I was the Deputy Commander, 525th Military Intelligence Brigade (Airborne) Ft. Bragg, NC

I was probably working in Glacier Park, MT and getting anxious about starting my first year of college at the University of Louisville in a month or so.

I was Watch Commander on midnights and was commander of the SWAT Team and K9 unit. A wonderfully rewarding time in my career, wish I could take the DeLorean back there. I was also keeping my reservist eye on Iraq, little did I know that I would be mobilized for Desert Shield shortly.

At Mountain Home AFB getting ready for Desert Storm.

Interesting question and so I decided to look. I've been a chimney sweep for close to 38 years and have kept my appointment books all that time. Seems I was working like crazy 30 years ago... 4 to 6 jobs a day.... now at age 63 and having survived a massive heart attack and then falling off a roof and breaking two vertebrae and still working (no retirement)... I really can't imagine that I worked that hard back then.....

July 27 1990...Eglin AFB FL

Working my first summer job at Kings Dominion getting ready to start my freshman year in college in the fall.

In the middle of a 6 month TDY to General Dynamics, San Diego. And most evenings, on the way back to the hotel, I'd stop on the outer road at the east end of the runway at NAS Miramar and watch the Top Gunners returning to do some touch n goes. Literlly tree top height.

Lots of great stories here from former service members and law enforcement. Thank you for your service.

30 yrs ago today I had just (previous May) moved to Houston TX, having finished college a couple years earlier and drifted a bit for two years, and worked putting in commercial and residential irrigation in So Fla for the year prior to moving to Houston. Not exactly on a career path.

I was just about to start grad school in Houston and was working as a tech in a human genetics lab during the day, swimming lots of laps at the Texas Med Center rec center, and partying my ass off at night.

I was a LEO, working our "Crime Impact Team" out of patrol. We were concentrating on street level narcotics sales and gang activity. Mostly, I served as "the eye", situated about 100+ yards away with a nice set of (personally owned) Nikon 10x50mm binoculars. I'd watch for "hand to hand" sales, then advise my teammates of the sale, description of the buyer(s), where they'd stashed the narcotics (usually "rock" cocaine), and direction of travel. Uniformed officers would then stop the suspects, recover the narcotics, and transport them to jail for later booking. After we'd get three or four buyers, the uniformed guys would then arrest the sellers. After that, I'd go to the station and bash out the reports, then go out and get some more.

"Rock" cocaine was VERY big thing at the time. Addicts were usually involved in burglaries, thefts, and robberies to feed their habits. As a CNS stimulant, they were involved in a lot of violent crime and I saw quite a bit of this during these surveillance details. Most of the areas we surveilled were in public parks and the numbers of buyers were staggering. In one spot, we could see as many as 100 buys within an hour and (for training purposes), we actually video taped an hour's activity. I once was questioned by a defense attorney as to how many narcotics sales I'd personally witnessed. I think I said, 'more than 2000', and he was incredulous. I then explained that we'd see 50-100 sales in an hour, and working a ten hour shift it wasn't unusual to spend about 5-7 hours a day doing these surveillances. Working four shifts a week and spending two or three months on this assignment, the numbers really added up. The judge ruled in our favor (as to my status as an "narcotics expert") and the attorney never asked me that question again! This was a fun assignment in a career that seldom failed to provide entertainment. "Greatest Show on Earth"!

quote:

Originally posted by smithbc:
1990. That was the year that I got out of the Marine Corps and started my life as a civilian.

In July 1990 I was the Avionics Chief of a Marine F-4 squadron at Andrews AFB preparing for my retirement in October.

I was in my last few months of company command in Panama. We went through riots, coup attempts, Operation Just Cause, and "nation-building" together: I loved that company. Of course, if you're a commander and you don't love your unit, you probably suck.

Funny to hear about guys attending the Chem Officers Course and Desert Shield/Desert Storm, so I'll tell a few stories:

Shortly after Iraq invaded Kuwait, I got a tasking (fuckin' taskings!) to provide about forty troops for a train-up in chemical detection/decon. NBC wasn't a big concern in that theater, but my guys were all proficient in their common tasks. Uniform was PT shorts and shirts with all their MOPP gear. We were right by the Miraflores locks on Fort Clayton. Seems there was a vessel coming through the locks that was carrying chemical munitions, and I guess we were some kind of insurance policy. The vessel was traveling from the Pacific to the Atlantic. I was never sure if it was transport to a demilitarization facility or something to do with what was going on in the Middle East.

A few days before Kuwait was invaded the Group Commander stopped by my office for a cup of coffee and some informal career counseling. He'd spent time as an advisor to the Saudi Arabian National Guard (SANG) and thought it would be an assignment that would interest me.

Me: "I don't know Sir. It sounds like things are getting kind of tense over there."

Him: "No, it's just a lot of posturing. An Arab nation won't invade another one."

First Sergeant and I had a good laugh about that a few days later.

Moved to FL, changed careers, drove a corvette, wife was pregnant that year with our First Daughter due in 91, more black hair than grey, less stomach fat than now, lots of energy, long days, bought a new house.... Started a new company......

About 2 hours northwest of Canada by boat. Attending high school. But still in the contentinal US!

42.662928, -82.790523

Auburn finishing up summer quarter in flight training and working part time.