News for the men and women who served in the USAF or civilians who work in Government or industry in the Aircrew Life Support business.
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Visit our web site at: http://www.usafals.
I dedicate my input to this newsletter to a very
interesting project being worked by Steve Norris. Steve has a big interest in
Aircrew Helmets, not from the identification (not just a picture book) aspect
but from the operational and configuration point of view. This is a big and in my opinion a worthwhile
endeavor and Steve has asked for our help.
We have the capability within our Life Support Forum to really help
Steve make this an outstanding reference of what we have devoted our careers
to! I have been corresponding with
Steve trying to help and several others have also but Steve is asking for
maximum participation from Life Supporters.
Steve’s e-mail is below. Let's
help as we can!
Cheers,
Tommy
*****
I would like to ask for official sanction from your group. The letter below
was written in an attempt to get the Life Support Group interested in the
project. Can you send this along to them with my e-mail address and phone
number? If I am going to do this, I need max exposure. The current status of
the book is about 100 pages ready of what will probably be 300 pages. If possible, I'd like to keep everyone up to
date on the effort via the web pages and get some of these guys to proof the
stuff I write. You know, sort of here's where I am, does any one know
anything about this, that, the other thing.
Hi all.
My name is Steve Norris and I am ex-USAF enlisted (1973-77). As some of you may
already know, I am writing a book on USAF flight helmets. I am interested in
the development and operational aspects of USAF flight helmets in the Jet Age.
Here's your chance to contribute to a book that deals with your USAF career. This is something that most of you have
intimate knowledge of and I need your help.
What do I Need? For starters, you guys were there. You know what the
evaluations were like. You know who complained about what. Why a particular
change was made. You also probably have some of the reports, photographs and
technical manuals locked away in attics and garages. Well, here's your chance
to dust them off and get them into print. Why else are you saving them? What Am I looking for? The list below
isn't necessarily complete as you may have something that I missed.
1. Photos both official and
unofficial.
2. Tech manuals, TOs, etc.
3. Reports, meeting notes, anything
that can help detail the development or operational usage.
4. Your stories. Personal accounts are
essential to the success of this book.
5. Would you consent to be interviewed
for the book? I need contacts that can
help me understand what your field was like in the day-to-day operations etc.
6. Copies of unit insignia, program
patches, etc. Don't want the originals, just good quality copies that will
display okay in print.
7. IMPORTANT question of the day: What is the one thing I don't know about US
flight helmets that I need to know to write this book?
8. Contacts with others. Are you a
member of SAFE? Do you know of a book
or resource that is out there that I don't know about? Any clue is useful. Let
me know where to look and I will.
What's in it for you?
1. Anything sent to me gets credit in
the book.
2. I would love to name names and give credit
where credit is due. I have documents
establishing project managers and reports written by various individuals. I
will be discrete though. If you don't want your name in print, no problem. THIS
BOOK IS ABOUT FLIGHT HELMETS and I have no axe to grind with anyone.
3. I will return anything you want
back. Have a photo and want it back, no problem. Same for documents etc. Again, everything used will be credited.
4. I will make copies of references
materials and burn these to CD-ROM and these will be sent to Tommy to be part
of the Life Support Technical library.
5. Eventually, I will send the research
material I gather to the National Air and Space Museum for future historical
study. Right now, NASM doesn't have very much information on USAF personal
flight equipment. I will probably double their TO collection with what I
already have.
I am not looking for hardware. As a
collector, I have over 200 flight helmets and oxygen masks from literally
around the world. I want to write this book.
Why I need to locate this stuff?
Simply stated: much of the ASD paper has simply disappeared. I can find no one
at Brooks, DTIC or NTIS that can help me find what should be a couple
truckloads of documents. If you know where this info is, I'd love to know.
Interested? Please contact Steve Norris, my email is: snorris129@aol.com. I can also be
reached at 336-993-1064 or Cell 336-918-2007.
Leave a message if I'm not in. I
will get back to you. Thanks for any help you can muster.
Steve Norris
Hello LSO's, 59400’s, 64151’s, 922’s, 122’s and
1T1’s. I hope everyone’s well
(especially you Art Wade). If you don’t
know what all the numbers represent then you need to visit our web site and
read up on the history of life support.
Be advised however, that once again our web site location has
changed. We are now located at http://www.usafals.net. The new location is
our permanent home and no further moves are anticipated. While you’re there (and if you have not
done so) list all of your military assignments on the membership form. Hit the send button and the information
will be automatically e-mailed to me.
I’ll post it as soon as I can.
We would also like to add some of your old life support related pictures
to our new web site. Information on how
to get the pictures to us is on the web site.
If there is anything else you’d like to see added (like old war stories)
let us know.
I have nothing to report on the proposed Life Support
Hall of Fame except to tell you that I have given the retired life support
community until 30 June to provide written support for or against it. If you have not done so, go to our web site
read the proposal and let me know if you are for or against this idea. Look for a final resolution on this in our
next newsletter.
A few months ago a call went out to the life support
community to help out a fellow life supporter.
The support was tremendous and made a lot of people proud to be part of
this wonderful family. Back in February
CMS Bailey from HQ ACC reported that he "dropped off $2,075 counting what
we received from ACC units, Langley based LS Chiefs, the LS Chiefs Group, Bob
McElwain, the 412 OSS Life Support troops at Edwards AFB, Robert Weaver, Al
Loving, and Bill Wood. Other
contributors sent donations directly to Jeremy's unit. His first shirt said that he had already
deposited over $1,700 and this did not include the $1,500 from Rick
Stewart." If you don't know the
Jeremy McNeal story then read on.
Recently SrA Jeremy
McNeal, a life support troop stationed at Shaw AFB was injured in a traffic
accident on base. The brief
story is that he stopped to help push a car that ran out of gas near the
Shoppette. As Jeremy was helping push,
another car came out of the traffic circle and hit them from behind at
approximately 30-40mph. The other
individual was able to get clear and was not injured. Jeremy's legs were crushed between the two cars. After receiving on-scene care he was
transported by helicopter to Columbia for trauma care. It was determined that he suffered a broken
right leg, crushed left leg with a partial amputation below the knee and
numerous other scrapes/cuts. The
crushing injuries to his left leg were extensive and resulted in the decision
to amputate below the knee. Jeremy
continues to recuperate well and is facing an additional surgery to prepare his
leg for a prosthetic. He is also
scheduled to medically retire in early June.
The Shaw Life Support community sincerely appreciates everyone's
support, thoughts and prayers.
CMS Bailey and MSgt O'Neal of the ACC Life Support staff sent the following after visiting with SRA McNeal:
MSgt O'Neal and I had a chance to visit with Jeremy and
drop off all of the
Please pass on our thanks to all who sent cards, letters,
donations, and prayers.
Three of the many e-mails that I received over the
past few months have been selected to share with you. The first one is from a former LSO who was also a 122. His wife was also a 122, and can you believe
this, his dad (you guessed it) was also a life supporter!!! The second e-mail assured me that even
though life support has changed a lot since I retired, it’s in excellent hands
if it’s run by troops like the one that sent this e-mail. The last e-mail is from the widow of a
recently deceased life supporter who wants us to know that she and her son will
always be part of the life support family.
*****
My dad has passed away, but it would
be nice to see his name on the web site.
He, obviously, was "one of the old-timers"! As a matter of fact, I don't think many
people will even remember him, except some of the "older" retirees
like Chief Vincent, Struck and Struble.
And they were "young pups” when my dad was in life support. In fact, when my wife (then A1C Janet
Langston) was awarded the MAC LS Airman of the Year, I had the opportunity to
accompany her to the award presentation where we ran into all the command Chiefs
at the time and they delighted themselves telling me tales of my dad. They
embarrassed the hell out of me and Janet (ha).
He was a character! His service
began in the USMC during WWII and Korea.
After being wounded at the Chosan Reservoir and a long hospitalization
he joined the Air Force and ended up in life support in the early 50's. I know he was stationed at Hamilton,
McClellan, Yokota, Homestead and finally at Malmstrom with the normal tours to
Vietnam before he retired in 1974.
I joined the AF in 1976 and went
into the life support career field with my first assignment at Little Rock
(under Billy Burns, Al Sines, Glenn Springer and Bill Wood) where I met my
wife. Since we were both in MAC, Janet
cross-trained into the Med Tech career field because of "joint
spouse" assignment problems we would encounter trying to stay
together. We both were transferred to
March AFB where I worked for Walt Ortiz and Alan Holosy. Janet stayed in the Med Tech field for a few
more years and then joined the AF Reserves where she worked for a while in the
Med field and then eventually got back into the life support field. First with Bob Kaschak at March, then as and
ART with the 47th at Barksdale (where I was the 2 BMW LSO) and then with the OK ANG when I was transferred to Tinker AFB with AWACS.
All totaled, I spent almost 10 years
in life support, Janet spent probably 14 of her 17 years in life support and my
dad spent probably 18 - 20 years (this is a huge WAG) in life support. He probably spent more time in the career
field than that, I'll have to get the exact dates. As I said, my dad was a character. Just ask any of the "old" guys that knew him! What I didn't know until after he passed
away was that he was somewhat of a war hero from his days as a marine. In fact, Bill Vincent, told me about the
time my dad showed up at Homestead in his "blues" with his rows of
medals. Bill said he had more ribbons
than the wing commander. I do know he
had 3 Purple Hearts, 1 Silver Star, 1Bronze Star, and a group of medals from
the USMC that I don't even know what they were for. Obviously, as a young kid, those things didn't mean anything to
me. I am fortunate enough to have a
shadow box Janet and I had done for him for Christmas one year.
I retired in Sep 1999 and am
presently a Pilot Instructor for Delta Airlines in Atlanta, GA.
John Brislan
P.S. Don't tell Bill Vincent I called him an "old" timer.
*****
I just finished reading the newest newsletter (Dec
01 edition) and I wanted to say "Thanks" to you and Tommy for
continuing to carry the torch all these years. The newsletter keeps the memory
of those who went before us alive and that got me to thinking of my own
beginnings. Like many of us I suppose, I did not start out with a full
appreciation for the gravity and complexity of a job I would grow to both love
and hate (depending on the day). As I
write these words to you I am about a month away from sewing on Master
Sergeant. This stripe comes with a
Larry
Crawford saved me from my own stupidity; Dave Rajnicek taught me to do it
exactly right no matter what; George "Andy" Anderson taught me that
brains are nice but sometimes it takes balls to get the difficult things done;
Steve Wyatt led me through the transition from worker to supervisor and taught
me that taking care of my troops was the best way to ultimately take care of
myself, and Kevin O'Neal showed me how to divorce my feelings from my
responsibilities and to focus on the task at hand. There were others of course,
but these few stand out most. I owe
these men more than I can ever repay so I simply try every day to live up to
their examples and to honor their trust and effort on my behalf.
If it wasn't for your dedication to our cause and
our collective sense of family (or mafia, as the case may be), I feel we'd be
in serious danger of losing touch with our own history at which point I fear
we'd devolve into just another workaday AFSC. So again thank you.
Inspired by Danny Keith's poem I offer for
consideration the following:
Life Support Rules to Live By
1. Never forget that you may become a flyer's last
chance. Machines, no matter how marvelous, will eventually fail the flyer. And
when they do it is Life Support who gets him safely to the ground. It is
Life Support who sees him safe from enemy hands and
the ravages of thirst and hunger. It will be you who sees him rescued and
returned to duty.
2. Life Support equipment does not belong to those
who wear it. It belongs to you because you are responsible for it.
3. Never tolerate incompetence or negligence. We have a rare opportunity to kill people by not doing our job properly.
4. Strive to be taken for granted by the flyers you
serve. If your flyers have to think about Life Support then you have become a
distraction and a potential liability. If you seek the limelight, you're in the
wrong job.
5. Strive to leave Life Support better than you
found it. Cultivate and encourage creativity and innovation within yourself,
within your subordinates and among your peers. Our tradition of internally
driven improvement is our greatest strength.
6. Never forget your brothers and sisters. Always
take care of your fellow Life Supporters because sometimes those above us
forget to.
7. Never stop caring. Life Support is
simultaneously one of the most sublimely rewarding and frustratingly difficult
jobs in the entire Air Force. It exacts a price in terms of dedication, for
those who accept the title Aircrew Life Support Systems Specialist, far beyond
that of most other AFSC's. If you cannot bring yourself to care enough to pay
that price...you will ultimately fail.
8. Never forget that you serve the greatest nation
that ever was. The Air Force cannot fulfill its obligation; ensure the security
and sovereignty of the United States without Life Support. The role you play is
vital. Conduct yourself accordingly.
Respectfully,
MSgt Erik C. Burney, NCOIC, Thunderbolt Life
Support, 389th Fighter Squadron
Mountain Home AFB, Idaho
Erick asked if anyone ever suggested a name for the newsletter? He recommended The Post Flight, The 30 Day
or The Periodic Inspection or something catchy that ties into Life Support. He
also suggested we do a unit spotlight article.
I think we can do that when space permits but I don’t know about naming
the newsletter. What do you all think?
*****
I feel honored that you all continue to feel that families
of deceased life supporters are still a part of the life support group. I know I treasure the friends and things we
did while Paul served his country in Life Support. Life support was his life and he lived and enjoyed all aspects of
it. The field suited him to a tee. He
never felt as comfortable in the retired civilian life as he constantly tried
to keep up with all the changes. It
excited him every time he saw someone who was still actively involved in life
support, and he devoured every newspaper or magazine article that had anything
to do with the career field.
Because his
battle with cancer took a turn for the worst he was depressed over having to
cancel out on last year's reunion. Paul
had been looking forward to the reunion as it would have been his first and he
would have been able to attend thanks to a fellow life supporter who told us
about it. In fact, Paul had planned to
surprise this friend who did attend, as we had not seen this person in years.
It would have been a real reunion for us as we learned several others also were
attending whom we would have loved to see.
I received your last newsletter two days after
Paul's passing and had all ready heard from several who saw what was written
there about Paul. Thank you for letting
other life supporters know, it meant a lot to my son and I to hear from several
of these long separated friends. The
military life does spread us all around but friends are not forgotten, although
we often lose track of one another.
It’s sad when one finds others again over bad news, it does however
enforces the unity and commitment we all felt as a part of life support. I hope you will continue to send us the
newsletter as we still feel part of a life that was ours as well as
Paul’s. Thank you so much again for
everything.
Sincerely,
Betty Harriet Perkins & Laurence Perkins
Wife and son of SMSgt USAF Paul J. Perkins
Betty, those of us who knew Paul will never forget him. And it's nice to know that you and your son
won't forget us.
*****
In closing, I offer the following humor to all my active duty brothers
and sisters who are out there fighting the war on terrorism (remember, these
are just jokes just like the one earlier about the bikers):
1. If the enemy is in range, so are you.
2. Incoming fire has the right of way.
3. Don’t look conspicuous: it draws fire.
4. The easy way is always mined.
5. Try to look unimportant; they may be
6. The enemy invariably attacks on one of two occasions:
a. When you’re ready for them.
b. When you’re not ready for them.
7. Teamwork is essential; it gives the enemy someone else to shoot at.
8. If your attack is going well, you have walked into an ambush.
9. Don’t draw fire; it irritates the people around you.
10. When the pin is pulled, Mr. Grenade is not our friend.
11. If it’s stupid
but works, it isn’t stupid.
12. When in doubt
empty the magazine.
13. Make it too tough for the enemy to get in and you can’t get out.
14. Mines are equal
opportunity weapons.
15. Five second fuses only last three seconds.
16. It is generally inadvisable to eject directly over the area you just bombed.
17. Friendly fire – isn’t.
18. No combat ready unit has ever passed inspection.
19. Tracers work both ways.
20. Cluster bombing from B-52s is very, very accurate—the bombs always hit the ground.
21. Odd objects attract fire – never lurk behind one.
22. Whoever said the pen is mightier than the sword obviously never encountered automatic weapons!
23. “You can’t buy respect. But you can always buy more ammunition, so who needs respect?”
24. When you’re short of everything but the enemy, you’re in combat.