One of the cool things about going through the technical school - in this case the CTM training or "A" school was that you would be assigned to a cohort of fellow CTM wannabes and you would progress through the pipeline together. Obviously you would discuss with your fellow classmates the potential duty stations that you wanted to go to and during the process you filled out your "dream sheet" of duty stations that you'd like to go to. This dream sheet is passed to the CTM detailer and if your desires meet the needs of the Navy, you have a good chance of getting what you want. However, if the needs of the Navy do not fit into your desires you have to suck it up and go where ordered. During my Navy career I was very successful in making sure that my desires matched the needs of the Navy and I was very lucky to be assigned to some of the most interesting missions and locations possible!
About a month before the end of CTM A school you get your orders. Like I mentioned before the CTM career field had a lot of technical training options and it could be possible that I would be "ordered" to attend more advanced training - in some cases up to another year of school was possible with no idea where my first duty station would be. A few of my classmates received these type of orders and I was thankful at the time because I was really itching to get out to the fleet and make a difference. Anyway, when it was time for our cohort to receive our orders the career counsellor came in to our class and started calling out names and then telling us our next assignments. My heart was pounding through my chest when my name was called, I answer with "yes Chief?" and he responded to me, "how do you like the cold? Iceland!" Iceland? Holy cow! I didn't see that one coming!
I had heard nothing but great things from other Sailors that had been stationed in Iceland but nothing prepared me for this news. I was excited about the possibility of going there but also terrified about the prospect of leaving the US for the first time in my life and I was doing it on my own at 19 years of age! However, as part of my assignment to Iceland I was also ordered to Ft. Gordon Georgia for 4 more months of advanced technical training. This training prepared me for the specific systems that I would be responsible for while assigned to the land of "Fire and Ice".
I arrived in Iceland via military transport in January of 1986. I left in March of 1987. During my tour two significant events occurred while I was there that put Iceland (and the Keflavik Naval Air Station in particular) on the world stage. The first was the release of Tom Clancy's novel "Red Storm Rising" and the second was the Reagan/Gorbachev summit.
I flew Arrow Air from Philadelphia to Keflavik Naval Air Station
At the time the Keflavik Naval Air Station also doubled up as the international airport for Iceland. The capital, Reykjavic is about 30 miles away so the airport was within and hours drive of nearly half the population of the country. The Naval Air Station closed in 2006 but has since been supporting NATO operations. As recently as last year, the US Navy has based an anti-Submarine squadron there. Keflavik is a small fishing village located just off the base and it is located on the Reykjanes peninsula in southwest Iceland. I was assigned to a small tenant station located off the main base about ten miles away near the Rockville Air Station location.
My first duty station location. The large building right center of this picture
Being assigned to this duty station was very interesting. For starters, every time we went on and off base we had to go through customs. Because everything was very expensive in Iceland, the risk of contraband (cigarettes, alcohol, coffee, etc) being sold to the locals was very high and the Icelandic government wanted to avoid that. Also, because I was only an E4 at the time, I was subject to a curfew and could not be off the base (unless in an official military role) after 10PM. This curfew applied to all personnel E5 and below. The only exception was if I had a special request authorized by my commanding officer. The reason for this was simple demographics, think about it. In one corner of an island with only 300,000 inhabitants was a military base that had over 5,000 foreign troops. It would be devastating to the country and economy if we were all allowed to run amuck and marry the locals and take them off the island. If this was allowed, there would be a gender gap that would take generations to recover! In US numbers, think about the impact if there was a military base with 5 million foreign troops located 30 miles from New York City and you quickly get the impact potential!
Since it was January when I first arrived in Iceland it was dark when we landed. I do remember as the plane was taxiing to the gate that way off in the distance across the Flaxifloi Bay I could see the twinkling of the lights of Reykjavic. Because it was cold and windy, the lights from this distance seemed to dance around and invite me to explore it, however I was very tired and hoping to god that my sponsor would be there to pick me up and get me to my barracks room as soon as possible. He was and I was very thankful for that. His name was also Dave so that made it easy to remember. Dave picked me up, took me over to the barracks to check me in, took me over to the club to get something to eat and then took me back to my barracks room with a plan to meet me in the morning to take me out to the site for in-processing. The next couple of weeks were a blur but while I was getting used to the routine of the shift that I was working I do remember that at some point the sun would rise in the late morning and set not much after noon. This was very hard to get used to but I was on an adventure and really digging the change of scenery. Only 360 more days till I left!
The job was pretty routine, I performed preventative and corrective maintenance on the equipment I was trained on and also picked up other tasks as required by my supervisor. Our shift schedule was known as a "2-2-2-80" which meant that we worked two 8-hour day shifts and after the second day shift we would come back 8 hours later and work two 8-hour mid shifts and after the second mid shift we would come back 8 hours later and work two 8-hour evening shifts. After the second evening shift we had 80 hours of "liberty" and then would start the cycle all over again. The Navy has many different types of work schedules to cover down over a 24-hour day. I've seen them all but this one was by far the most brutal to the body. Fortunately I was very young and resilient and didn't really need that much sleep - there was too much to see and do and partying was my top priority!
Several of the things I did while based in Iceland:
- See the geysers
- Experience the Blue Lagoon before it became a tourist attraction. Basically all the buildings in Iceland are heated with geo-thermal heating from the earths crust. Iceland sits on top of a large rift zone between continental plates and as a result, the magma is near the surface. All of Iceland is a recent volcanic lava field and everywhere I went on the island, there was evidence of recent eruptions. The Blue Lagoon is actually a lake that receives "exhaust water" from a geo-thermal plant that supplies heating to most of the southwest Iceland region. When we went, the lagoon was not developed for tourism and we could literally drive up to the waters edge, take off our clothes and get in the water. I remember vividly my hair being frozen while being in water that was at least 100 degrees Fahrenheit while looking up at the northern lights!
- See the Fine Young Cannibals and Madness in concert in Reykjavik. It was one of the most amazing concerts I've ever been to. Simply an out of this world (and body) experience.
- Go 4-wheeling on a glacier near Thingvellir National Park. We literally stayed in one of the houses in this picture.
- Be a witness to the Reagan/Gorbachov summit. They both flew into the international airport and I was fortunate enough to witness both motorcades as they left the base on their way to the Hofdi house in Reykjavik.
While I did many other things in Iceland most of the time was spent working and getting my certifications necessary for job advancement. Before I knew it my tour was over and because this duty station was considered a remote overseas tour I had the advantage of getting preference on my dream sheet for my next duty station. I wanted to get to London and fortunately there was an available billet. I was so excited about this next chapter in my life. Little did I know at that time but London was to shape my life in ways I never imagined!
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