After the completion of the training alert at Charlie, my crew commander, Thomas J. Mclaughlin and I spent approximately one week preparing for our Emergency War Order (EWO) certification briefing. The briefing was designed as a crew effort to demonstrate that we knew the philosophy of the Single Integrated Operational Plan (SIOP). This was more for my benefit since Thomas had already certified when he had upgraded to crew commander status a year prior to my arrival. For all practical purposes the briefing was to focus on me.
The briefing was held in the wing commanders conference room which was located in the Wing Command Post. Present for the briefing was Col. James Crouch, wing commander, and LtCol. Frank Zachery, 490th SMS squadron commander. As I can recall, I was nervous, yet stammered through the hour long briefing presentation. As was the custom, Thomas gave one portion of the briefing and I the other. Col. Crouch asked numerous questions, mostly directed towards me which I answered most to his satisfaction. When all was done and said, Thomas and I passed the certification briefing.
This took place in late Feb. 1981. Within the next few days, I was scheduled to pull my first alert at November-01. November-01 would be my home site for the most part of a year.
To this day, I still have my first EWO certificate which was given to me in its original frame.
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First certification was truly an intense day. It kept me from being a being a Vietnam vet.
When I first arrived at the 509th Bomb Wing's Air Refueling Squadron my name was on the flight orders as copilot for our last mission to SE Asia where we were actually stationed in Thailand. -But the general was on base and they didn't want to give me the quickie training and have me have the potential of failing that certification. That had me miss the war's final days of pull out by just a few days.
Funny, as a I was an anxious young "Second John" reporting in to the squadron I was met by met by this nice 1st Lt. copilot, who showed me around before introducing me to the Commander. He was delighted to see me thinking I was going to relieve him from that last 40 days tour in Thailand, he had been before more than once. Thanks to the General being on base he went, as I didn't... he was really pissed but later we became good friends. So went a crew dog's life.
Bryan
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