TBS 2-67 Cruisebook_Updated_7Jan23

rifle, of course, and requalified as soon as possible after
leaving Basic School. I thought that the training I
received in Basic School was excellent and a primary
factor in any success I had later in my career. (see last
paragraph).
TBS Graduation: My first choice was aviation, based
upon my exposure to naval aviation during NROTC
training. My first NROTC cruise was during the
summer after completion of my freshman year. I was
assigned to the USS Midway, which was homeported in
Alameda, CA. For the entire six-week cruise the ship
was conducting trials and workups off San Francisco,
so I was able to spend many hours in the catwalks
watching flight operations. That experience, and a
follow-on NROTC trip to Pensacola, FL, between my
sophomore and junior years, was more than enough to
convince me that I wanted to fly. I applied and was
accepted.
After Completing TBS: After TBS, I was issued orders
to the Marine Aviation Detachment at Pensacola, FL. I
had time for some leave, so I went skiing and visited
family. When I checked into Pensacola, I found that
there was a backlog of Marines awaiting training. For a
few months, I was only required to muster and
participate in physical training each day, leaving
several hours open. Because I had heard that
assignment to jet training required top-notch grades in
the first six weeks of ground school and primary flight
training, I obtained a copy of the ground school
curriculum and worked through the entire syllabus
before I even started ground school. That strategy
worked, and I was assigned to Basic Jets in Meridian,
MS, at the end of Primary flight training in Pensacola.
Second Platoon
Vietnam Era Service: My basic pilot MOS training was
about 15 months in length, with Advanced Jets in
Kingsville, TX, following basic jets at Meridian, MS. The
training cycle was intensive, with most days (including
weekends) involving both instructional flights and
ground or simulator training. A highlight of the
training was two carrier qualifications: one in the T-2B
between Basic and Advanced Jets and a second in the
TF-9 Cougar toward the end of Advanced Jets. Between
primary flight training in Meridian and advanced
training in Kingsville, TX, I married the former Judy
Marilyn Martin, a Texas girl, who is still with me after
52 years. I received my wings in a ceremony at NAS
Corpus Christi on 1 July 1968. Orders to MCAS El Toro
were waiting, and when I arrived at El Toro, I was
assigned to VMA-214 for continued training, flying the
A-4 Skyhawk. In just over four months in the Black
Sheep squadron, I flew approximately 100 hours and
received very intensive training in ordnance delivery.
In early January1968, I left for Chu Lai, VN, for my first
combat tour which commenced soon after assignment
to the VMA-223 Bulldogs. In 223 I was assigned to
Operations and wrote the daily flight schedule. Because
the frag for the next day's flying didn't arrive from
higher headquarters until very late at night, I
generally stood the overnight squadron duty. Our
missions were well-suited for the Skyhawk, most often
close air support (with some interdiction included).
Gound duties included production and maintenance of
the Squadron SOP and the Command Chronology.
During August 1969, I was assigned to H&MS-11 in Da
Nang to fly the Playboy mission, which was visual
reconnaissance and fast-forward air control, over the
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