Top Secret

It was 1965 and I had just completed Navy boot camp. My next assignment was 26 weeks of Training to become a Radioman. The manpower build up had gotten ahead of the physical facilities to handle the ever-increasing flow of young men. This created a large group of men waiting for their schools to begin, with nothing to do.
Each morning we would muster in front of the Transition HQ and slowly be sent on work parties. It was mostly “make work” as 10 would be sent where only one was needed. There was a joke about sweeping the compound where the only thing they were sweeping were the pieces of the brooms that broke off while sweeping the day before.

I wanted to do something more, so I went to the HQ early and volunteered for a real job.

I became a courier for a Top Secret Class C School. The school was on the far end of the base, so I was assigned my own bicycle for transportation. I arrived at the school each morning, made coffee for the students and teachers. The rest of the day I had to keep the fresh coffee coming and deliver and pick up mail between the School and various other offices on the base. I still didn’t have my Top Secret clearance, so I couldn’t have a key to the school. This was a problem as the teachers wanted to have hot fresh coffee when they arrived. After a few days the officer in charge came up with a plan. One window would be left unlocked and a trashcan would be placed nearby. Each morning I would arrive at least 15 minutes early and move the trashcan under the window, slide the window up and crawl into the Top Secret school room and make fresh coffee.

©2009