I'll add a comment to Dennis' on military and Ham Radio.  

I was in-country Vietnam for 2 years (1966-1968).  Most of those mornings were spent in front of a new Collins S-Line and Henry 4K amplifier just above 20m, feeding a 3 element armstrong rotating beam right on the sandy beach at Cam Rahn Bay.   This was a Navy MARS station (N0EFN) running phone patches back to a Ham operator and a telephone operator in Seattle, both of whom I met on my final return to the States.  This was my first real taste of my future hobby, but it took another 4-5 years to actually get started.  Just recently, I was able to talk to the new "owner" of that call on the air.  He had no clue of its history.  

I could go on and on about my experiences with Navy MARS and all the cherished calls back home I was able to facilitate.  Some were very emotional, to say the least - both good and bad.  

BTW, that was NOT my regular job, I was just a volunteer for a few hours every morning.  I was assigned to maintain the electrical systems and generators for the massive Navy Communications Station there.  A whole other story as well.  

-----

73's
George - WB5JJJ
HoIP - 100105
Cell - 479.857.7737


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