GEEIA

I arrived at Ramstein AB in August of 1966 from Keesler as an A2C 30434 Ground Radio troop and after processing in I was enrolled in SIP school. There was a black MSgt, I believe his last name was Gilbert or Garrett (can’t remember his first name, CRS disease) and he was in charge of the SIP school and teaching us how to install.  After I graduated I was assigned to TSgt Ron Huffman’s Team and my team members were SSgt Martin and A2C Rick Youngblood.  I was fortunate to go to 17 countries over the next three years. I worked with the likes of Steve Prim, Joe Dix, Miranda, Yogi Carpenter, Kittredge, Paul Sutek, Don Frysinger, Gattemeyer (not sure I spelt it right), Bill Veitch, Rexford, Vic Johnson,  Felix Dudkiewicz, Steve Hirsch, Steve Knudsen, Bernie Beldin (he was the Unit Training NCOIC), MSgt Dale Weber and Dick Love (QC), MSgt Don Graham (NCOIC of Admin), SMSgt Pete Jordan ( The First Sergeant…remember Jolly Ollies Railroad) and does anyone know how he was able to have Danish delivered to his office every morning? I remember names Like MSgt Dewy Brown, SMSgt Ken SMITH, CMSgt Westerberg, MSgt Jim Gary, TSgt Lynn Foldenauer, TSgt Jim Hill, MSgt Durgin, Joe Sadicki and Fuch (civilian), Pippin, LtCol Virgil Johnson, Maj Kulhannic and I am sure I will remember others as I relive those memories. I keep in touch with Bernie Bledin, Jim Hill and Ken Smith.
I had two tours in GEEIA. The first was August of 1966 to October 1968. I transferred to Shaw AFB, immediately put in for Europe again, got married and in the summer of ‘69 I received orders to go back to the 2874th in Oct 69. I was gone a little over 13 months and most of my buddies did not realize I had gone PCS and came back.  They just thought I had been TDY all that time and kept missing me when they were in station. I added more countries to my resume and this time I was a Team Chief with my own team.  I had 18 different schemes in one year. My two sons were born at Landstuhl in 1970 and 72 and I saw them grow-up in brief periods at home.  During that second tour of duty the unit changed from 2874th to the 1836 E&I Sq. It was a sad day when we went from being supported by AFLC to AFCC.  I left Ramstein in the fall of Sept. 1973 and did not see Ramstein again until 1993. I belong to the Air Force Engineering and Technical Service (AFETS) agency, a government agency of engineers and technical equipment specialist that supports the Combat Air Force Commands around the world. I had been sent back to Sembach to teach Satellite Communication to the 1st Combat Communication Group in support of the Bosnia build-up. It was great to go over to Ramstein and see all the improvements and also the things that hadn’t changed.  My wife and I lived over the post Office in Ramstein Village when we first moved there and then moved on base a year and some months later.  I went back in 2003 to Ramstein and it has changed a lot.  Well I have been rambling on and I have lots more stories. I hope to go the next reunion and maybe get to see Walt Chapman. Those eight years were the best times and set my course for the rest of my Air Force Career.  The leadership example we were exposed to, the skills at being a supervisor, the self-sufficiency’s taught when you are out there on a base, the horse trading to get the job done, getting that 1261 signed, having to re-engineer some of the coffee-shop engineering job that came out of GEEIA HQ, realize the engineer who drew up the plans for the scheme had never been to the site and he is wondering why you are questioning him about the 8 ft racks he sent for a building with a 7.5 foot ceiling, the sites on top of a mountain with two building and your team wonders why it is going to be a 7 day a week job, getting home and having to turn around and go out again to get a job in trouble back on schedule, being in a resort area in the dead of winter, and so many more experiences. Would I do it again… YES in a heartbeat.  I learned so much about life and the fact that I met my future wife on one of my TDY’s and after 41 years we are still together, I would not change a thing. GEEIA was a great part of my life and it gave me so much and took so much.  I retired from the Air Force in 1988 as an E-8 and have been in Civil Service for 21 years still working in on Command and Control Communication Systems. GEEIA gave me my foundation to be where I am today. I went to Al UDEID AB, Qatar in Oct 2002  as part of the USCENTAF team to build the Combined Air Operation Center and my GEEIA training came to bear, and I also got to work with a number of E&I Guard personnel. When I mentioned I use to be in a GEEIA Sq., they speak about it with reverence after all these years.