The Naval Military Personnel Command tour consisted of bad traffic, stress at
work, and an expensive cost of living. One saving grace for this tour is that
my family got to volksmarch again.
While here, we traveled to Maryland, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Indiana, and
Wisconsin to volksmarch. We visited many historic battlefields of the Civil
War. But we never just traveled for traveling's sake.
We traveled to Pennsylvania for one walk. It was Intercourse to Paradise
(great walk) and we got to see some Amish carriages and their horses. Another
great walk was along the eastern shore where we got to see some wild horses.
Carolyn Bahr was visiting us for this walk and I believe she liked it. Most of
our walks when Grandpa Bahr was with us were through battlefields in which the
North lost.
We finally took a vacation during the summer of 1990 and visited Sharon's
relatives in Wisconsin. On the way there, we stopped in Indianapolis for the
evening and stayed at a great hotel. The next morning we went to the city park
and walked a year round volksmarch. This was a nice walk and, after topping a
small hill, we saw a doe and her fawns. After the walk, we continued on to
Racine. We visited the Dells and got to go on another volksmarch.
We also took a trip to Texas one Christmas to visit Mama and Butch. On the
way, we spent the night in Tennessee and the temperature dropped way below
zero. It had gotten so cold that many of the trucks' diesel fuel was frozen
and there wasn't too many of them on the road. We also found out that many
areas had lost their electricity. When we arrived in Nocona, we found out that
Mama's water had frozen. On the way back to Virginia, we spent the night in
Little Rock, Arkansas. When we got up the next morning, the electricity was
off so we had to dress in the dark. Later that day, we discovered that Sharon
had left her favorite nightgown and a hairbrush at the hotel. We called them
from a rest stop in Virginia and they mailed our things to us.
Becky joined the gymnastics team here. One day, Sharon and I got a call that
Becky was hurt. We were there in just a few minutes to find that she had
fallen and broken her left arm. It was not a pretty sight and we hoped that
she wasn't in too much pain. She was a real trooper and did really well.
Fortunately, she was young enough for the bone to heal properly.
During this tour, the US went to war with Iraq during the Desert Shield and
Desert Storm operations. Although I volunteered to go to the Gulf and help
with the cryptologic missions there, my boss, Admiral Boorda, decided that
enough of his people were already there and disapproved my request. So, I was
put into a watch section consisting of one US Navy Captain, one Commander, two
junior officers, one senior chief, and one yeoman. Our mission was to help
mobilize the reserve forces and put them into the necessary billets in the
Gulf. In reality, my job was to answer the telephone, make trips to the
communications department to pick up messages, and prepare the morning brief
for the Admiral. The brief consisted of numbers, names, and locations of US
Naval forces in the Gulf; numbers of male and female Sailors on station; and
the numbers of reserve units deployed to the combatant area. The only
information I was not allowed to have was the number of US submarines in the
area. I was told to transfer some critical documents to the Pentagon's Combat
Center so I requisitioned a vehicle and was on my way. Once I got to the
Pentagon, the civilian guard informed me that I didn't have a parking pass and,
therefore, couldn't park inside the compound. After I found a parking space, I
entered the Pentagon to deliver the package and was challenged by two armed
Marines. I successfully passed them but was stopped by a Sailor who told me
that I couldn't enter the Combat Center. I tried to get her to understand that
I didn't want to come in, I just wanted to deliver some material to a
commander. Eventually, I raised enough noise to be noticed by the cryptologist
on duty who dutifully signed for the package. I didn't know it at the time,
but I was carrying some extremely classified information concerning the
Tomahawk firing sequences for the ships and submarines in the Gulf.
I was selected for senior chief, E-8, while working here. I also re-enlisted
here. During the ceremony, LT Doug Eaton was giving me the oath and was
telling my family about how I was going to be busy when I got to Edzell. Nick
started to cry because he thought that I was never going to spend any time at
home.
I was able to take a few trips while I was the detailer. One trip took me from
San Diego to Washington State to Alaska. I also traveled to Europe and visited
England, Scotland, Germany, Italy, and Spain. But on the whole, this tour was
too stressful for me to truly enjoy.
During the summer of 1991, I transferred to Edzell and the family stayed behind
to sell the house. During that summer, Becky continued her gymnastics and also
took a Spanish course at the local community college. She was the youngest
college student I've ever known.
