This is the tale of three women who met in the early 1980s while stationed in a Combat Logistics Support Squadron at McClellan Air Force Base in Sacramento, California.
All were members of the United States Air Force, each was married to a male member of the United States military, and all were intelligent, clever, and gregarious. They met, discovered common interests and peculiarities, and almost immediately bonded. They became friends for life.
I haven’t written much of my time in the Air Force. I loved it, and I had what I considered great success, but after only 4 years, I was disappointed that unless I agreed to retrain as a jet engine mechanic, the Air Force no longer needed or wanted me. Their loss. What I gained in the 4 years I served though is priceless, and these two women are among my greatest treasures.
Cindy was a supply officer. Carol and I were both enlisted. In the Air Force, there was a rule against “fraternizing” between officers and enlisted. That means we were not supposed to form friendships between the two social classes the AF recognized. Because we were clever (see above) I guess we were ahead of our time and instituted our own don’t ask, don’t tell rule. We beat the official government policy by 12 years.
Carol also worked in supply and I worked in the orderly room, which is the administrative hub of an Air Force squadron (an AF operational unit). Our combat logistics support squadron was responsible for the repair and maintenance of deployed (in position for military action and support), battle damaged aircraft all over the world. We joked that our main repair techniques involved bubble gum and baling wire.
Though it was peacetime, members of our unit were often deployed with aircraft and other equipment all over the world. We had a large number of squadron members in Saudi Arabia. One of our biggest challenges before the internet and cell phones was communication and helping everyone deployed feel connected to their home unit and what was happening with their families and friends. Once notified, our squadron was required to deploy within 24 hours. To facilitate the mission, our squadron had state of the art, mobile, high tech tool boxes before they were generally available for public use.
Cindy, Carol, and I cooked up a scheme to write a weekly newsletter that was both informative and entertaining. I had the experience of being editor of both my high school and college newspapers so we felt we could do a credible job. News and information comes and goes without being memorable 40-some years later, but we decided to write a serialized soap opera type column to impart the social and entertainment events of the squadron. We “invented” three women and called them “Broads in Space.” They were the gossip mongers and ditzes-in-residence who kept everyone in the know. Though the 3 Broads in Space weren’t exactly patterned after the 3 of us, their personalities were close enough for government work.
Cindy, Carol, and I had a ball writing and distributing that newsletter. It was a lot of work over and above our regular duties, but the reward was the feedback we got from our squadron members who were on temporary duty far and wide around the globe. They looked forward to the news from home whenever they got it. I think back then it was delivered by fax, which was then the fastest way to transmit a paper document halfway around the world.
I separated from the Air Force in 1984, unwilling to become a jet engine mechanic. Cindy stayed on active duty until 1986, then transitioned to the AF Reserve until she retired as a Lt Colonel in 1995. She and her husband Dan spent many years in and around Seattle, WA and in 2018 happily retired about 45 minutes north of Spokane where Cindy grew up. They built a new lake home on property that has been in Cindy’s family for years. She and Dan are visiting me and Randy this week. We’ve had a blast remembering the past and making new memories.
Carol spent a total of 6 years in the Air Force, a short time to have achieved the rank of E-6 (Technical Sergeant) and was named one of the 12 Outstanding Airman of the Air Force one of those years, an elite honor. She was smart and funny, a little ditzy, but in the most charming way possible. She never took herself too seriously. Cindy and I have been close in all the years since we met, and though we never lost touch with Carol, after we no longer worked together she wasn’t as close with either of us as Cindy and I have been.
In 2021 we reconnected and the three of us decided to schedule a monthly video chat to make sure we stayed current in each other’s lives. We talked about resurrecting Broads in Space as a Facebook page or some other social media boondoggle. We never did. We chatted monthly for 3 or 4 months, but Carol usually either forgot about the scheduled call or was too busy with her horses and other animals to participate. A single woman, she owned and kept up a mini-ranch in the Sierra Nevada foothills near Placerville. After several failed attempts we just stopped scheduling the monthly calls. Then sadly, in November of 2022, I saw on Facebook a notice from her sister that she had died in October of a massive heart attack while tending to her horses. I wrote a short tribute to my good friend on 68andCounting. You’ll find it here, if you’re interested.
Cindy and I still can’t believe she’s gone. We raised a glass (or two) of adult beverages to Broads in Space this week. Such great memories of a sweet time in our lives.
P.S. Hoping to hear a date about the necessary second surgery this week. The hole that opened up at the incision is not going to heal without surgical intervention. Please, if you’re so inclined, keep praying.
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