[ADXA] because it's almost Veteran's Day...
Michael Reynolds
Michael at NO6O.com
Tue Nov 11 12:27:09 EST 2025
Hi Dennis,
Yes. The deuce can be fun to drive, but I can't be on the air while in
motion. It takes both hands to drive and too noisy anyway.
I noticed you were in a tactical comm unit while in Texas. I was in the
2nd Combat Comm Group at Patrick AFB, in Florida, in 77 and 78. I was a
tech controller, and worked inside a TSC--62 van. We had a practice
deployment to Twenty-Nine Palms Marine Corps Base in the Mojave Desert
in CA, during the SUMMER, for three weeks. Operation Brave Shield. It
was super dry and more than 120 degrees. I was able to put a can of
chili on top of the van, and it would be sizzling hot when opened an
hour later. I drank about a canteen of water (1 qt) every hour, and
never felt a sweat, since it dried on contact with the air. It would be
easy to have heat exhaustion, or worse, because you can't tell you're
dehydrated. At least one Marine died during that time, while jogging.
Anyway, I learned just last night that the comm group was deployed to
Desert Storm, back in those days. Brave Shield was a preparation for that.
I was also stationed at Osan AB in Korea and Greece, atop a mile-high
relay site (Mount Parnis), near Athens.
73,
Michael, NO6O
On 2025-11-11 10:32 AM, Dennis Schaefer wrote:
> Thanks to everyone for the replies and sharing of stories! Michael, I
> enjoyed driving the deuce and a half. Our comm van was on a smaller
> truck, but when we rolled out, it was mainly M35’s. It’s great that
> you have one now! It was often called a “6 by” in my units. I spent
> time at a fixed site in Japan and while it was enjoyable, I missed
> some of the excitement of the things we did in TAC.
>
> 73,
> Dennis/RZ
>
> On Mon, Nov 10, 2025 at 6:50 PM Michael Reynolds <Michael at no6o.com> wrote:
>
> Hi Dennis,
>
> Thanks for sharing that inspiring story. It's great you were able
> to contact a ham for relay.
>
> I served in the Air Force, out of high school, from 1974 until
> 1985. I was in telecommunications and computers. One of my
> assignments involved satellites, which included patching the space
> shuttle to Mission Control throughout orbits. That was at the
> mysterious Blue Cube in Sunnyvale, CA. At another assignment, I
> processed SR-71 mission data.
>
> I have a 1971 M35A2 (Deuce and a Half) that I use for stationary
> mobile. I learned to drive them while stationed near the Space
> Center. I plan to drive mine around on Veterans Day. Pictures of
> the truck are on my QRZ page.
>
> 73,
>
> Michael, NO6O
>
>
>
> On 2025-11-10 6:25 PM, Dennis Schaefer wrote:
>> 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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