[ADXA] because it's almost Veteran's Day...

[rcurt at centurytel.net]

Thank you for the radio story. I'm sure the lieutenant had it right, and glad he could reach out to someone that could help. I certainly missed you at the meeting, and thank you for your service. 


Randy/W5ZJ


On Mon, 10 Nov, 2025 at 6:26 PM, Dennis Schaefer <dennisw5rz at gmail.com> wrote:
 

To: adxa


I've had an "interesting" couple of months and I'll elaborate on that later.  Also, I was very sorry to miss the ADXA bash, because it sounds like a great meeting and you are my lifelong friends.  Since it is almost veteran's day, though, I was thinking about my time in the service.  A few interesting things happened along the way, one of which involved ham radio.   


******************************************************************

DX'ing with a MRC-108


In 1971, I was in the U.S. Air Force.  I was stationed at Bergstrom AFB near Austin,
TX.  Our unit was a tactical
communications outfit and we were on mobility status for immediate deployment
anywhere in the world.  I think I had
shots for every disease known to man.  
 
Our
exercises were way out in the country, and this led to an interesting
experience.  We set up our TRC-97A
troposcatter microwave rig in a cow pasture 30 miles from the base, in a place
that required going through several locked farm gates to get to.  A lieutenant in a jeep arrived at our site
and asked for me.  He had heard that I
was an all-around smart fellow and also a ham radio operator.  Well, at least the part about me being a ham
radio operator was true!   
 
One
of the men at a site nearby started having chest pains and thought he was
having a heart attack.  Even though we
had millions worth of comm gear, no one at the base was monitoring any
frequency we could transmit on and no other military units could be reached.  Because
of the distance and the number of locked gates, the commander felt that driving
him out was not the best option.  He
wanted the rescue helicopter at the base put on standby.   We had a few Forward Air Controllers with us
and they operated VHF/HF radios from jeeps.  The HF equipment covered all HF frequencies, so I tuned around 75
meters, and found a strong signal from North Carolina.  I got him to call the base and relay our
needs, and then he stood by for any futher requests.
 
Fortunately,
the airman’s condition improved before the helicopter was dispatched on the
hazardous night mission.  If he had gone
critical, ham radio could have potentially saved his life.  Our squadron commander was amazed at how this
worked and sent the ham a nice letter of commendation.
 
73,
Dennis,
W5RZ
*********************************
I know others in the group have had more harrowing experiences, and have heard those "shots fired in anger".   Saying "thank you for your service" always sounds a little trite,  I usually say something like "thanks for going there so I didn't have to".
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