The Whiskey Papa reference in the blog title is simply the phonetic characterization of my ATC operating initials. As to the title of this post, when I was on my first enlistment in the Navy and trying to persuade a buddy or two that we ought to test in some way the bounds of our indenture to Uncle Sam, the kicker was always, "What are they gonna do. . . turn us into frogs and send us to Adak?" Well, sure enough. . .
I was assigned to the
GCA Unit at
Adak from December 1969 to December 1970. Early on I managed to get a Minolta
SRT-101 and ease my way into the Wonderful World of Photography. This picture near Candlestick Bridge at the entrance to Clam Lagoon is one of my earliest shots. The grey days, mirrored everywhere by the residual snow and the cold waters of
Kuluk Bay, seemed to fit nicely with the island's black volcanic sand.
On occasion the clouds, if not the isolation, were swept away and we were reminded that even
Adak belonged to the same solar system as Florida and California. This view of the control tower and Operations Building, with Bearing Hill and Mt Reed in the background, is from the
GCA trailer next to Runway 23.
Special Services arranged a seal hunt in Expedition Harbor off
Adak's west coast. Our transportation was
USS Ute (
ATF-76). The slots for this adventure were divided among shooters and observers (my camera and I were observers) and, though the weather ranged from
vicious to merely lousy, everyone aboard was able to experience
mal-de-mer first hand. The shot above is the fleet tug,
USS Ute, from the long boat.
This shot, taken from
Ute, is of a small Zodiac full of hunters with Mt
Vincennes in the background. By mid-afternoon everyone had their shots: the hunters had their seals, the observers had their pictures and everyone was ready to make way back to the base.
Many, if not all, of the divisions on the base had, by one means or another, assumed possession of a cabin or
Quanset hut for division parties. Few of these places, mostly surplus WWII buildings, were more than shacks and provided only meager protection from the elements. The Air Traffic Control Division, however, had inherited a cozy, pine-panelled cabin with a bar, indoor plumbing, and a picture window looking out over Sweeper Cove. It was a great place for a party and a fine place to watch sea otters feeding and playing under the small cliff. The picture above is taken from the
ATC cabin looking northeast over the cove,
Kuluk Bay, and the Bering Sea to the Great
Sitkin volcano, 23 miles away.
One night we were blessed with a full moon and clearing cloud cover. I took the
GCA radio truck to the approach end of Runway 23 with my camera, tripod, cable-release, gloves and a heavy parka and experimented for the first time with time exposures. I was very pleased with this view of
Kuluk Bay. . . and very, very cold.
I was assigned to the GCA Unit at Adak from December 1969 to December 1970. Early on I managed to get a Minolta SRT-101 and ease my way into the Wonderful World of Photography. This picture near Candlestick Bridge at the entrance to Clam Lagoon is one of my earliest shots. The grey days, mirrored everywhere by the residual snow and the cold waters of Kuluk Bay, seemed to fit nicely with the island's black volcanic sand.
On occasion the clouds, if not the isolation, were swept away and we were reminded that even Adak belonged to the same solar system as Florida and California. This view of the control tower and Operations Building, with Bearing Hill and Mt Reed in the background, is from the GCA trailer next to Runway 23.
Special Services arranged a seal hunt in Expedition Harbor off Adak's west coast. Our transportation was USS Ute (ATF-76). The slots for this adventure were divided among shooters and observers (my camera and I were observers) and, though the weather ranged from vicious to merely lousy, everyone aboard was able to experience mal-de-mer first hand. The shot above is the fleet tug, USS Ute, from the long boat.
This shot, taken from Ute, is of a small Zodiac full of hunters with Mt Vincennes in the background. By mid-afternoon everyone had their shots: the hunters had their seals, the observers had their pictures and everyone was ready to make way back to the base.
Many, if not all, of the divisions on the base had, by one means or another, assumed possession of a cabin or Quanset hut for division parties. Few of these places, mostly surplus WWII buildings, were more than shacks and provided only meager protection from the elements. The Air Traffic Control Division, however, had inherited a cozy, pine-panelled cabin with a bar, indoor plumbing, and a picture window looking out over Sweeper Cove. It was a great place for a party and a fine place to watch sea otters feeding and playing under the small cliff. The picture above is taken from the ATC cabin looking northeast over the cove, Kuluk Bay, and the Bering Sea to the Great Sitkin volcano, 23 miles away.
One night we were blessed with a full moon and clearing cloud cover. I took the GCA radio truck to the approach end of Runway 23 with my camera, tripod, cable-release, gloves and a heavy parka and experimented for the first time with time exposures. I was very pleased with this view of Kuluk Bay. . . and very, very cold.
Bill - So very interesting...your pictures are fantastic and such descriptive writing! I look forward to your posts.
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