MISSION 1 - LAFB; CAN YOU TYPE
LAFB was simply overwhelmed. New Enlistees were arriving by Plane, Train, bus and cabs. The processing line extended about a mile from the processing office all the way back to the Parade ground. When I was finally next at the door a very distressed Staff Sergeant was at the door and as he looked over the never-ending line at the door, he looked at me and asked "Can you type?" I said "Yes", and he then said come here. I went in and he sat me down at a table with a typewriter and some forms. I asked what am I going to do and he said: "You are going to write their Insurance, and with a little guidance, I proceeded to do my first AF Job.This was the Governments Old National Life Insurance (NSLI). $10,000 was the maximum available and the average cost was about $6.20 per month. A very few had no one to leave as beneficiary and a few suggested that I put myself down. Didn't thing that was a good idea, so I just put Estate.
Several of us were pulled out to help process others. This was the 3700 Personnel Processing Squadron. This resulted in cutting short their basic training with the intent to send us back to finish later and then come back and continue as working. That was the way it worked out - with one slight exception. Before my name got corrected to drop the "D" off Donald B. Wright and another in our office was a Donald R Wright. When they started sending everyone back to complete basic, it included Donald R. He had he had already completed basic, but they made him go back and do it all again. I just kept my head down and kept typing on that old manual Remington. Anyway, I never had much Basic training. I did fire the Carbine and shot "Sharpshooter"...
Part of the 3700 PPRON included the HRRC (Human Resources Research Center) and some of our duties included testing, grading, evaluating, interviewing and assignments. In the beginning all this was pretty well over my head but in processing thousands of new enlistees, it did not take long to learn to apply the needs of the Air Force with the desires and qualifications o the young Airmen. I like to think I served the needs of both...The Air Force was growing so fast that the Personnel Processing was split off to two other locations. Samson in NY and Shepard AFB TX. Fortunately, I was in the third that was kept at Lackland.
With four years in the same office, many friendships developed. Some went on to make the Air Force a career. As they scattered around over the world, many ended up in positions of influence. It was always nice to know you had long term friends in the right places.
This mission ended on 12-27-54 and a new one started on 02-02-55 @ Perrin AFB Texas....
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