I was 19 years old when I arrived at U-Tapao, and only 4 days later I turned 20. It was a long tour which was strung out even longer by the waiting and the anticipation of the day I would eventually be united with my K-9 Group. I met a lot of friends and grew up an awful lot in that year and it was a time well spent that I wouldn’t give up for anything. Unlike many of the other handlers who arrived in teams, I arrived by myself.
I expected to be met on the tarmac by the Kennelmaster, holding my newly assigned four legged companion by the leash in the left hand and pointing the direction to the kennels with his right. As you know by now, my life in K-9 at U-Tapao didn’t start for 9 long months but when it did, I made up for lost time. One of my very best friends, that I could confide in, was the K-9 Training NCO, TSgt. Benjamin Cox. Ben always treated me with such respect and always coaxed me to better myself and made me feel proud of my accomplishments no matter how small they were. I always felt comfortable working with him and spending off-time with him. Also, TSgt. Tom Swartz, the Kennelmaster, made my K-9 tour at U-Tapao very easy and enjoyable. He trusted me and complimented me on work well done which only made me work harder for him. Both TSgt’s played major parts in getting me though a rough time in my life.
I spent a lot of time with the Thai guards, trying to learn their language, and I even helped many of the newly arriving K-9 Airmen to learn most of the “Basic” words, money exchange (baht), and customs. Unlike the English alphabet of 26 characters, the Thai alphabet has 44 characters.
I’m probably always going to be remembered for the time I lost the deuce and a half and I swear that some “camoy”, (thief), relocated it from where I parked it. Fortunately, we recovered it or I’d probably still be paying for it today!
The K-9 group was tightly knit and we took care of most problems internally. We tried hard to support and cover for each other during instances of a little too much drink imbibed, divorce, stress, and loneliness.
All in all, U-Tapao was a learning experience that taught most of us how to handle stress and gave us the ability to learn how to make new friends that would last a lifetime. |
