Would you believe that this is an Official Navy Photograph?

We had a Navy photographer doing some promo pics about a day in the life of a Helicopter Squadron, I was the Plane Captain doing a routine launch. I was posed in the post-brake-check-about-to-do-snappy-salute... hold it right there... " ...look as if your are looking into the future!... There, got it."

I look at this old picture and think, "What an idiot!" It was a regular work day and we were allowed to look really scruffy back then. But if I had known I would be in a publication, I would have shaved that miserable beard off and put on a clean, inspection ready uniform. This photo was given to me by the Public Relations office at NAS Alameda, as a courtesy.

As it was, I had just done a daily turn around inspection on that bird, the main part of which required greasing over 72 points on the rotor head alone! No doubt I was wearing most of that grease.

19 years old, with no idea what was coming up in the future.

I was allowed to go to Naval Aircrew Candidate School a few months after this, which led to a year long process in which I qualified as an aircrewman in the SH-3D/H.

So endeth the blast from the past, 1981 edition.