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Stories in this issue:Navy Memories by RADM Black By RADM Bruce Black In 1960, we were in the middle of the “cold war.” As the Intelligence Officer in Patrol Squadron 50 (VP-50) flying out of Iwakuni, Japan, I often flew as a technical observer with the crews of our Martin Marlin seaplanes on long 12 hour plus patrol flights over the Sea of Japan, off Korea, and over the Yellow Sea along the coast of Communist China. We and other Navy patrol squadrons
based out of Japan and Okinawa were trying to monitor the communist shipping
plying the waters between Vladavostock in the Additionally we had a more serious job of trying to spot and track submarines both visually and with sonobouys. If we could catch them on the surface or snorkeling, we would photograph them for identification and other intelligence purposes. We were also in the business of recording electronic emissions from the communist early warning and fire control radars, and other electronic communications located in North Korea, the USSR, and Communist China. In those days, the cold war infrequently (but all to often for the crews of the reconnaissance flights involved) got “hot” when our unarmed reconnaissance aircraft were fired on. Too many times the aircraft just “disappeared” after reporting they had been jumped by fighters scrambled from the mainland. Only scattered wreckage was usually found. Being jumped by fighters was not good news, but fortunately it would usually be followed only by unfriendly fly by’s or an unwanted fighter escort out of the area -- but you never knew. We were jumped twice during my flights with the crews of VP-50. Both of these happened in the East China Sea off Shanghai and just outside of the international 12-mile limit. Like most young pilots and crew men doing a job they knew was important, we often pushed the limits. The first time we were jumped, it may have been one of those times. We were in close enough to see Shanghai and the coast of China. We had spotted an old British made Flower Class patrol boat at or near the 12-mile limit. We maneuvered to get the best photos we could of it, but the ChiCom ship would have none of it. He “S” turned hard to keep his bow toward us as we maneuvered violently to get the desired profile shot. This game went on for about five minutes until we saw little white puffs of smoke coming from his front gun mount. Probably warning shots - but we were not sticking around to find out and we didn’t consider it fun being shot at in peace time We dove for the deck and started to hi-tail it (if you can call 200 knots in a lumbering seaplane fast) out of the area. I climbed into my favorite seat in the rear gunner's position where I could get a good going away view of the fading coastline from the unarmed rear bubble. Several miles out, we began climbing for altitude and that’s when I got one of the great shocks of my life. There were two specks several miles behind us at six o’clock high and closing fast. I started screaming into the intercom that we were being intercepted, but was met with dead silence. At first, I thought everyone was shocked into silence, but then realized I had not pressed the mike button (located on the deck) with my foot. After almost ramming my foot and the mike button with it through the aluminum decking, I announced in the calmest voice I could muster that we had two “Flashlights” on our tail. Again a short silence followed by “Ensign Black-are you sure?” By now they were about 1000 yards behind us, coming in fast, and spread out 100 yards apart with the sun glinting off polished aluminum engines and wings. There was no mistaking the Russian YAK-25 twin engine fighter jets with the high “T” tail. I reported “Yes sir- I’m sure!" They were coming up fast and looked like they were either going to make a firing run or go by us on both sides. Again a short silence, then the pilot ordered everyone to get their chutes on, check their Mae Wests and survival gear, and be prepared to jump or ditch if he opened up on us. Boy did that get my attention! We were flying straight away from the coast about as fast as a turtle crawls. Nothing to do then but wait and see what their intentions were. I was damned happy when I recognized they weren’t lined up directly on our tail -- and me. They flew by us on either side about 200 knots faster than we were going. Talk about feeling naked! I felt like I was in the water with a couple of sharks looking me over before taking the first bite. They pulled up and make a turn to port and then came back down our port side flying close formation on a second pass. If I hadn’t been so scared, it would have been a beautiful thing to watch. Then they turned to port again and headed back to China. I don’t know when I have ever been happier to see unwanted visitors leave than that day. In all the tension and excitement of the moment, no one thought to get photos and we all felt stupid - particularly me; the squadron Intelligence Officer. After we got back and I had finished the debriefing, P.I.’ed the rigging photos, and finished all the mandatory reports, it was well after midnight. I slept like a newborn baby that night. A month later, I got to take some photos. This time we were jumped while we were trying to get “Elint” by flying low off the coast and then pulling up fast to catch the radars and other signals before they turned them off. Again, I was in the tail and sighted a speck at our 4 o’clock high and closing. This time, it was a lone MIG 15, but it came around to our six o’clock and slowed till it seemed to just be hanging on our tail about 100 yard out. At that distance, the cannons in the nose looked like a double barrel shot gun at 10 feet staring me straight in the face. The aircraft was dead behind us and there was nothing between him and me, but a quarter inch of Plexiglas. I tried to smile at him. Since that first intercept a month earlier, I had time to think about my own mortality and about my 8-month pregnant wife who had just joined me in Iwakuni from the States. I felt fear, not so much for me, but fear for her and my unborn child if I didn’t come home. A very different reaction, but every bit as sobering. Then I could see the MIG put down his flaps as he was still overtaking us. He moved outboard and flew up our starboard side only fifty feet out. His nose was high as he tried to keep from falling out of the sky; at what for him was a very low speed.Not about to miss the “photo op” this time, I was taking pictures like mad with my own 35 mm camera while the crew was using the big hand held K-20 camera. I waved at him, which was about the only defense we had, and he waved back. For a second or two, two humans from truly different worlds said “Hello” in the only common language we both understood. He flew on by us, retracted his flaps, wiggled his wing, and when we turned away from the coast he moved out several thousand yards, where he shadowed us for another 10 minutes before he left for home. I got a great picture of the aircraft in profile and you can see the Chinese pilot waving. You can count all five of his fingers on his gloved right hand. I would love to meet him now, and talk to him about his thoughts in those days and what his orders were if we had pushed it. Those encounters made me glad I was never in a hot war- the cold one was scary enough for me! I grew up a lot in those few months in the Navy, from a smart-alec kid, just out of college, to a serious young man. Eight months later in Iwakuni, while I was taking our maid home, my car was hit by a train—the Sakura Express. I was transferred back to the states shortly thereafter. But that’s another story for another time. And it’s always better when I tell it after a couple of beers. RADM Bruce Black Rear Admiral (Upper Half) Bruce A. Black, U.S. Naval Reserve retired from the Naval Reserve on July 27, 1996 with a career spanning more than 41 years. Admiral Black joined the Navy as a seaman recruit in January 1955. Following commissioning through Officer Candidate School in Newport, Rhode Island, in 1959, he completed Air Intelligence Officer training, and reported to Patrol Squadron Fifty (VP-SO) stationed in Japan. He completed his active service in 1962, following service as an instructor at Pacific Fleet Air Intelligence Training Center, Alameda, California. Upon release from active service, Admiral Black maintained his affiliation with the Naval Reserve, serving in a variety of technical and leadership positions. Among his assignments have been tours as commanding officer of two Naval Reserve Intelligence units, as a member of the staff of Rear Admiral Martin Andrew, former Director, Naval Reserve Intelligence Program, and as the commander of Reserve Intelligence Area Five (RIA-5), headquartered in Denver, Colorado. Admiral Black served as special assistant to Rear Admiral Gene P. Dickey, the first Commander, Naval Reserve Intelligence Command. Selected for Flag rank in 1990, Admiral Black was designated as the second Commander, Naval Reserve Intelligence Command in June 1992. “It is with great pride in the Navy, the Naval Reserve Intelligence Command, and in you as individuals, that I leave you with the firm conviction that this is the very best Reserve program in the world, and that you as individuals are by definition its key ingredient,” Admiral Black said in remarks to members of the Command during the ceremony “We have proven to the Navy and to others, that we do our job and do it well. We have become indispensable to the active forces --we are ‘first string’ in the accomplishment of the Navy’s mission.” The Naval Reserve Intelligence Command is made up of some 4,000 drilling reservists around the country, supporting over 20 active duty Navy and Joint military commands. During Admiral Black’s tenure as Commander, the program has undergone significant changes. While personnel strength has decreased by 30%, intelligence support has been enhanced through reductions in administrative requirements, and in greatly enhanced electronic connectivity. Personnel working in Reserve units throughout the country can now provide day-to-day support directly to active duty gaining commands, having products delivered on-line when and where needed. Naval Reserve Intelligence personnel are playing an increasingly responsible role in missions of National significance. For example, over one-half of the Naval Reservists called to active duty in support of operations in Bosnia are members of the Naval Reserve Intelligence Command. Command members also hold key leadership positions in operations in the Middle East, as well as in a growing number of Joint military exercises around the world. Nearly 1,000 Command members in the Naval Reserve Command Intelligence Support program (NRCIS) support operational units ranging from the Naval Space Command to Naval Reserve Force ships and aviation squadrons. In civilian life, Rear Admiral Black is the founder and president of Black Oil, Inc., an independent oil and gas exploration company operating from Farmington, New Mexico. Admiral Black earned geology degrees including a B.S. from Texas Western College, and M.S and Ph.D. degrees from the University of New Mexico at Albuquerque. He periodically serves as a distinguished professor of petroleum geology at the University of New Mexico, and is on the board of trustees of the New Mexico Museum of Natural History. He has extensive experience in the management of his own oil and gas exploration consulting firm, and previously in top management positions within the Shell Oil Company. Admiral Black has more than 25 years of extensive consulting experience with both major and independent oil and gas companies (foreign and domestic). He originally trained with Shell Oil Company, specializing in frontier exploration with primary emphasis on source rocks, maturation and migration of hydrocarbons and in new basin “frontier” exploration. He has attained excellent technical expertise combined with outstanding management experience in the petroleum industry. Admiral Black has personal experience in both mineral exploration and hydrology studies. Admiral Black is married to the former Marjorie Manget Watkins; she is the executive assistant to the president of San Juan College. Their son, Bruce Harmon Black, served as an Air Force flight instructor and now lives in Las Vegas, Nevada. Their daughter, Leigh Helen Black, lives in Southern California. Both children work for the Department of Justice. Annual Christmas Party To Set Holiday Mood The annual Christmas party will be held in the ballroom of the San Juan Country Club on December 17th. Festivities will begin at 6:30 p.m. with dinner at 7:30 p.m. Door prizes will be given away to lucky participants. Each member is asked to bring an unwrapped toy that will be contributed to the Marine Corps Toys for Tots program. The toy collection will be presented to the Farmington Fire Department who are acting as a collection point for the program. Each person attending the party must bring an inexpensive “gag” gift to be distributed during the annual gift exchange. The rules for the exchange are as follows:
New National Cemetery Bill Representative Wilson has introduced a bill in U.S. Congress to have a new national cemetery established in Albuquerque. If approved, the legislation will direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to establish a national cemetery for veterans in the Albuquerque metropolitan area. The existing national cemetery in Santa Fe is almost full and most likely will be closed in a few years. Call or write to our legislators and ask them to support this bill. Uniformed Services Health Care TROA is asking for our help! Congress has focused this past year on trying to upgrade the military Tricare system and pushing for expanded pharmacy services for Medicare-eligibles. But there is a continuing need to build on the successful demonstration projects already under way, such as Medicare subvention. This program allows the DoD to enroll Medicare-eligibles for guaranteed care in the Tricare Senior Prime managed care plan. In turn, the Pentagon receives partial reimbursement from Medicare—much like a Medicare health maintenance organization (HMO). More than 27,000 beneficiaries have enrolled in the plan at six demonstration sites, with largely favorable reviews from both beneficiaries and DoD and several DoD officials are on record as supporting program expansion. The Pentagon is already drafting the proposed defense budget the President will submit to Congress in February 2000. You can help by signing and mailing the enclosed pre-addressed letter to the Secretary of Defense. This letter urges the Secretary to seek budget provisions that would expand subvention coverage to 10 new sites, repeal the expiration date for the test program and ultimately extend coverage nationwide. You can help even more by giving your letter a personalized “punch” with a handwritten note at the bottom.
Legislative Contact Information President Garcia and Legislative Committee Chairman Lee have provided this list of our legislators and their addresses for your information Hon. Pete V. Domenici (R) Hon. Jeff Bingaman (D) Hon. Tom Udall (3rd Disc, D) NM State Senators: Hon. Ray Kysar (Dist 1 (R)) Hon. R.L. Stockard (Dist 2 (R)) Hon. John Pinto (Dist 3 (D)) NM State Representatives: Hon. Jerry Sandel (Dist 1 (D)) Hon. Thomas C. Taylor (Dist 2 (R)) Hon. Sandra L. Townsend (Dist. 3 (R)) Hon. Ray Begay (Dist 4 (D)) Hon. Leo Watchman, Jr. By Al Garcia On behalf of the Officers, Board of Directors and their spouses, I'd like to thank you for the enthusiastic support you provided as we all went through the process of becoming a full fledged chapter of The Retired Officers Organization in this part of the State. Each of you played an important role in this successful endeavor. As you know, we were a sub-chapter of the Albuquerque Chapter for 18 years. Many of you questioned that affiliation and that gave impetus to forming the committee that explored the possibility of forming our own chapter. Your "aye" vote of confidence contributed greatly to moving the administrative requirements to final approval and we became chartered on October 22, 1999. This in itself can be considered the mark of success for this year. However, we have gone further then being chartered. We are developing our organizational scheme and many of you are volunteering to fill the staff positions and committees required to make the chapter a viable part of our community. There is much to be done as we set goals for the future. Each of you will get an opportunity to serve. We are moving into the new millennium as a fresh new entity. We wish each of you the best of the Holiday Season. May your Christmas stockings be filled with joy and lots of goodies. May the year 2000 be one full of happiness and success in all your endeavors. God bless our country to continue in its greatness!
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