Joseph L. Morrison, CTACS USN/USNR Retired, 1959-1979 While undergoing classification at NRTC San Diego in February 1959, the classifier (a PN1) told me that my basic battery scores were "very good" and that I qualified for several different "A" schools. Ever since watching the old "Victory At Sea" series on TV as a boy, I had been interested in naval aviation and had always pictured myself serving on a fast attack carrier in an "airdale" rate of some sort. Just as we were starting to discuss some of them, a PO1 walked through the office with a coffee cup in his hand on his way to the coffee mess. As it turned out, he was the CT classifier. As he was walking by, the PN1 asked him, "Hey Bill (or some other name?), are you interested in a "68/66" (which happened to be my GCT and clerical scores). "Bill" replied, "Yeah, send him to my office". The CT classifier ask me if I could type and I told him "no". He asked me if I had ever been arrested or been in any trouble and I told him "no". He asked me if I knew what a CT was and I told him "no". He told me that CT's performed "special communications duties" and that was about all he could tell me since most of the work was classified. I asked him if CT's ever served on aircraft carriers and he replied something to the effect that "CT's serve just about every place in the navy". That was good enough for me. He then told me that I was eligible for both CT "A" branch and CT "O" branch schools and when I asked the difference, he more or less said that "A" branch was sort of like a Yeoman and "O" branch operated teletypes and other communications equipment. Since I was somewhat aware of YN duties, I said that "A" branch sounded pretty good and that was pretty much all there was to it. A few days later, I was called back to the CT classifier's office and started the process of filling out the necessary paper work (PHS) for the background investigation. When I returned to my company from this task, I was greeted by my company commander, a salty old BTC. He looked at me and said, "Ladd, you lucked out". I was not really sure of what he meant at the time, but it turned out that the chief was right (as usual). I am convinced that if the CT classifier had not walked by the PN1's desk on the way to the coffee mess at the time that I happened to be sitting there, I would not have ended up serving with the greatest organization and the greatest personnel in the United States Navy, and my life would have been entirely different. I had no father with "connections", I had no older brother or other relatives with prior NAVSECGRU service, I could not type nor could I copy Morse code whatsoever. I truly did "luck out". Joe Morrison, CTACS, Ret. USN 1959-70 USNR-R 1970-1979