Leaving the USAF in 1968 (after 8 years of service), I entered Municipal Law Enforcement, briefly (5 years), then became a Special Agent with Western States Bankcard Assoc. (Master Charge) in the seven Western States until "down-sizing" put me in the un-employment line.
I then entered the ranks of my first-love: Carpentry (a 400+ year family tradition), became "the oldest" apprentice in the trade, elevated myself to Journeyman Level and, eventually (1988) obtained my General Building Contractor License. The "dead" California economy of 1994-95 forced me out of "The Golden State" in early 1996, when I moved here to Texas.
Not wanting to go thru the rigors of starting a "new" business here in Texas, I re-joined (after 20+ years) the ranks of "employee's" and accepted the position of Commercial Construction Project Superintendent where I believed my construction experience would be an asset. I have declined "Project Manager" Positions simply because I have no patience attending meeting-after-meeting where no one is capable of "making a decision".
I turned 65 in Dec2007 but plan on working until I hit "70" - or longer. But wait - the recession of 2008 "forced" me into early retirement.
In Jan2008, I was contacted by two former members of the 78th Air Police Sqdn (ADC), Hamilton AFB, CA, regarding a start-up attempt to organization a first-ever Squadron Reunion; it was subsequently held in Lawrence, KS, 17-20Jun2008, with reasonable attendance of 24 - considering we started with only 3 names of former members - ours!
We are now known as the 78th Air Police Squadron Association; with a listing of 690 former members, we have located 159 and continue searching for the remainder. We will be holding our fourth reunion 22-27Sep2014 in Gettysburg, PA (please see our Unit Page - 78th Air Police Squadron - for more information).
Any former squadron member reading this is asked to contact me; you'll be added to our Duty Roster for all future News, Notices & Events - I look forward to hear from you!
Other Comments:
Please see Unit Page - 78th Air Police Squadron - for more information and future Squadron Reunion plans.
Aircraft/Missile Information
Model McDonnell F-101B Voodoo Length 67.39 ft | 20.54 m Width 39.67 ft | 12.09 m Height 18.01 ft | 5.49 m Engine(s) 2 x Pratt & Whitney J57-P-55 turbojet engines with afterburn generating 14,880lbs of thrust. Empty Weight 28,971 lbs | 13,141 kg MTOW 52,399 lbs | 23,768 kg Max Speed 1,221 mph | 1,965 km/h | 1,061 kts Max Range 1,550 miles | 2,494 km Ceiling 54,806 ft | 16,705 m | 10.4 miles Climb Rate 36,500 ft/min (11,133 m/min) Hardpoints 6 Armament Mission-specific weapons may include the following:
2 x MB-1 Genie air-to-air missiles (nuclear-tipped). 4 x Falcon air-to-air missiles OR 6 x Falcon air-to-air missiles. Accommodations 1
Major Variants
* XF-88 - Prototype Interceptor Model designation on which the F-101 is based on. * F-101A - Single-Seat Base Production Model * F-101B - Two-Seat All-Weather Interceptor Model. * F-101C * RF-101A - Reconnaissance Conversion Models