az09
F-106 Skilled
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Post by az09 on May 23, 2009 11:36:02 GMT 9
In my career there was always an NCO that all the guys looked up to because of how they knew the job and how they treated each person under them.
SSgt / TSgt Lewis N. Cornwall - When we first came to Dyess AFB, TX in 1966 SSgt Cornwall was TDY to Chateruex (sp?) France. When he came back we were introduced and he made a very lasting impression.
One day we had a FOD'd engine and it also had a bad turbine bearing. He first checked the damaged blades for possible blending and set a mechanic to filing the damage away.
He took me to help him do the turbine work. We worked side by side doing the repair. When we were complete he stepped back and asked me how I got so dirty. I checked myself in the mirror and then looked at him. Only his hands were dirty, while I was covered from my neck to my belt in turbine soot. I knew then that some people worked on a different level than the rest of us.
Just a few years ago I tracked him down in North Carolina where he was retired. This sharply, smart NCO had some kind of brain illness that was eating his memory away. We talked about all that he could remember from those days and clued me in where some of the other guys were now.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- TSgt Donald E. Starke - Dyess AFB, Tx - He worked the unscheduled section and was my 2nd trainer. He had a dry wit and even dryer sense of humor. He knew his business but he excelled at playing double deck pinochle. Of course only the NCO's could play on the lunch hour, unless they needed a 4th. Then they let one of the young guys sit in with a cheat sheet to guide them along the bidding and counting meld.
TSgt Starke would always pardner up with MSgt Neighbors to play anyone else. The more lively games ended up with these guys standing up to over trump the plays and eventually they would be slamming cards and talking stuff and then stepping up into chairs to slam the cards down with more force. What a sight to see. I was sorry to see him go the 347th Flying Sq when the specialist breakout came. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- MSgt Fred Herlacuer - 620th MASSq - Goose Bay, Labrador
Fred was my 2nd shift Chief while at the Goose. He had been one of the last Air Cadets from the commissioning program. He had tore up his knee and had to withdraw. He was one of the most calm, quiet men I have ever known. He trained a lot of us specialist in many APG tasks that we would never have thought we could do. He was a recip APG and my first super visor was a Turbo Prop APG. The difference between the two was like night and day.
SSgt George Davis - The first night I met him he was 3 sheets in the wind. As we talked he told about his recip engine career and how to drink scotch correctly. By the shape he was in I could tell he was experienced in scotch drinking. When we met the next day at work, he remembered all that we had talked about and we became running pardners for a while. When ever he had engine work I would jump up on the stand and help. We had a great time on and off duty. He had to move to another shift to balance out the recip engine mechanics, so we parted company as we had different days off.
A1c / Sgt Ray Pashoukos - My last room mate at Goose. He was an electrician and he was always trying to build his own test equipment. One day we had a 1 hour mini-ground C-141 come in with a shut down problem on #2 engine. The shut down would not work. They had to T-handle the engine to get it to shut down. So I asked Ray to check the circuits and I went out to help with the QSS service. I came up the ladder to the flight deck. Ray was sitting on the center seat with all the side panels and overhead panels down and white wiring every where. It looked like a pasta factory had exploded in the cockpit. I asked "what the f__k are you doing?" He was working on his test light and mumbled something about every circuit is bad. I asked if he tried a PSM-6? He said, "no, that his test light was good." About that time Ray pulls out the PSM-6 and checks the circuit. It was good and that meant the shut-off actuator was bad. I told Ray we had to get this flight deck back together so the crew could get home. Just as I said that a voice behind me said, "No sarge we are over our 1 hour ground time and you guys have just bought an abort." I turned and the whole flight crew had been sitting on the crew bunk watching me and Ray do our 20 questions. "Bummer !!"
I went down and told MSgt Herlacuer about the mess up and he was none too happy, but he said "stuff happens, we will just eat the abort and move on." I went out and pulled the shut-off actuator and made the engine ready for the new one when it was flown up from McGuire AFB the next day.
The next day a C-141 came in and parked next to the broken one. Everyone jumped to the QSS on that one while I did the installation of the actuator. The flight crew came out, started up #2 and shut it down. We did the forms work and launched out the 2 C-141's one after the other. I had to tell Ray that in the year we had worked together we had 1 screw up, not bad considering all the planes we had recovered and launched. Ray said in his best "brooklyn" voice, I still can't believe my test light was bad." ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- So, guys and gals, who were your "cool" dudes and dudettes in your early career?
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esphelp
F-106 Qualified
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Posts: 6
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Joined: July 2007
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Post by esphelp on Jun 22, 2009 0:56:23 GMT 9
This tread required no thought at all. For me it was, then SMSgt. Malcolm G. Libby...and when he retired he was "THE CHIEF".
I met "Mac" at Loring in 1966 when he was MA-1 Shop Chief. I soon learned that he knew more about most things than all of us put together so I shut up and listened. Since I was a young airman we didn't do a lot of socializing at Loring but we bowled together and I learned.
I went to Langley in '68 and Mac came in '69. I worked for him and continued to learn...not just shop stuff, but life. We became best friends as did our families. Mac was from Maine as is my wife so after he retired we continued to see each other. I left the AF in '72 and went to work for Hughes Aircraft. Travel took us miles apart but when I needed that special advice I knew who to call.
Work to me to Egiln with the F-15 Program and Mac and Peggy visited in 1989. We had a blast and the time was priceless. Shortly thereafter Peg called and said that Mac had suffered a stroke and had passed away. I lost a great mentor and friend that I will be forever grateful to.
Rest in Peace Mac,
Rick Phelps 27th FIS 48th FIS Hughes Rep 49th FIS F-15 Flight Test Eglin AFB, FL...retired 2004
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