and it runs pretty smooth.
In the office one day, Lt Nuss looks over his shoulder and asks, "Do you know an AE1 Gross?" AE1 George Gross of the Griggs and Gross show has orders to VA 305. "Yes I do, we were both in VA 303's electric shop under Chief Gross." "So what do you think of him?" My revenge to Gross for the Griggs and Gross Show was to realize that he was in a tough spot, caught in the crossfire between Chief Griggs and me. I told Lt Nuss that AE1 Gross was an excellent electrician, a very capable supervisor, and would be an asset to VA 305. "With Gross here, there's no need for me to continue to monitor the electricians."
When George arrived at VA 305, Chief Lambert greeted him in the parking lot, shook his hand, welcomed him to the squadron, and introduced him to the aircraft electricians in the work center as their new supervisor. He was a little nervous in the first few months but soon settled in and performed in his usual competent manner.
Third project: Assigned to the A7 Automatic Flight Control System (AFCS) and Automatic Carrier Landing System (ACLS) Engineering Investigation Team. The team consists of three commissioned officers with engineering degrees and AEC Lambert as the technical maintenance expert. They were looking for what might have caused some unsolved accidents with those systems. This went on for a few weeks for me. In a few months the results of the study was published. In typical officer fashion, they recommend changes to some maintenance practices and skill training for maintenance personnel. All their recommendations except one, come from my personal manual I developed and used for years to train people. The simplified diagrams, the step by step troubleshooting procedures, and was signed by the three officers.
Fourth project: Establish an Aircraft Carrier Flight Deck Fire Fighting School at NAS Point Mugu. Procure the equipment, obtain a salvaged aircraft to train on, write the curriculum, and teach the classes. I hate fire fighting. But, Lt Nuss wants it done and done it will be. It's amazingly easy. My orders state all fire fighting personnel on all west coast Navy bases will render assistance to get this training program developed. Funny thing, traveling from base to base, the orders never have to be mentioned or shown. Ask and the answer is, "Sure Chief, we have this and that, etc. Easy. Pretty soon I have everything needed. Fire protection clothing, hoses, nozzles, excerpts from manuals, everything. Soon the curriculum is written, an aircraft carrier flight deck is marked out on an unused concrete ramp, and it's time to teach the first class. Reprieve! A new chief, even newer than me, Aviation Fire Control Technician (AQC) McDaniels reports to VA 305, and Lt Nuss puts him in charge of the fire fighting program because he has ANOTHER project waiting. Guess who gets that project? How important is this school? Look at these photos and decide for yourself.
Fifth project: Win a Bombing Derby against other Navy squadrons.
VA 305's Commanding Officer, the Officer in Charge, and LTjg Nuss have been discussing how can VA 305 win, not just participate in, a Bombing Derby Competition against the other Navy West Coast A7 squadrons? A plan is formulated. Their consensus is to designate Chief Lambert as the 200 Division Chief, giving me authority over work center 220 the aircraft electricians, work center 210 the electronics technicians, and work center 230 the fire control technicians. Eventually a fourth work center, work center 240, the Integrated Weapons Team will be formed. All systems that integrate with the weapons release systems from work centers 210, 220, and 230 will be assigned to work center 240. Those systems will be maintained and tested by work center 240, the Integrated Weapons Team. Commonly called the IWT Team.
First step: Chief Lambert attends Conventional Weapons Release Systems School at NAS Lemoore, CA. That's necessary because those systems are the province of the Ordnance Division, not the aircraft electrician work center. It's a short five day school. Conventional weapons are missiles, rockets, bombs, aircraft 20mm cannons, any non-nuclear weapons. After completing the school, I start picking the electricians, electronics techs, fire control techs, and an ordnance technician for the IWT Team and start training them to work as a team capable of performing inter-related jobs. After a few months, I have to switch the team leader position. My first choice as team leader turned out to perform better as a technician than in the more authoritative team leader position. After completing the school, I become the 200 Division Chief and form the IWT team members. We start cross training on each others systems.
Second step: Carrier qualify the pilots. The Bombing Derby will take place aboard an aircraft carrier. Our pilots normally takeoff and land on runways. NOV 1975, VA 305 deploys to the U.S.S. Lexington off of Naval Air Station Pensacola, Florida. Master Chief Peters (E9) designates me as the Flight Deck Control Chief for VA 305 pilots and aircraft. We have two Master Chiefs (E9) and two Senior Chiefs (E8) and I'm to run our flight deck activities, takeoffs and landings, and aircraft hanger placements using Closed Circuit TV, and co-ordinate maintenance flight deck personnel? "Are you sure Master Chief?" Master Chief Peters said, "Since you've been briefing and debriefing the pilots for months now, they have faith in you. And so do I." The Flight Deck Control Chief works inside the island on the aircraft carrier flight deck. It's a small room with a large model of the carrier flight deck and the aircraft hangers below the flight deck. As Flight Deck Control, you MUST know where all twelve of your airplanes are at all times. You have closed circuit TV, but the real way you keep track, is with 12 small plastic airplanes numbered 1 through 12. If your aircraft is on the flight deck you put that model on the flight deck. Your aircraft that are in the hangers, those models are in the hanger. Aircraft number 5 is on the elevator, model number 5 is on the elevator. When an aircraft is airborne, you take that aircraft off the carrier model. Low tech solution to a high tech issue! Once in awhile you step outside the island to solve a problem or co-ordinate a maintenance activity. That structure sticking up in the air behind the A7 that's ready to launch, is the island.
Third step: After many months of training the IWT team, NAS Lemoore's CWTPI team informs VA 305 that they are coming to perform a CWTPI. This is a tough Conventional Weapons Technical Proficiency Inspection. No reserve squadron has ever passed one. The reason we requested the inspection is because we want to WIN the upcoming Bombing Derby aboard the aircraft carrier U.S.S. Ranger! LT Nuss informs me that the IWT Supervisor has to pass a written test on the Ordnance Manual and that it's a tough test. If I don't pass the written test, VA 305 automatically fails the CWTPI. And I'm not an Ordnance Chief. "No problem Mr Nuss, I don't fail tests." He laughs, "I know Chief, that's why you're the team supervisor."
The CWTPI supervisor talks to me the day before I take the written test and tells me that that while no non-ordnance person has passed the test, LT Nuss and the Ordnance Chief have faith in me and he wishes me well. My test score was an 86 and and the CWTPI inspector is all smiles and congratulates that success. He then reviews how the performance test will be conducted. That afternoon the actual performance test is performed on one of our aircraft. Everything goes as it should. The only glitch is a two foot long coax wire is defective. This is a fairly common occurrence. My IWT leader is trained to have a spare lead in his shirt pocket. He looks at me, I nod my head yes, he replaces the lead, and the system works. The next day we are informed that we failed the test because the crew leader did not report the failure to me. The lead inspector said, "Reporting is verbal, it isn't a look and a nod." The chief inspector decides we can re-perform the entire CWTPI inspection and this time we pass with flying colors! VA 305 is the first reserve squadron to pass a CWTPI! Most of our pilots are reserves. We have a lot of pilots and they fly seven days a week. Most of enlisted personnel are on active duty.
Fourth step: Nov 7-22, 1976. The Bombing Derby Competition on board the aircraft carrier U.S.S. Ranger. Our aircraft are flown to NAS North Island, CA where any maintenance needed is performed. The Ranger is docked at San Diego Naval Station. The maintenance people report on board the Ranger where we locate and set up our work spaces on the ship. We are scheduled to leave port that evening. The pilots will fly the aircraft out to the carrier at sea the following day. Whoops! One of the ships boilers breaks down and the Ranger can't leave port until tomorrow morning. We can leave the ship and go into town! One of our chiefs lives in El Cajon, east of San Diego. He invites four of us out to his house for dinner with his wife and kids. Great dinner and a great time! At 10pm we head back to the Ranger. The guy driving, and who owns the car, wants to stop at the Palomino Club in National City to have "one" beer and dance with a pretty girl. None of the rest of us want to but it's his car, sooo, stop we do. Two and one-half hours later, we still can't get him out of there. It's now 12:30am. There's one really cute gal who doesn't accept any dance offers. Always shakes her head no. I realize I'll never see this gal again if I don't talk to her, and probably won't anyway. I walk over to her table and comment, "You're not dancing with anyone but I thought I'd ask you anyway." She says, "I've been waiting for you to ask me for for two hours." Her name is Frances. Forty one years later we are still together.
We all have to get back to the Ranger and get a few hours sleep. It will be fun to watch the ship's Captain get the ship away from the pier and head out to sea. Except the ship still has a boiler issue. While they work on the boilers, our day is spent setting up our work spaces, laying out spare parts, acquainting ourselves with the ship, and shopping at the ship's small store. The next day we are out to sea and the Bombing Derby commences. The IWT team has very few issues. We run two eight hour shifts and I'm there most of both shifts. When VA 305 is flying, I'm briefing pilots in the officer's wardroom before and after each flight, and I'm working Flight Deck Control in the island. The IWT team is pretty much on their own but they handle it well.
One night while our pilots are practicing night carrier landings, I'm watching Commander Mike Plattis on the closed circuit TV coming in for a landing. His approach doesn't look good and it isn't. He's too far to the left of the flight deck and the aircraft slams aboard only partially on the deck, slides off the port side of the ship and into the sea. The rescue helicopter is up instantly and spot his parachute. They latch onto the chute but can't pull it out of the water. The weight starts pulling the helo down towards the water and they have to release the chute. We think Commander Plattis popped the aircraft canopy and the parachute but was still strapped in his cockpit seat. That night we held a shipboard memorial for him. It's a sad time and reminds us we all work in dangerous profession.
After the bombing competition results are tabulated and the results are published, VA 305 is the first reserve squadron to win a competition! The squadron is awarded a Unit Commendation Award and we all get to wear a shiny new medal on our dress uniforms!
Just prior to the Bombing Derby Competition, I Get a phone call from Bureau of Naval Personnel asking if I would accept an early transfer back to NAS Alameda, CA. Diane Doris, Cheryl, and Carl Lambert all live there. Much as I love VA 305, much as I hate to leave, much as I realize staying here will further launch my career and promotion to senior and master chief, my family is more important.
March 1, 1977 The Navy transfers me to Helicopter Squadron Eighty Five at NAS Alameda, CA.
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