Previously Held AFSC/MOS 99000-Basic Airman
29330-Apprentice Ground Radio Operator
29231-Apprentice Morse Intercept Operator
29251-Morse Intercept Operator
29350-Ground Radio Operator
29350E-Ground Radio Operator
29352C-Airborne Radio Operator
29372-Airborne Radio and Flight Inspection Technician
Description The Cuban Missile Crisis, also known as the Caribbean Crisis or the Missile Scare, was a 13-day (October 16–28, 1962) confrontation between the United States and the Soviet Union concerning American ballistic missile deployment in Italy and Turkey with consequent Soviet ballistic missile deployment in Cuba. The confrontation, elements of which were televised, was the closest the Cold War came to escalating into a full-scale nuclear war.
In response to the failed Bay of Pigs Invasion of 1961, and the presence of American Jupiter ballistic missiles in Italy and Turkey, Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev decided to agree to Cuba's request to place nuclear missiles in Cuba to deter future harassment of Cuba. An agreement was reached during a secret meeting between Khrushchev and Fidel Castro in July 1962 and construction of a number of missile launch facilities started later that summer.
The 1962 midterm elections were under way in the United States and the White House had denied charges that it was ignoring dangerous Soviet missiles 90 miles from Florida. These missile preparations were confirmed when an Air Force U-2 spy plane produced clear photographic evidence of medium-range (SS-4) and intermediate-range (R-14) ballistic missile facilities. The United States established a military blockade to prevent further missiles from entering Cuba. It announced that they would not permit offensive weapons to be delivered to Cuba and demanded that the weapons already in Cuba be dismantled and returned to the USSR.
After a long period of tense negotiations, an agreement was reached between President John F. Kennedy and Khrushchev. Publicly, the Soviets would dismantle their offensive weapons in Cuba and return them to the Soviet Union, subject to United Nations verification, in exchange for a U.S. public declaration and agreement never to invade Cuba again without direct provocation. Secretly, the United States also agreed that it would dismantle all U.S.-built Jupiter MRBMs, which were deployed in Turkey and Italy against the Soviet Union but were not known to the public.
When all offensive missiles and Ilyushin Il-28 light bombers had been withdrawn from Cuba, the blockade was formally ended on November 20, 1962. The negotiations between the United States and the Soviet Union pointed out the necessity of a quick, clear, and direct communication line between Washington and Moscow. As a result, the Moscow–Washington hotline was established. A series of agreements sharply reduced U.S.–Soviet tensions during the following years.
My Participation in This Battle or Operation
From Month/Year
October / 1962
To Month/Year
October / 1962
Last Updated: Mar 16, 2020
Personal Memories
People You Remember From the USArmy Comm Support Element USSTRIKECOM:
1st Lt. (Army) Clarke M. Brintnall, Commander SFC (E-7) Bruno Castangera, NCOIC SP5 james H. Lairsey Sr., TSC-20 SP5 Richard L. Kimbrell, TSC-20 SP5 Douglas McClain, Motor Pool SP5 Arthur W. Perlinger, TSC-20 SP5 Lester H. Usry, TSC-20 SP5 Daniel Ybarra, TSC-20 SP4 Jimmy F. Andrukates, TSC-20 SP4 Kenneth B. Perkey, TSC-20 PVT (E-2) Michael R. Smith, Radio Operator/Driver, TSC-15
From the 4503rd Spt Sqdn (TAC), USSTRIKECOM:
A1C Clyde I. Brown, Team Chief, TSC-15 A1C Olen E. Gober, Team Chief, TSC-20 A1C Samuel L. Micolucci, TSC-20 A1C Jack T. Prince, TSC-20 A2C Carlos Ortiz, TSC-20 A3C William H. Waite, Jr., Radio Operator, TSC-15
Memories Vehicle convoy from McDill AFB to Cross City, Florida, to participate in Exercise High Heels III. The mission to establish United States Strike Command communication relay site in support of DEFCON 2 alert.
Detachment consisted of two TSC-20 Radio Relay Vans and one TSC-15 Point-to-Point Radio van, with Team Chiefs, Radio Operators, and drivers.
