Return to Lemoore - December 1970

The thing I was most looking to on my return to Lemoore was being able to spend more time with Jackie and the boys. She had been great about writing and staying connected while I was on the America. One thing that really stands out in my memory is how much John Fiorella one of my friends and squadron mates loved the chocolate chip cookies she sent. I would make him act like an airplane and fly around the flight deck before he could have any. Since Jackie was working in the Credit Union on base and I had my job as a member of VA 147 we looked forward to the weekends to get out and go places. We went to Kings Canyon National Park, to the Kings River and a big park in Lemoore for picnics with the boys and friends, we even took the boys and went to Lake Isabella near Bakersfield to meet my parents and camp.

While the America was headed for home I completed the practical and written examinations on Quality Assurance techniques and that qualified me to be a Collateral Duty Inspector and I was assigned to be a Collateral Duty Inspector on the A7. This changed my daily job duties in the sense that I spent the majority of my time learning to be a troubleshooter on the aircraft and was assigned to the troubleshooting division which was made up of CD Inspectors from all rates. As a E5 Aviation Fire Control Technician I had greater leadership responsibility in the trouble shooting division. I spent much of my work day on the flight line doing pre and post flights on aircraft during flight operations. 

Needless to say flight ops were a lot less stressful on land than on the deck of an aircraft carrier but there was always the pressure that came with being the person who gave a pilot the thumbs up to fly after confirming that his aircraft was safe to fly.

One of the things I really enjoyed this time at Lemoore was playing on the squadron softball team. We played other squadrons as well as teams from other parts of the base. It was fun to be on the same team with our commanding officer, he was a really good guy. 

On the first of May I got my next Enlisted Performance Evaluation:

"Petty Officer ANSTEY is assigned to the Troubleshooters Branch of the Line Division. He is responsible for using test equipment for the scheduled and unscheduled maintenance of aircraft. His military duties include Squadron Petty Officer of the Watch and Barracks Police Petty Officer.

Having an extensive technical knowledge of his rate and related fields Petty Officer ANSTEY is an extremely competent and reliable troubleshooter. He possesses a high degree of initiative and works well independently. He readily accepts the responsibilities and duties assigned to him and has demonstrated an excellent capacity for efficiently directing his subordinates. His appearance is consistently excellent. Petty Officer ANSTEY associates extremely well with his contemporaries and is a definite asset to the morale of the Division. His command of the English is average. He is highly recommended for advancement and reenlistment."

Apparently Jackie had a positive influence on me. 

After asking several times Jackie agreed to marry me and on June 5, 1971 we were married in West Covina, California. It was a small but nice wedding followed by a reception at my parent's home in Hacienda Heights. We did't have a lot of time or money for a honeymoon but we had fun taking the boys to Magic Mountain and then Jackie and I got to spend a few days camping on the beach in Mexico before we both had to get back to work in Lemoore.

While we still had to work during the week and occasionally I would have watches on the weekend, we wanted to make the most of our time together before VA 147 would be deployed aboard the USS Constellation for a return to Vietnam, my third. We continued to do as much to have fun together with our friends and as a family including going to Hacienda Heights on some weekends. This picture was taken in July at my parents house there. 

On July 11, 1971 I completed all of the practical factors for promotion to First Class E6 so the only thing standing between me was time in grade as an E5. I don't remember exactly how much longer I needed but I knew it would require reenlisting so that wasn't going to happen. I was still proud of the fact that I would be eligible though. 

Before deployment though we still had sea duty aboard the Connie. On August 1st I received orders to work on the flight deck when we were stationed aboard the ship for several weeks in San Diego. That time was described pretty well in the book, Connie: The USS Constellation and the last 50-Star Union Jack by Greg Martinez who was a member of the ship's company on the Connie.

"During August 1971, all officers and sailors of Carrier Air Wing Nine (CVW-9) would all be coming aboard... We were going out to sea for longer periods of time --- three days, five days, ten days with a couple of days in port, then back out to sea, During this time, almost non-stop, we would practice general quarter drills, air operations, simulated combat conditions, drills, drills, and more drills."  

After that deployment we had just over a month before we had to report aboard the Connie for our return to Vietnam.