rjhenn
Champion Member
Posts: 1,422 
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Post by rjhenn on May 10, 2018 18:05:06 GMT -5
Me, I dropped out of college because I was spending more time with the physics department's computer than I was on my studies. I wanted to get into computer programming and thought the military would be a good place to get started. Initially looked at the Navy, but noticed that their basic was a couple of weeks longer than AF, so they could teach people how to swim. I already knew how to swim, so tried to enlist in the Air Force. Spent several months on a waiting list because anyone who came in with a draft notice got bumped to the head of the line. Finally got in and they sent me off to study Polish. I did manage to get an AA in Data Processing while I was in. Just under 9 years active and a few years Reserve afterward. Probably should have stayed in for 20.
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Post by flyboyut on May 24, 2018 21:18:49 GMT -5
RJ I was starting my third year of college in fall of 65. I was working 50+ hours per week plus trying to carry a full course load. My GPA was just barely above a 2.0 and I was out of money that I had saved up. I decided that I could join the Navy and serve a hitch and save a grundle of money to finish college plus the Vietnam thing was getting serious. So I joined up and than after 4 years got out and finished college and because I no longer had to work so much during semesters I was able to raise my GPA and get a good job. Things worked out....
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Post by baron62nd on May 27, 2018 15:42:34 GMT -5
Going to college and I didn't want to do what I was studying, so I joined the Air Force. Stayed, counting ANG and USAFR, for years.
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Post by John747 on May 27, 2018 17:53:20 GMT -5
I enlisted in the Navy in 1967, in part to avoid being sent to Vietnam. Didn't work out though, I ended up in DaNang with the 30th Naval Construction Regiment, the supply group for the Seabees. After that I spent 2 years on the USS Raleigh out of Little Creek, Virginia. Put in my 4 years and went back to being a civilian.
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Post by NickelPickle (Nik) on Jun 6, 2018 6:44:24 GMT -5
I considered myself a fairly in intelligent person. I had two years of college to go, but only money for one more year.
I checked with my draft board and was told I should expect my draft notice in about one and a half years.
Using 3rd grade math, it seemed very reasonable to drop out of school for a year, earn enough money for two more years, and get back into school before my draft notice arrived.
During the summer of 1964 I left school and began working in a factory.
In December, forces supporting Vietnam really grew quickly' I didn't even have tome to get back into summer school before my draft notice would have arrived.
I did NOT want to be in the army, so I enlisted in the Air Force in June of 1965,
At technical school after basic, six of us were called to the orderly room. We were told we had been selected for an "overseas" assignment. We all got happy smiles, because we new the USAF was not sending people straight fro school to Vietnam. We were told we were alternates and would only go if the people currently scheduled could not go to the assignments.
We all thought of Germany, Italy, Japan, or some other nice place. We asked where we would go if the original assigned could not go. The answer was ALASKA! That was when we learned that, although they had been states for six years, Alaska and Hawaii were still listed as overseas assignments.
As should have been expected, all six of us were on the same plane from McChord AFB, Washington to Elmendorf AFB, Alaska. We concluded that those initially scheduled for Alaska went somewhere else -- and did NOT need cold weather gear. Once we arrived in Alaska, we were also told we were "stuck" there for at least two years and there was no way to get out of completing our time in Alaska. Personally, I didn't mind at all; I found I liked Anchorage, AK and thought is was better than Vietnam. I actually extended my tiem in Alaska.
After Alaska, I was sent to Colorado (with my new wife). I even offer to extend my enlistment if the Air force would send us back to Alaska.
Would you believe the military could foul up my paperwork to extend and go back to Alaska? I even extended my enlistment to see if they could straighten out the paperwork, but the only assignment offered was Greenland (unaccompanied) and my wife was six months pregnant. I said NO,
I was scheduled to complete clearing base, receiving my final paperwork, travel pay (for me), etc. on Monday 21Jul1969.
On Sunday July 20th, the president declared the next day 21Jul1969 a national holiday. It was something about "one step for a man . . ". Of course, all offices on base were closed on my discharge date, but fortunately my wife and I had not planned to actually leave Colorado until several days later,
Maybe at a later date, I will relate the effect and eventual solution to a typo on my DD214, but that is another story.
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Post by NickelPickle (Nik) on Jun 7, 2018 5:37:12 GMT -5
Yesterday, I posted about why I enlisted. Today, I'll continue with what happened after I left active duty. I served four years and one month on active duty. When I left active duty, I was scheduled to out-process on a Monday. That day was declared a surprise holiday one day earlier (21/Jul/1969). I actually out-processed a day after scheduled (Tuesday). In the rush, I failed to notice a typo on my DD214. Eleven months later (June 1970), I got a final discharge from inactive reserve status. This was actually five years from my original enlistment, not the six years on the original enlistment. I thought "So What? - It doesn't matter. I don't go to any meetings and there are no financial implications." Seven years later (almost 8eight years after active duty) I enlisted in the Air National Guard. They originally credited me with six years combine active and inactive service. Then someone noticed my DD214; they promptly changed it to five years credit. I had my original discharge orders to prove that it was just a typo on the DD214. First I tried the local CBPO; basically, their reaction was "Nope - you were discharged after 5 years." Then I tried the Air Force personnel center but their reaction was "You're now in the reserve forces." and told me to go to my local CBPO (the same folks who had already denied the correction). Years later, I decided to try again to get the correction. I took my original orders discharging me from active duty (which had correct dates) and my DD214 (which had the wrong date) to the local CBPO (the same one who had denied the change originally). By this this time all the people working there had changed. I explained the problem again and showed all the original paperwork. Now the reaction was "that's an error, then all enlistments were for six years then; the discharge orders show it is just a typo on the DD214." He asked me to wait a few minutes and went over to a terminal. A few minutes later he came back and said "It's fixed>" That change got me: 1). 15 more days of credit toward retirement. 2). My "pay date" changed, thus making me eligible for longevity pay increases a year earlier. 3). Someone at the finance center in Denver had to go through my records for 6 years and for each day determine what I should have been paid. 4). I got a check for a few hundred dollars back pay. 5). I got future longevity pay raises a year earlier, 6). I retired 6 months after my final longevity raise (26 years total service). It would have been only 25+ years without the correction. 7). My retirement pay was also a little more because of the extra 15 days service credited. |
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