German Air Force - Basic Training

October 1st, 1987 I was called for active duty at the 5th Air Force Training Regiment (Luftwaffenausbildungsregiment 5) in Essen Kupferdreh, in the middle of the Ruhr Region in Western Germany. Previously I had to undergo a military physical in Hannover, which I passed and then take an aptitude test, again in Hannover. The aptitude test resulted in my not being suitable for flight service (no surprise there with my poor vision and color blindness) or Air Traffic Control duty but instead, I was very well qualified for radio communications. Also, my excellent English language skills qualified me for what they called Integrated Service in an international NATO assignment. So now I was an active Service member of the German Luftwaffe. Due to my high school and vocational training diploma, I also was already Airman First Class (two stripes) from the day I put on my uniform. Isn't that something?

Basic Training Essen - October to December 1987

My father had done some research and instructed me in what to ask for and what to watch out for during the aptitude test. That's where they ask you what you want to do and where you want to go. My goal of course was an assignment somewhere overseas, preferably in the UK or in the US. Being stationed outside of Germany would mean extra money and of course big time tax breaks, cheap booze and cigarettes and all the other perks that come with an overseas assignment. And after all the tests, exams and interviews I was prebooked for an assignment at Goose Bay Air Base in New Foundland and Labrador, Canada as part of a four year contract at airman level. That meant of course, the highest possible rank I could achieve was Senior Airman. Oh well, I wasn't planning to be a career soldier, and the living abroad allowance, the tax breaks and duty free shopping would surely make up for the lack of promotions. Most importantly, I would be around Fighter Jets all the time. What more could I ask for?

A few months later, a friend of my father's, who was a retired German Air Force fighter pilot, visited, and I was able to talk to him about what to expect at Goose Bay. I was to finish my Basic Training, complete some administrative training at a unit somewhere in Germany, and then ship off to Canada sometime in late 1988 or early 1989. So there was still time... However, what he told me about Goose Bay, where he had often flown low level training missions, filled me with agonizing fear of what would come my way for the next three years. An extremely cold climate, ice and snow free for only two months out of the year, at most. Since most of all the other Air Force personnel at Goose Bay are officers, you as an Airman will have to cook, make coffee, cater to and wait on the pilots, typically a rowdy bunch, do their laundry and God knows what else. It won't be fun. And the nearest city or any form of civilization is at least 350 miles away in Labrador City. So, you'll be on duty 24/7, and you won't mind or care, since there is absolutely nothing else to do. Until you go crazy.

Oh my... what to do? Initially I had hoped for an assignment at the German embassy in Washington, D.C., not as a military attachee but something nice. I wouldn't mind making coffee in D.C. Or NATO Headquarters in Belgium. Maybe Norway. Or the Netherlands. I would get cool NATO license plates for my car. Damn...