76-80 was not a popular time to be in the service after Vietnam and with James Carter as president.
LOL! Yeah, enlisting in ‘67 wasn’t the best time either.
Had teachers say to my face how "disappointed" they were with my decision. LOL, that started my issues in dealing with authority figures. Only one teacher publicly supported me, my calculus teacher. He was a former Jesuit priest from Marquette that was thrilled I was matriculating at Gonzaga.
Like Steely Dan, I've never been back to my old school.
That was when I was in...it was an interesting time.
We didn’t have any race issues, though I did get jumped and beaten by four black guys one night on the base. Purely racial...they said they “didn’t like my hat” which was for my squadron, the VA-46 Clansmen. I am sure they no doubt thought that was “Klansmen”.
The thing I remember was that we didn’t get good equipment (No real cold weather gear though we were above the Arctic Circle) and had to stuff our jackets with cleaning rags for insulation, we did less steaming and flying, and our deployments were only about 6-8 months, nothing like what they do today I am told.
OTOH, when we went ashore overseas, we were largely free to go anywhere we wanted on Liberty, even as a lone individual. I am told that is a thing of the past now, and you have to go on Liberty in large, organized groups to specific places.
Damn, if that is true, it sure sounds dreary. I guess I can see why, so you don’t end up in an orange jumpsuit in a basement getting ready to have your head removed, but...still.
Back then I despised Jimmy Carter more than I dislike him today, though thankfully, we are hearing his disgusting ruminations less often these days.
I do wish I could have served under Reagan. I got out before he was elected.
I graduated from high school in 1976. My career counselor was a 30 year man. He told me “My army has nothing to offer you. You should go to college.”