Previously Held AFSC/MOS 99000-Basic Airman
AAF MOS 552-Control Tower Operator
27270A-Air Traffic Control Technician
27270-Air Traffic Control Technician
Service Years
1956 - 1977
Official/Unofficial US Air Force Certificates
Cold War Certificate
Official Badges
Unofficial Badges
Additional Information
What are you doing now:
Sidney B. Perrine
MSgt, USAF, Ret.
Retired
March 2001 - Present.
Senior Technical Illustrator Checker & Illustration Senior Quality Control Inspector
Beechcraft Aircraft Co. November 1978-November 1980. Wichita, KS
Boeing Military and Commercial Aircraft Co. November 1980- March 2001. Wichita, KS and San Diego,CA
Air Traffic Controller:
U.S. Army
December 1957 - October 1963.
U.S. Air Force
October 1963 - December 1977
Postions within the air traffic control field:
Shift Supervisor - 1959 -1977.
Control Tower Chief Controller Whiteman AFB, Knob Noster, MO - 1971-1972.
USAF ATC School Lead Instructor Radar Approach Control (RAPCON) Keesler AFB, Biloxi, MS - 1966-1970.
Active Duty ATC Advisor to Mississppi Air National Guard, 238th ATC Sqn, Key Field, Meridian, MS - 1972-1975.
Air Traffic Control Facilty Ratings:
Visual Fight Rules (VFR) Control Tower.
Instrument Flight Rules (IFR) Control Tower. (Approach Control).
Ground Control Approach (GCA). (Radar)
Airport Surveillance Radar. (ASR)
Precision Approach Radar. (PAR).
SP/5, E-5, US Army, Honorable Discharge, October 1963.
MSgt, E-7 US Air Force, Retired, December 1977.
Vietnam Advisory Campaign (1962-65)
From Month/Year
November / 1962
To Month/Year
March / 1965
Description November 15, 1961-March 1, 1965 .
On November 15, 1961, the 2d Advanced Echelon (2d ADVON) was activated in Saigon, capital of the Republic of Vietnam (South Vietnam). The 2d ADVON, administratively part of the Thirteenth Air Force, controlled USAF units operating in Vietnam and reported to the Military Assistance Advisory Group, Vietnam. The 4400th Combat Crew Training Squadron's FARM GATE detachment arrived on November 16. The FARM GATE, organization, although trained for counter insurgency combat, for about 2 months limited its mission to training Vietnamese aircrews and supporting with reconnaissance flights the operations of the Vietnamese Air Force (VNAF). Activation of the 2d ADVON and arrival of the FARM GATE detachment heralded the buildup of the United States Air Force presence in Vietnam.
Responding to the Republic of Vietnam's appeal in December 1961 for increased military aid to counter Communist (Viet Cong) insurgents, the United States gradually increased its forces. From January 2 to 5, 1962, for example, the USAF moved a tactical air control system to South Vietnam and landed equipment and personnel at Tan Son Nhut Air Base (AB) in Saigon; Bien Hoa AB, I5 miles north of Saigon; Da Nang AB, 375 miles northeast of Saigon; Pleiku AB, in the Central Highlands 230 miles northeast of Saigon; and Nha Trang AB, on the coast, a little less than 200 miles northeast of Saigon. Shortly afterwards, on January 7, a flight of C-l23s equipped for aerial spray missions arrived at Tan Son Nhut. Code-named RANCH HAND, this USAF detachment 3 days later began defoliation operations that continued for 9 years.
To manage U.S. forces in Vietnam, the Commander in Chief, Pacific Command, at the direction of President John F. Kennedy and the Joint Chiefs of Staff, created Military Assistance Command, Vietnam (MACV) on February 8, 1962. Army Gen. Paul D. Harkins was named the first Commander of MACV. The 2d ADVON became the air component of the new command. A few months later, on October 8, the USAF activated the 2d Air Division, which replaced the 2d ADVON. In spite of increased U.S. aid, the Viet Cong insurgency grew, and the government of South Vietnam faced growing civil disorder. A year later, on November 1, 1963, a group of South Vietnamese military officers deposed President Ngo Dinh Diem in a coup détat, and not until June 1965 would the South Vietnamese establish a reasonably stable government. Meanwhile, on June 20, 1964, Anny Gen. William C. Westmoreland became Commander of MACV.
Communist insurgents also operated actively in Laos, and in May 1964 United States involvement in Southeast Asia expanded to include military aid to that country. On June 9, F-100s flying from Takhli Air Base, Thailand, about 110 miles north of Bangkok, made the first USAF strike in Laos. Air Force pilots bombed an antiaircraft installation at Xiangkhoang, on the Plain of Jars, about 100 miles northeast of Vientiane, the Laotian capital. In December 1964 the USAF launched an air interdiction campaign against the Ho Chi Minh Trail, a network of roads, trails, and waterways in the southern Laotian panhandle.
The nature of the conflict in Southeast Asia changed dramatically in late 1964. On August 2 and 4 torpedo boats from North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) attacked U.S. naval vessels in the Gulf of Tonkin- On the 5th, U.S. naval aircraft launched retaliatory air strikes against coastal targets in North Vietnam. That same day the USAF deployed B-57s to Bien Hoa AB and F-100s to Da Nang AB. Then in December 1964 the Viet Cong used conventional field rather than hit-and-run tactics to drive South Vietnamese forces temporarily from Binh Gia, near the coast, only 40 miles southeast of Saigon. For both North and South Vietnam governmental authorities this battle marked an escalation of the conflict. As the war rapidly intensified, on February 7, 1965, President Lyndon B. Johnson ordered American dependents evacuated from South Vietnam. The same day the Viet Cong shelled Pleiku Air Base. In retaliation, the USAF conducted its first raid against North Vietnam on the 8th,
hitting a target just north of the 17th parallel.
My Participation in This Battle or Operation
From Month/Year
November / 1961
To Month/Year
March / 1965
Last Updated: Feb 22, 2023
Personal Memories
Memories 1962 - Nha Trang, RVN - US Army 18th Avn Co. 1965 - Dominican Republic - USAF 3rd Mobile Combat Gp. Operation "Power Pack". 1970 - Thy Hoa AB, RVN-USAF 1884th Com Sqn 1971 - Danang AB, RVN-USAF 1972Com Sqn
