[MRCA] PRC-74 Active Duty 1995

[Scott Pastor]

Has anyone explored the possibility that this was taken at the Nation Blue
Beret event?  NBB is a cadet special activity under the auspices of the
Civil Air Patrol.  From the NBB's site, it appears to have been founded in
the 1960's, so it would have been around in 1995.  Training on a past
military communication equipment seems to be within the purview of an event
like that, and the uniform inconsistencies are about what you'd expect to
see at the cadet/auxiliary level of experience.  According to the brief
research I did on this event, cadets are selected from their local chapters
on a competitive basis, and are given the opportunity to earn their blue
beret through a series of challenges.  Being newly issued could explain the
lack of forming and shaping we observe, and labeling the photograph "active
duty" is a forgivable mistake on the part of some archivist with only
rudimentary understanding of military terms and jargon.

Here are some sites I found in my brief search:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Blue_Beret
http://www.blueberet.org/blueberethistory.htm

Just a thought.

73's from merry old England
de, Scott
kc8kbk

On Thu, Mar 22, 2018 at 1:15 AM, KA1LHZ <sboard.ka1lhz at gmail.com> wrote:

> I blew the picture up on my computer and looked closely at it. The field
> jacket doesn't look like US issue. The flap on the pocket is wrong. There
> is no rank insignia on it either, nor name tapes etc. The  beret doesn't
> look right either. The uniform looks worn past the serviceable stage. I was
> in the USAF 1985-1991.
>
> 73
>
> DE KA1LHZ (AFSC 32656A F-15 avionics)
>
> On 03/09/2018 05:15 PM, Mark Burgess wrote:
>
> Found this picture of an Air Force soldier on active duty January 1995
> operating the PRC-74 radio.  Interesting that this radio was still in
> service that late.  Picture comes from the National Archives Library.  They
> also have two films of soldiers operating the 74 in Vietnam and during
> Alaska survival operations.  Getting a copy of the film looks to be a major
> procedure, I may try but it looks like a third party film company must be
> hired to make a copy.
>
> 73
> K1HF
>
> ​
>
>
>
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