I spent 8 weeks at Ft. Bliss, Texas doing Basic Training and arrived at Ft. Monmouth, New Jersey in October for 19 weeks of Meteorological School.
I don’t remember a lot about the school itself other than it was broken into 3 sections. Surface Observations, Micro Meteorology and Upper Air. The few classmates’ names I can recall are Garry Patton (from Louisiana), Kenneth Cain (from North Carolina), Robert Rash (from Pennsylvania) and twins Danny and Ranny Wright (from Indiana). I believe my class began in October and graduated in February or March of 1968. I have some photographs of my class hidden in the garage somewhere and I will try to find them.
I was very fortunate to be promoted from E-2 to E-4 upon graduation and assigned to Ft. Huachuca, Arizona where I began my 93E-20 career as a Surface Observer at Libby Army Airfield. I also lucked out and was sent on two TDY assignments. The first to Searcy, Arkansas and the second, to Colorado State University for a hail suppression R&D project. The other members of that team included PFC Larry Webb, SP4 John Kelley, and PVT Brazil (an OJT 93E).
The first Sergeant at HQ & Met Support Company at that time was 1SGT Gonda who was replaced by SFC Kenneth Beth and the Activity CO was LTC Lin-Harris.
About a year after I arrived, the company lost its Company Clerk and since I knew how to type, I was recruited to take his place. Not long afterward the Meteorological contingent moved from the newer brick buildings to the older refurbished wooden quarters. We also had a Micro Met facility and Rawinsonde building just up the road from the airfield. Before moving the Meteorological Activity to White Sands Missile Range, we also did special projects on post including monitoring surface observations during drone tests at Laundry Ridge as well as special Rawinsondes for the effects of dew on microwave signals.
My luck continued as waves of new 93E-20s arrived and were sent to Viet Nam, Ft. Wainwright, Alaska, and Thule, Greenland but I had it pretty good as a married E-5 living on post at Ft. Huachuca. Since I was the Company Clerk I did not have any “extra” duties like CQ.
I did, however, have a “moonlight” job as a drummer. First in a Country Western band called the Star Lighters with Bill Morris and then in a rock band called the Earth Diggers. The later was made up of members of the 36th Army Band at Ft. Huachuca. So my day job was doing morning reports and administrative duties while at night I was keeping the beat at the NCO, EM, and Officer’s Clubs as well as off post night spots. I was ultimately replaced by a real company clerk and not long after got out of the Army in August 1970.
I went to San Francisco State University where I earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration after two years at Diablo Valley College. During my last year at SF State, I took the most advanced Meteorology class the school offered and with plenty of competition from math and science majors, maxed the class.
It really wasn’t fair my military weather training was a strong foundation and stout by comparison.
I had a successful career working for several high-tech companies including Hewlett-Packard and think the background I got in Meteorology, which I still love to this day, had a lot to do with it
7 comments:
Hi Don, I too was a 93E20, 1971 thru 1974, went to Ft. Sill Oklahoma for my meteorological observer course, then got orders for the Canal Zone for 18 months, was on the Rocketsonde crew, then went to Yuma Proving Grounds (YPG,) Arizona for my last months in the Army. Truly enjoyed working in weather. In 1982 the Army decided to do away with the 93E20 MOS and the military personnel in it and hired civilians to continue that work. I was one of the first civilians hired at YPG and later worked at Ft. Hunter-Liggett in California, where I stayed for around two years after the Army closed Ft. Ord and our research projects basically died off. I left and returned to college prior to Ft. Hunter-Liggett being closed, actually it is now an Army Reserve and National Guard base. Anyhow, I found your blog the other day and found that you had worked with a couple guys I too had worked with, SSG Escobar down in the Canal Zone and SSG Bordine at YPG. So, I thought I’d let you know, if you’re interested, that a couple ex 93E20 guys have created a group on Facebook recently for other ex 93E20 and Atmospheric Sciences Laboratory (ASL) individuals and thought you might be interested. If you are on Facebook you can look up the group ASL Alumni. Take care, David
I was stationed at Yuma Test Station before it became YPG. I arrived in June 1959 and went to Greenland twice. Once at Camp Century and the other at Tuto West. 18 months at Fort Greely Alaska mostly as Weather observer at Gerstle River working with Chemical Corp 1963 to 1964. Was there during big earthquake. Was at YPG five different times and finished my career as Head of Observer Section.
Hi Don, This is Skosh (John Whitten). It's interesting how the memories came rushing back when when I read your blog - after doing a Google search for "93E20". I haven't thought of that number in years but early this morning it popped into my very calcified neural network. A few of the guys I remember from my time at Huachuca, from 07-67 to 11-20-69, are: John Timm, Robert "Gunner" Kelly, George Westerdahl, Jim Moran, Mike Davis, you, with your red 1956 Ford station wagon, Daryl as you mentioned, Jeff Doan, Jeff Kinney, Tom Overturf, Ted Wagner, Barry Neuhaus, Julius Irving, John Laskowski, Mike Pinsky, Drexel Sterling and Jeff Davis. Cigar chomping Sgt. Bugby was one of the forecasters and Sgt Geiger was in charge of the Libby Field weather station crew. You triggered another memory when you mentioned Bill Morris because I played bass in his C&W band for a while. Yes, those are good memories but as someone once said to me, "I wouldn't take a million dollars for those times but you couldn't pay me five million to repeat them." Anyway, glad to see some of us are still around. John
The martinfoss I was assigned to WSMR in 1975. Went out with my buddy in the fall to watch research rockets launch every week. Married the WSMR commander’s daughter. Yeah, it’s good.
Hey Don
Mt.Diablo in ‘67….. could have crossed paths with you back then as we graduated in ‘66. I dated a pretty lass by the name of Miller back then and she had lots pretty girlfriends ( especially the cheer leaders and Devilettes) perhaps we crossed paths at some of the dances and or cruising the creek back in the day.
Sorry, but I flew NAVY so we probably can’t chat much about that …. but thanks for the blog and your site. Good pictures of a time long ago and thanks for your service.
Later -
Hi Don. I was right behind you. Went to Met School at Ft. Sill from Aug 71 to Jan 72. I was stationed at WSMR, Tooele Army Depot, Ft. Greely, AK, and Redstone Arsenal. In 1982 I was selected for recruiting duty. I was probably the last 93E to be promoted to E7 in 1985. That was also the time I learned they were turning over to all civilians. They forced me into the PATRIOT missile system as I had no say in the matter. I did make E8 and retired in 1993. Out of all the names you mentioned I do remember Escobar at WSMR. Those were the best times of my military career serving as a 93E. J.R. Hoff
Hey to all you 93 Echos and 93Foxtrots out there. I enlisted in 1966 and was in the first BCT to go thru Ft Campbell, KY since WWII and the barracks showed it. The windows were just framed holes in the walls, no glass and no screens but it was August so that was OK except when it rained. Saw President Johnson and Gen Westmorland drive by in review of the 101st Airborne just prior to their full Division deployment to Nam. Then on to Ft Monmouth NJ for the 19 weeks of 93E20 training.
Like many of you, was assigned to Ft Huachuca (sp ?) in AZ but never got there as went straight TDY Ft Greely Alaska (up by Fairbanks) . It was the Army’s Arctic Warfare Training and Test Center then. Alaska was great fishing and hunting. Our RAWIN group supported Army and AF OPERATIONS and the FAA system with high altitude weather balloons. Cold (-70 deg F temps and under on some days in the winter of ‘68) but up in the 80’s in the summer. The summers saw daylight 24 hrs/day and the winters saw darktime for 24 hrs/day. The Ft celebrated 4th of July with our Midnight Softball tournament with no light on the field except the Sun. Second deployment was to White Sands Missile Range in NM doing the same thing and again supporting Army and AF and FAA. Believe they were just developing MIRV ICBM technology back then which required a lot of weather support. During that time our group was barracked on Holloman AF base. Our Army Unit actually received an AF Unit Commendation medal there. I gotta tell you AF chow was way-better than Army chow and their Mess Halls were operational 24/7/365 because the two NATO fighter wings stationed there at that time were training day and night for deployment to Germany. Then on to Ft Bliss for discharge. After that enlisted in the Missouri National Guard in the 128th Field Artillery doing 93F20 type work .
I enjoyed it all. Made E5 in just under 2 years. Can’t remember exactly but think I was making a bit over $550 a month as E5 … big money .. rolling in the green. Yeah right !
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