Recollections — South Dade
Although I spent only four years in the U.S. Navy, its recollections have been surfacing for a time. Perhaps it was the relatively-young age of my shipmates (and me) that etched such a long-lasting impression on my psyche.
After having spent nearly six months in ‘A School’ in West Florida, (Corry Field, Pensacola), I received orders to a Naval Security Group [NAVSECGRU] field station in South Dade County, Florida. New to the business of electronic surveillance and cryptography, I had no inkling of what the day-to-day work would entail.
In the pre-TSA days of travel, the flight from Pensacola to Miami International was short, pleasant and uneventful. I had never before been exposed to a dual-language environment, and was intrigued by signs printed in English and Spanish. With some reservations, I would grow to appreciate the influences of Latin (mostly Cuban) culture on that part of south Florida.
As I recall, it was probably a bus ride from Miami which delivered me, bag and baggage, to Homestead Air Force Base. The NAVSECGRU, a small contingency of communicators, intercept operators and the ilk, was a tenant activity of the Air Force base. Homestead A.F.B. had been downgraded from a Strategic Air Command (aka ‘SAC’) operation to a Tactical Air Command (TAC) operation before my arrival there. During the Cold War, SAC-based B-52s were aloft 24/7…
