Robert Slaughter, CTI1 USN Retired, 1960-1980 When I started reading these stories I thought to myself that I wasn't going to bother with this. But, I keep reading them as they are posted, and while my story isn't much different I find myself wanting to go ahead and add my experiences. I graduated from a small Kansas High School in 1958. I then enrolled for the fall semester at Kansas State University. Wow, college was great-parties and girls and more parties and girls! Study what!!! So, three semesters later and two schools had indicated that I probably shouldn't worry about coming back with that wonderful gpa that I hadn't accumulated. So, the next six months or so I just sort of maintained. Nineteen years old, wild and stupid and going nowhere fast, I ran into a couple of guys that were leaving the next morning to be inducted into the Navy and they suggested that I go with them. We could go in on the buddy program and be together. So, I did. I got along just fine in boot camp at San Diego. I'll never forget the first 3 weeks on Nimitz Island. The company commander, a grizzled Chief Machinist Mate, was looking for people who had been to college for his Recruit Petty Officers. One guy had graduated from college and I had been to college and had two semesters of Army ROTC and I was a very good typist (in high school I took typing because all the girls did, and I got typing in the 80's with minimal mistakes). So, the graduate became the Recruit Chief Petty Officer, and I became the Company Yeoman. That was the cake of all. I signed all the musters, and any chits that were needed had to go through me, everybody treated me extra special. The other bright spot was the Marines just on the other side of the fence that made for a lot yelling back and forth and a lot of promises of what would happen when we met without the fence between us. Like most of everyone else I guess I did quite well on the battery of tests we had to take. When I met with the guy to determine what I wanted to strike for I had no clue, because I had planned to let the Navy teach me how to be an electrician (so I would be able to get a job when I got out). But, when I went through my physical testing at Kansas City, I found out that I was color blind with red and green, and that didn't work too good for electronics. So, finally, I thought I'll go into the SeaBees. My grandfather, my father, my brother-in-law, and a couple of uncles were carpenters. And, I had worked as a carpenter, so they need builders, don't they. But, the guy told me the only way I could get in was if I had a brother or a father that was currently a SeaBee. Then he said, "how about being a CT? Your scores that would work for a CT are very good." You know the rest of the story (sorry Paul Harvey). What is a CT I ask? And here is where he reeled me in hook, line and sinker. "Well, they are kinda like spies doing real secret stuff. You probably won't have to go to sea, unless of course that was where you were needed. But, mostly you would be assigned to shore duty." So, I thought alllright!! Then, he asked me what branch did I want to go into? Well, I had no clue, and since I could type I thought the Admin branch would be fine. That did it. I left boot camp with orders in hand to go to YN SCHL at Bainbridge, MD. While there, they were giving a test for people with the right GCT scores that wanted to go to Language School. So, I took the test and passed. Some 3rd class who acted like he knew it all told me that they never gave you what you wanted so you just as well put any strange language you didn't want down for your three choices. That was the last time that I listened to someone who thought they were a salt that really knew something about the Navy. I went ahead and put down Burmese, Indonesian and Bulgarian. They gave me Bulgarian! Anyway, I went to DLIWC at Monterey for a year of language training and then to Karamursel, Turkey. When I got to Karamursel my clearance hadn't come in yet, so I was a door guard handing out badges and buzzing people in for about 3 months. Finally, I got into ops and found out that the "I" branchers were mainly watch standers and the "A" brancers were dayworkers. So I talked the department chief into letting me be his yeoman so I could be a dayworker. But after a month or so of that I begged to go back into the "I" branch spaces and I loved it. I remained an "I" brancher for the rest of my career. I eventually went on to Spanish Language school. I almost went back for Russian, but decided not too. Like so many, I treasure my Navy time and right now I would go back if I could. And, like so many, I believe that my dear wife and the United States Navy not only saved my life, but gave my a very rewarding life!