Michael R. Varone, CTTC(SS) USN Retired, 1957-1982 I enlisted in July, 1957 and went to bootcamp at Bainbridge as a member of what was called the all Brooklyn Company. Not quite. While almost all of us were from the northeast, we had about 4-6 southern guys. Most of us were from Brooklyn. The remainder came from New Jersey and Pennsylvania. About half the company was made up of kids from Italian backgrounds. I forget what rate I wanted to strike for. Possibly RM, RD, ST, or CS. I went in as an EFSR (Electronics Field Seaman Recruit). My basic test scores were just above mid range. When it came time to be selected for our ratings about 10-15 of us were herded in an admin office somewhere on base. We were met by a CTAC with two hashmarks. He went on to boast that he was in the Navy 10 years and had never been to sea. A couple of us looked at each other totally perplexed by the comment. We whispered to each other, "Why are we here?" At the time, of course, there were only 4 branches. We were aligned in a semi circle and the chieft went around to each of the guys and pointed to each and said, "R", "O", "A", "M". When he got around to me, I got pointed at and named, "R". Apparently, it was a stroke of luck. Had I been an "M", I'm not sure I would have made it through ET "A" school. My math was OK, but not of the caliber to be an "M" brancher. But I wasn't a CT yet. At the time there were a lot of chiefs and no indians. Fresh caught boots were being farmed out to various stations and ships to do some TAD prior to attending their respective "A" school. I was no different. Myself and about a half dozen of us went to a Naval Air Station in Beeville, Texas for 6 months. Upon completion of that TAD, we were transferred to Imperial Beach. I was in class 18B, 1958. CTC Bruce Akers and CTC Lundt were my respective Basic and Advanced class instructors. After graduating near the bottom of the class, about a dozen of us were sent to March AFB to Radio Printer school. My class was the last to attend training there prior to the opening of Goodfellow AFB. Upon graduation, I was sent to Bremerhaven. I arrived in January, 1959. OBTW, It took me almost a full 8 years to finally get to my first ship, The USS Charles F. Berry (DE1035). I retired in Feb.1982. Sincerely, Mike Varone CTTC(SS) USN Ret.