I signed up in October '61 and reached my first and only permanent assignment in April '64. Almost 2 1/2 years of operational duty after all that school but Uncle got his money's worth out of this rookie. 10 hour flights weekly with daylong planning sessions; 7 day(and night) alert every three weeks; at least two 24 hour airborne alert missions every quarter or so; flying inspections every other month with exams--or so it seemed.

I was not a happy camper nor was my new wife who I married out of NYC Bloomingdales to a 2 1/2 year tour in Caribou ME. The pits !! but we sucked it up and made friends...and babies. The base had the highest birth rate in SAC. Long cold and dark winters