Gerald J. Bach Jr., CTAC USN Retired, 1967-1990 Well my story follows a lot of fellows from the late 60's and early 70's. I realized that I was not ready for college, in fact I was sick of school. My parents were school teachers and I had lived with my father being my music director/teacher for 7 years. My mother taught physical education and English so my dating career was over before starting. (If you thought boys said things in locker rooms you should hear some of the stories the girls told and my mother overheard!) I basically was tired of school. I had a small scholarship to Michigan State but not enough to pay everything. My father and mother were the parents of 10 living children, soon to be 11, too poor to pay for my education. And I was not really in the mood to go on to school. The draft was big in 1967 and getting bigger. Rumor was out that if you were 19 you were going to be drafted. Army life didn't appeal to me, my father did not like the idea of war, so after talking to my high school counselor, it was either the Air Force or Navy. The Air Force was full, thus, the Navy won out. I had an uncle who was with the Seabees in World War II and later Korea and he enjoyed his duty. (Although he made CS3 three times and CSSN four times while on Guadalcanal.) So off to the Recruiter we went. (I was too young so my mother had to "sign" my paperwork.) Well in July of 1967 as part of the Detroit Tigers Company shipped to Glakes. I had signed up with a deep interest in aviation but didn't know a wrench from a screwdriver. "Aw don't worry about it," my Chief recruiter told me, "they will teach you in the Navy." I got to boot camp and survived. I guess I did pretty well and was nominated to become a Company Commander's Aide. Standing before the board was asked if given a choice would I like going to "A" School or staying behind for another six months to assist the Company Commander push boots. Since I had lived in Michigan for almost 6 years I knew what a winter was like in GLAKES I declined the offer for a six month winter vacation in the land of Lincoln. The Master Chief on the board looked up at me and said, "Which school would you like to attend?" Not remembering what schools I had been approved for after classification, I asked the Master Chief to repeat them to me. "CTA, CTO, CTT, CTR and CTM" he recited. That didn't help, no AJ"A" or AO"A" or AM "A" schools were mentioned. Just some schools called CT. I remember asking the PN1 what w as a CT, and remember him looking at me with a very blank look and stating. "I really don't know, something secret I guess, something to do with communications or radio." Well that didn't sound too interesting to me at the time he said it and when the Master Chief repeated it my stomach sank. I was depressed, not a single aviation school and now I was doomed to go to this thing that nobody knew anything about. So I stated the truest answer I could, "I would like the shortest school of the CT schools." Thus my career as a CTA was formed. Years later when my sister called from Navy Hospital in Oakland, (She was born while I was in boot camp., she informed me she was coming to Pensacola to go to CTO "A" school. "Wow I exclaimed, do they know you have two parents, married and of different sexes?" She laughed and asked, "What is a CTO." I replied with the calmest voice I could, "CTO, hum can't really tell you, I think it is something you eat." (My baby sister just finished her tour of duty in Iraq with NMCB-7 and is a YNC.) So that is how I became a CTA and the first CPO of three CPOs in the family. Thanks for hearing my story. Jerry Bach CTAC, Ret.