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USAF - December 1965 to October 1969

Getting the Dreaded Letter for the Draft Exam in September 1965
I was in my 2nd Year of College !

I passed and was given 30 days to Join a Branch of the
US Armed Forces or I would be drafted into the Army or Marines!

So it was Off to the US Air Force at Lackland AFB,
San Antonio, Texas for Basic Training on Dec 6, 1965

Our Welcoming DI on a cold rainy night !

Lackland AFB - Basic Training Flight 19016

We Graduated from Basic Training and They Assigned Us All
to be Air Police, no matter what we signed up for..

So We Packed up Our stuff and Carried it about 8 blocks North to the
Air Police School..there on Lackland AFB, for the next 2 Months!

Lackland AFB - Air Police School - Feb 1966
That's Snow on the ground, not sand. The Worst and
Longest Winter in 18 years in Texas! Myself and 120
South Florida Boys for the first time seeing Snow,
much less having to go through Training in it !

So After all the BS, Where Do I get Stationed next?

Only 90 miles from Home in South Florida. #&%^(*)
What happened to seeing the World?

Well, I spent the next 2 1/2 years, fighting mosquitoes
in Lovely Homestead, Florida !

Homestead AFB 2009

May 1966

Home from USAF Basic Training and Air Police School
Dressed up in Class A Air Police Uniform with My Dad

June 1966

Bob in Front of the 4531st Security Police Barracks
At Homestead AFB, Florida

Sgt. Smith - Guard Mount Inspection Before Going to Duty - Bob is next, on end of first row

For M-16 Weapons Qualifications Training, We had to Fly up McCoy AFB, Florida

I am on the left side of picture - Nice weapon - We all made it through fine !
We used the M16s for about 6 months at Homestead, Then we had to
go back to using M1/M2 Carbines, when the M16s were shipped to
Air Police Units in Vietnam, where they were needed.

July 1966

Playing the Drums at Our Flight Party at Homestead Bayfront Park

June 1967

Looking West from Mid Ramp Towards SAC Alert Area

Looking South from Mid Ramp With B52's on Maintenance Row to left

B52's on Maintenance Row

A View North towards TAC and ADC area - Our F100's Gone to Tuy Hoa, Vietnam

Air Show at Homestead AFB July 1967

My Family Arrives DC-3 Display

USAF HU-16 Albatross - Father, Sister, Brother Matt in Plane C-124 Globemaster Display

My Brother Matt in HU-16 Ready to Rotate Engine #1

K-9 Air Police and Sentry Dogs Display B-52 and 4 F4D's from our Base

Canadian Snowbirds KC-135 Stratotanker and a B52

USAF COMMANDS THAT I SERVED WITH AT HOMESTEAD AF BASE

SAC - 19th Bomb Wing B52 Bombers & KC-135 Strato Tankers

During my 2 1/2 Years there, The Bomb Wing kept 12 B-52's and 12 KC-135's
in the SAC Alert Area on 24/7, ready at a moments notice to launch, Loaded
with Nuclear weapons. The base was also a member of the "Chrome Dome" mission
and launched planes for that mission weekly. They were always busy, The planes were
rotated with about 6 backup B52's and 6 backup KC-135's undergoing constant
maintenance. The Base and Ramp were only quiet on Sunday nights. We enjoyed the
random alert tests and several test launches called an "ORI".

We also had to relocate aircraft from the base to other bases around the US,
when the base was threaten by Hurricanes.

TAC - 31st TACTICAL AIR COMMAND

There were 2 F-100 Super Sabre Wings

There were about 60 F-100's in 2 groups, that flew almost daily training missions.

This group of aircraft and pilots were deployed to South Vietnam in 1967.

The aircraft wings were replaced with a similar number of brand new F4D aircraft.

ADC - 319th AIR DEFENSE COMMAND

319th ADC and 331st FIS at Homestead AFB were part of the 32nd Air Division

One of the 319th's F-104A, S/N 56-0808 Aircraft at Homestead AFB

These ADC F-104As remained in service for several years. From late 1967, 26 aircraft
of the 319th FIS were retrofitted with the more powerful J79-GE-19, rated at 17,900
lb.s.t. with afterburner, which was the same type of engine fitted to the F-104S version
developed for Italy. The last USAF squadron to operate the F-104A, the 319th FIS, was
disbanded in December of 1969, marking the final end of service of the F-104A with
active duty squadrons.

301st Air Rescue Squadron

Grumman HU-16B Albatross used by the 301st, when at Homestead AFB
Many a day we watched them leave in a hurry using JATO rockets

I qualified for a Transfer to a Computer job on the USAF SAGE systems on base,
after taking many USAF Extension school courses, BUT they wanted me to sign
for another 4 1/2 years.. I said, No Thank you, I only had 15 months to go..
So about a month later, the Crap Strikes Again !

They assign 4 of us to Air Police Combat School at Camp Bullis, Texas !
WE WILL BE GOING TO VIETNAM !

Then Off for About 1 Month of Heavy Combat Training at Camp Bullis, Texas
What a Hell hole..In August and September 1968 !

The following is From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Camp Bullis Military Training Reservation is a 27,990 acres (113.3 km²) United States
Army training camp located in northwest San Antonio, Texas. It, and Camp Stanley, make
up the Leon Springs Military Reservation. Camp Bullis is used primarily as maneuvering
grounds for U.S. Army, Air Force and Marines combat units. It is also utilized as a field
training site for the various medical units stationed at Brooke Army Medical Center in
nearby Fort Sam Houston.

Established in 1917, Camp Bullis was originally used as one of many training sites for the
American Expeditionary Force soon to be sent to Europe. Used as a small arms and rifle
range for Fort Sam Houston, no units were stationed at the Camp. After World War I,
the Camp served as a training site for various civilian and military organizations, including
the Civilian Military Training Corps, the Civilian Conservation Corps, the Reserve Officer
Training Corps, and the Officer Reserve Corps.

During World War II, the 2nd, 95th, and 88th Infantry Divisions used Camp Bullis. After
the war, 500,000 soldiers were processed out through the separation center at the Camp.

In 1977, the Air Force established the Air Force Security Police (Air Force Security
Forces) Training Site at Camp Bullis. The Air Force was subsequently the single largest
use of the camp until 1987.

THEN ABOUT 20 DAYS LEAVE AT HOME

I Flew out to San Francisco 3 days before I had to report to Travis AFB,
Met a Young Hawaiian Japanese gal and we Partied for 3 days !

Then Off to Vietnam in October 1969

2009 - IS now Homestead Air Reserve Wing

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