SMSgt (Ret) Bob McElwain
USAF 1965-1991
Conflicts Served: The Cold War, Vietnam Era and Desert
Storm
My life support career
started in 1968 when I was given the opportunity to cross-train, and a choice
of assignments. I was offered air traffic control or life support. I preferred
air traffic control, but chose life support because the school was in a better
location (Illinois versus Mississippi!). There was no way as an African America
that I was going to Mississippi during the civil rights era!
My training began with a
three month tour to Chanute AFB, IL where I learned the basics of the career
field. As for my first impression of
life support, I was scared! I realized that I had been placed with a great deal
of responsibility and had people’s lives in my hands! My first supervisor, Cesare
Bruno had me so afraid of killing somebody if I didn’t put their helmet or mask
back together correctly that I literally replaced anything that didn’t
functioned properly. I didn’t repair
anything except for those white chin and nape straps that we were constantly
washing. It was remove and replace, if
an oxygen mask valve started sticking it went straight into the trash! I was stationed at Perrin AFB, TX and worked in two
different shops, the 81 ADS and the 82 ADS. I was also fortunate enough to work
at the local ADC Water Survival School. Being able to work the survival school was a unique experience not all
life supporters got to experience.
After finishing my two year stint in Texas, I was assigned to Andersen AFB, Guam, which is the closest I got to the war in Viet Nam. I worked on B-52’s, Tankers, C-130’s, and Helicopters. My memories of the Viet Nam War were the sight of a lot of scared aircrew members getting on and off of those B-52s. I remember being shocked at how young some of the tail gunners looked. There was close to 200 B-52D and G models on the island to support the bombing campaign over Vietnam. Sixty-Six sorties were flown each day. What we didn’t understand was why did all those B-52s come to Guam from bases like Barksdale, Robins, Seymour Johnson, Westover, Carswell, Minot, Loring and March without PLDs installed on the parachutes? Each aircraft had about 8 or 12 chutes that we had to download and configure right there on the ramp with lowering devices. I’ll never forget all the pain we had in our fingers from sewing on PLDs! Besides that, we worked our buns off loading /unloading and pre-flighting life support equipment on every B-52 scheduled to fly plus spares night after night. That’s right; it was 12 hours a day, 7 days a week of constant work.
With over 200 aircrafts
and I don’t know how many vehicles on the flight-line at any given time, it was
inevitable that somebody was going to run into something. It almost happened to
us one night. Our truck with about 10
life supporters onboard died in the middle of the runway as a B-52 was taxiing
towards us. I thought we could get it
started in time, but were unable. The bomb rack, loaded to the gills with bombs
scraped the top of the truck as it taxied by. I thought my life was about to
end that night, but luckily nothing happened and we didn’t tell anybody about
it. As I recall, Sid Perry was on the truck with us that night.
Another incident that I remember was a time when a B-52’s bomb bay doors opened on takeoff and spilled out a bunch of propaganda money (counterfeit North Vietnamese currency that was used to load in the aircraft with hopes of discouraging the enemy and disrupting the economy). Everyone on the truck stuffed their pockets full of the money. I left Guam three months after the last official battle, called the 11 day war or more popularly known as the "Christmas Bombing” of 1972. After returning to the states I gave all my propaganda money away except one bill.
I
was transferred to McGuire AFB in 1972 and worked on C-141’s for a year under
Joe Lee and Jim Rooney. I then went overseas again to Ubon
RTAB in Thailand, but only stayed for two weeks. The war/conflict was over and
all of the aircraft were being transferred out, so I was reassigned to Kadena
AB in Okinawa, Japan where I worked on F-4s. For some reason the F-4 was
identified as a specialized aircraft for our career field so I had to go back
to Chanute for F-4 Life Support training. While stationed on Kadena I was also
assigned to temporary assignments in Korea and Taiwan.
Finally, in 1975 I came back to the United States and was assigned
to the 479 TTW at Holloman AFB NM. At Holloman I worked for and eventually
replaced my mentor, John Shields in the 465 TTS where I worked on T-38s. I had
six people working for me and we had one squadron, but we eventually
developed into a wing and had four squadrons increasing to around forty
people. I continued to be shop supervisor for about six months, then someone
who out ranked me (Frank Birkenseher) took over.
In
1979 I got the assignment I enjoyed the most out of my twenty-six year career
in the Air Force. I went to Langley AFB, Virginia to the Tactical Air Command
Headquarters and was assigned to help oversee and manage the life support
programs of all the Air Force bases in TAC. I assisted Lt Col Al Schneider,
Chief John Weir, and later my mentor, Chief John Shields in establishing
policies and procedures for all the units in the command. I was also
responsible for the suggestion and AFTO 22 programs and the distribution of
newly developed equipment such as the HGU -55/P helmet and the MBU-12/P Mask.
As I recall, it was I along with Chief Tommy Tompkins, SMSgt Jerry White and a
representative from another MAJCOM who wrote the first T.O. for the 12/P mask.
I also helped write the first technical order for the 55/P helmet while at TAC
HQ. I thoroughly enjoyed this assignment because I got see the career field from
a different prospective.
My final assignment in the
Air Force was to the 35 TTW at George AFB, CA where I was the Life Support
Superintendent. I retired from active
duty on 1 Sep 1991 and thought I’d miss the good friends I met along the way
who made the career as special and great as it is. It turns out I haven’t
missed a thing as I have continued my career as a “NASA Life Support Aerospace
Engineer” meeting with active duty AF Life Support/Flight Equipment personnel
once a year at the SAFE Symposium, and retired and former life supporters at
our annual reunions.