STORY BEHIND THE PLAQUE
Service Reflections of ATCS Frank Nelson, U.S. Navy (1972-1994)

My dad influenced me tremendously. I had no prospects of getting a job living overseas. My dad did all he could to get me into the Academy. He wrote letters and made phone calls to BUPERS and NAVSTA Rota (in those times, there were no recruiters nearby). I was tentatively accepted to the Prep School in Bainbridge, MD, but I was medically disqualified when they received my physical results due to my vision. I had vision correctable to 20/20, but there was too much refractive error between the left eye and the right one. My parents couldn’t afford to send me to college back in the States, so off to the Navy I went.

But before I joined up, my dad made sure I got into a field where I would have a good chance of advancement, so I took a whole array of tests and was found qualified for the ADVANCED ELECTRONIC FIELD, qualifying for either AT, DS, or FT. I signed up for six years, and I would get PO3 upon successfully completing “A” school.

I joined (1972) under the Advanced Electronic Field, which made me eligible for PO3 upon successful completion of A school, so after only seven months in, I sewed on AT3 crow. I would have to spend another six months in NATTC Memphis, Tenn, attending AFTA school. Then, in August of 1973, I graduated and finally left for my next duty assignment: RVAW 120, NAS Norfolk, for about seven months, attending more schools and courses until I eventually joined VAW 121, the Griffins, in early 1974. While there, I worked as a radar tech at AIMD, NAS Norfolk. During the summer of 1974, I was advanced to AT2, and in early 1975, we steamed out of Mayport for MY very first Med cruise, which would last until the summer of 1975. In 1976, I got orders to AIMD, Navsta Rota, and I was ecstatic as this was USS Backyard duty for me. I PCSed out of Rota in October of 1979 and proceeded to VAQ-33 NAS, Norfolk, for EA-3B Comm/Nav training. This was the last class for VAQ-33 that was held in Norfolk before they transferred to NAS Key West, Florida. Upon completion, in January of 1980, I proceeded back to Rota-VQ-2, this time for sea duty. In March of 1983, I transferred to NAS Jacksonville, FL, for what I thought would be a most intriguing duty assignment-CONTINGENCY AUGMENTATION MOBILE MAINTENANCE FACILITY-ALPHA.

We were a mobile AIMD for the P-3 aircraft assigned to Patrol Wing 11, and it would turn out to be the favorite of all my Navy assignments. (P-3 commands know how to take care of their people!) In Oct. 1986, it was back to sea duty, this time with VAW-124, NAS Norfolk again! February of 1990 would see me headed back to Rota again, and just like the first time, I went back to AIMD (Avionics Div) as the Division LCPO. In August of 1994, I entered Fleet Reserve and finished my naval career.

I fondly remember the radar shop on the FDR (1974-1975). We were in a small shop with about 15 people and enjoyed playing cards/games after “working hours.” We would watch movies on the TV and play lots of jokes with each other. I also really enjoyed my first time in AIMD Rota (1976-1979). I vividly remember the good times after work and partying with my friends, both Spanish and Americans and to top it off, I met my wife-to-be a few months before I transferred to VAQ-33 in October.

Probably, my assignment to MMF-A, CPW-11, and NAS Jacksonville would have to be right up there as my most favorite one because of the type of duty involved and the people who were stationed with me at that time. Pretty much the entire MMF”A” gang were all friends, and it was just the best duty I ever had while in the Navy. Shore duty, no duty section for the first year, Friday half days, with cookouts and volleyball games in the afternoons, and on top of that, I made CPO in this command. P-3 commands know how to take care of their people!! AS1 Darryl Clark, AX1 Jodie Radican, ATCS Rustmann, AT1 Ron Falanga, AX2 Dean Nenstiel, AX1 Lou Pepe, AT2 Tuschl, AS2 Harry Mincey, AS2 Scott Hoy, AT2 Harold Hernandez, AT2 Dan Parkhurst, AT3 Gary Martz, AX2 Michael Stankowitz, AX1 Andy Maddaloni, AE2 Ken McClain, AZ2 Teresa Rider, AX1 Lou Pepe, AE1 Pinson, SH1 Jimmy Jones, AT2 Hughes, AMS1 Joe Bennett, AN Otis Boyd, AD2 Harris, AMS2 Carter, AD2 Glover, AVCM Crabtree, AFCM Banks, and can’t forget ENS. Lile, and so many others. We received an “Atta Boy” from the Commodore of CPW-11, Commodore Tobin, for the Rambling River Raft Entry float in 1985 that we built and had a great time at the St. John’s River Festival.

Which one was my least favorite? I would say probably VAW-124 because of so many people dying around me. The entire VQ-2 whale crew, seven total, that crashed on the Nimitz in 1987, AN Krauss from our squadron, also AE1 Duff from our squadron, the day before Thanksgiving in 1989, and of course, my dad, who also died in 1989. Needless to say, 1989 was not my favorite year, and it seemed like VAW-124 had a curse put on it. But I must admit that my tour in VAW-124 did help me to make SCPO, and for that, I’m glad.

Making CPO and realizing that I could/would influence the careers of many younger sailors. Being able to take young sailors and mold them into very dependable professionals, watching them make mistakes but learning from those mistakes and not repeating them. At the end of my VQ-2 tour, I had a PO2 from my shop come up to me and say that he thought I had made the correct decisions while running the shop during our IO cruise.

During that time, I had to make some very unpopular decisions that some of the guys didn’t care for, but in the end, they realized that it was the best for everyone concerned, and when I was checking out of the squadron, he shook my hand to say goodbye.

What professional achievements are you most proud of from your military career?

Achievements: Making Chief Petty Officer and establishing, from the ground up, a Type 4 Field Calibration Activity (FCA- JBQ). Also, I was the one and only I-level radar technician from my squadron, VAW-121, repairing and returning to RFI (Ready For Issue) condition the AN/APS-82 Airborne Early Warning radar system components. The APS-82 radar was a very old and unreliable system that needed many hours of repairs. It fell on my shoulders to keep the components in RFI condition without the help of civilian tech reps. It was a real challenge, but it was also very satisfying knowing I was doing it all by myself.

The most meaningful was the EAWS and the Navy Achievement Medal. The EAWS qualification I did on my own during the time when there were no classes or very few, you had to go on your own and ask questions and find other people who could qualify you, and you had to prove that you knew the material without gun-decking it. The Achievement Medal was for the establishment, from the ground up, of a Type 4 Field Calibration Activity (FCA-JBQ). From inception to online production, I was involved in every aspect of this process from 1983-1986, and to this date, that was my most gratifying achievement during my 22-year career.

There wasn’t just one person, and it’s almost impossible during a 22-year career to have only one person impact me positively. I would have to mention a few, like AT1 Brooks in AIMD/Avionics and NAS Norfolk. AT1 Brooks taught me everything I ever learned about the APS-82 radar system, particularly the IP-414/APA-125 Radar Indicator, which was a real nightmare to repair. It was the most unreliable part of that system, constantly needing repairs due to the fact that it had so many vacuum tubes, and the two access side panels contained wiring harnesses that would bend and stretch every time they were opened, resulting in the constant and never-ending break of the wires. Each one of those indicators weighed around 105 pounds, and to lift it up and down, from the bench to the deck, to carts, and back to the bench was a heavy and highly strenuous exercise. Brooks instilled in me an attitude of dedication and professionalism that stayed with me throughout my career!

ATC Campbell (later LDO) from AIMD/Avionics in Rota mentored me when I arrived in the PME shop. He encouraged me not to be intimidated by the enormous complexity and variety of test equipment that we were responsible for repairs on a daily basis. Equipment that I had never seen nor even been exposed to, equipment that the vast majority of the time I didn’t even know how it worked, yet I was still responsible for maintaining it in RFI condition.

Finally, ATCS Rustmann in MMF-A, CPW-11, NAS Jacksonville, FL., saw my potential and encouraged me to take on more responsibilities as one of the senior PO1s. He knew I was at the point of becoming Chief Petty Officer and submitted me for the NAM for my efforts in establishing a Field Calibration Activity.

From VAW-121 tad to AIMD/NAS Norfolk, I was mentored by AT1 Jim Brooks, who instilled in me a sense of professionalism. I lost track of him after I left AIMD to go on deployment at the end of 1974. I have tried to locate him by a third party, another NTWS member, on this site, but he has not answered my email.

From MMF-A, COMPATWING 11, NAS JACKSONVILLE, I served with a friend of and co-CPO selectee with AX1 Jodie Radican. We worked well together and usually played on the same volleyball team during our lunch breaks. And to top it off, we both made CPO at the same time. Also, from MMF-A, I served with AX2 Mike Stankowitz and AT3 Gary Martz, who worked in my PME shop. They were both great sailors, and it was a real pleasure to be their supervisor. I lost track of both of them after I left Jax and have no clue where they might be or if they even made the Navy a career.

Very many, especially from my time onboard the F.D. Roosevelt, but because the statute of limitations has not run out, I can not divulge the names of the guilty! Hahaha.

While attached to VAW-121, I went camping with my buddies, Bruce Nielsen and Bob Murray, to Back Bay. It was late summer of 1974, and our plans included getting in some fishing for catfish and doing some exploring in the backwaters of Back Bay. Well, my two friends went canoeing while I stayed behind to look after the “camp.” They were gone for quite a long time, and it was already nighttime, and they still hadn’t returned, so I started calling out for them. Nothing happened, so I kept calling out their names over and over again! I decided to build a campfire to help them find their way back.

Finally, after what might have been 3/4 hours, they heard me calling them, saw the campfire, and rowed their way back to camp, saying if it hadn’t been for me calling out for them, they surely would have been lost Bruce, and Bob were the supposed “experts” in outdoor survival.

The campfire, by now, had really grown big and got out of hand. It really was way more than we could handle because we didn’t want to start a wildfire, so instinctively, I grabbed the nearest container to “put” out the fire, and it turned out to be a can of charcoal lighter fluid that I was squirting into the lit fire! The flame raced from the fire to the can of lighter fluid, engulfed the can, and at the same time, I dropped the can and had to smother it with dirt and sand…talk about a bonehead move, hahaha. We haven’t forgotten, and to this day, we still talk about that!

(Please see the BOYS ARE BACK IN TOWN write-up in the VAW-121 section.)

I’ve had several employers since my retirement, including companies such as LL Bean, AMSEC/SAIC, and Raytheon.

Fleet Reserve Association(FRA), and of course NTWS. Benefits? The ability to reconnect with those who served with me.

My approach to life has been, “If you can’t make it in the Navy, then you can’t make it anywhere else.” Specifically, Navy life and the military, in general, are very regimented. If you can’t follow simple orders and regulations, then you won’t be able to function anywhere else, as simple as that.

Get as many schools as possible! If your command is looking for volunteers to go to a particular school because they don’t want to lose that billet, take it and don’t look back. Also, take advantage of Tuition Assistance and work on getting college credits and eventually a Bachelors’s/Masters, etc. Remember it takes “Sustained Superior Performance” in order to advance in rank, and as you go higher, it will be more and more difficult to do that.

Also, hang in there, you guys are serving during some very turbulent times, and the top brass doesn’t support you enough as it is. All they are interested in is getting promoted and looking out for themselves!

Retelling “adventures” or sea stories if you prefer, posting old pictures, and also getting to know a former RM2, Joe Kozak, who served with my dad back in the late 1950s. Talk about a gift from the past; this gentleman and I have become internet buddies since I found him in NTWS. He fondly remembered my dad from way back in those years, and the stories he told me are the same ones my dad also told me, reinforcing the fact that my dad didn’t invent those wacky/improbable/crazy sea stories he would tell me many times over and over again-they really did take place!

KC 11.4.24