Nell, the children and I usually took our vacation times in Northern Minnesota during the summer months. Photographs you see on this page represent some of our more typical experiences.

In the meantime, I was becoming increasingly immersed in the 98th Bomb Wing Operations as a part of a rapidly growing Strategic Air Command (SAC). I was constantly impressed and amazed to be a part of the larger SAC organization that had bombers and tankers aloft at all hours of the day and night, every day of the year. The general threat assessment saw the screws turning, shortening the span of time available if an “Alert” was called. First our crews each had a bag packed at home, later, selected crews were on standby in the alert barracks, on base, anticipating the call to their waiting aircraft. Soon, it would be standing by in an alert building at the end of the runway, just seconds from a preflighted and “cocked” aircraft. The flight safety record that SAC was accruing, while involved in this demanding and complex process, demonstrated the value of their strict training and standardization programs. General LeMay and his staff were creating management and analysis programs that would be adopted by other Major Air Force Commands, other military services and the corporate business world.

IG Inspections caused plenty of flaps and higher level staff changes from time to time. This business of pouring three gallons of sand into a gallon pail, with nothing on the floor, was harder on our supervisors than it was on the peons. We were set up with a new Division Commander about the time that on-base alert crew duty was instigated. To enhance crew morale, he decided we needed to dig a lake on base and build a recreation building by the lake. This would permit alert crews to be comfortable, entertained and available on call, and the rest of the base population would benefit through its use, as well. This would all be done by volunteers. He got a military Engineering outfit to dig our lake as a training exercise. You know how it is with commanders. Some want good grass. This one wanted a lake big enough to water ski in. We had a hangar to tear down so the rec building materials came from that source. Any supervisor, who had any staff under their control, was notified how many volunteers they would provide. The lake was built, but the combat crews pulling alert never really got to use it much. We were soon building an alert building at the end of the runway where the crews could be airborne in a few minutes. With that much energy going into lake and rec building efforts, you might know our flying time and square-filling began to drop off. Our Division Commander was soon promoted out of his job and headed, I believe, to the Pentagon, and a new Division Commander was installed.

With all this going on, we were visited by a team of psychologists from the Aeromed Lab at Wright Patterson AFB. They visited with crews, operations, training and staff supervisors at as many units they could fit into their time schedule. When this one interviewer got to me, I didn't hold back and told him in detail things that were wrong about elements of our learning environment. One of my important issues was the fact that much of our crew simulator training was conducted in a T-33 simulator trainer and far too little time was available on the B-47 simulator. I told him they ought to sell one of our B-47s and provide us with a couple more real-life simulators. I outlined accidents, some fatal, that might have been avoided if they had done this long ago. As they headed for the flight line and departure, I dogged him up the steps into his airplane before finishing my comments. He thanked me and away they went.

A week or so later, our Wing Commander received a letter from Wright Pat asking that I be allowed to come over and give an informal talk to their bevy of training psychologists, outlining in more detail some of my opinions and theories. The deal was made and I traveled to Wright Pat, was warmly welcomed and heartily applauded by many in the group. During the question and answer period and informal discussions after, I learned they had a divided camp.