Rivet Ball
In the early hours of January 13th, 1969 I was forced to accept something that I had known for a while, but had pushed to the back of my mind: I was mortal and was going to die.
This was the first of several incidents when my chance of survival was a good deal less than 1 in 2. This wasn’t the scariest, but it was the first, and following on the heels of the terrible events of 1968, it had the biggest impact.
In the end the only “death” was an airplane, Rivet Ball, the Air Force’s only RC-135S. The military version of the Boeing 707, the fuselage broke in half, like an eggshell, on impact. A very talented pilot, John Achor, the aircraft commander, was responsible for that miracle.
I provide more detail on my other site.
3 comments
The first was the hardest for me, because I started to 2nd guess myself, which I knew was a sure way to death. But it wasn’t for my sake, I’d lost a team mate & friend, and didn’t want to loose any more. It was the first time I took a bullet which the body armor stopped most of. I had a decent bruise from the impact, but I wasn’t really bothered by it. 🙂 I had to get my shit together, or loose more good men. I couldn’t accept that. My guys started complaining after the incident, because I made them train and practice a lot more often after. 😀 It saved lives. If you have to think what to do, your chances of survival diminish. If it’s an automatic reflex, your chances increased. So, I drilled us all mercilessly between missions! I lost two people during my career… My captain, and my best friend I grew up with. That was two too many. Neither was my fault or avoidable (short of not going on the missions that is), but that doesn’t make it any easier. 🙂
I have no idea where my luck came from, any more than you do. 🙂 But I am glad you had it m8. 😀 You must have been a tight crew. 🙂 It’s a great feeling! 😀
You know… for all that I hated some of what we did and the places I had to go, and the things I saw… I do miss the team. 🙂 We were tighter than family, knew more about each other than our families ever knew! Our lives depended on each other 100% every day. It’s a bond that doesn’t really diminish much over time. I miss it, a lot! I am surrounded by people who call themselves friends. but in truth, they have no idea what that means. They have their own agenda’s, want’s and needs, and mine come just about last. 🙂 Way it is, in society. In the SF teams, to each individual, everyone else came first, the individual came second. 🙂 I used to tell *friends* that, and some didn’t believe me or understand. But it quite simple. It’s even selfish in a way! 😀 In the field, when others are trying to kill you, there is strength in numbers. An individual’s chances of survival are best when the other team members survive. Your chances decrease for every member you loose. 🙂 Of course, we never thought of it that way, we truly were selfless (to a point, being stupidly *heroic* just put’s everyone in danger), but it is true nonetheless. 🙂
Cheers my friend. Truly glad you made it. The World is a better place, for me anyway. 😀
” In the field, when others are trying to kill you, there is strength in numbers. An individual’s chances of survival are best when the other team members survive. Your chances decrease for every member you loose”
If the Romneybot V3.0 is elected President and the robot apocalypse happens, the survivors will be those who most embody and hold that above to heart. My bet here in the United States is the Mormons — they are organized, disciplined, and accustomed to working for the greater good of those of their faith. I always tell folks who think about accumulating gold and building well-stocked bunkers in preparation for the collapse of civilization that they have a better chance if they move to a small town in Utah, convert to Mormonism, and become a member of the Chamber of Commerce and a personal friend of the local temple elders, Sheriff and National Guard detachment. And I remind them that you can’t eat gold, and suggest to them that they stock up on beans, rice, and seeds instead :).
The team is the key to survival and success. You are, perhaps, closer than family because you can’t see and hear everything, so you depend on everyone doing their job and protecting your blind spots, as you protect theirs.
An individual can survive alone, but only as long as there are no other humans around. Most animals, even predators, leave humans alone, but other humans will hunt them down, especially if the individual has resources. People who think they will be safe in their bunker when everything goes wrong are living in an alternate world, as Adolf Hitler would have told them if he hadn’t died in a bunker.
Yes, Badtux, survival takes a ‘village’ at a minimum.