My time at Sembach Air Base was memorable, to say the least. It was without a doubt the most influential time of my life. Not only shaped my duties and responsibilities as a German Air Force NCO at Sector Operations Center 3 me into the person I am today, but the time I spent on and off base with my closest friends inside and outside my unit were profoundly responsible for who I became, and who I am today. Five of us ended up becoming really close friends, and over time our little group was dubbed "The NATO Connection" across the base. Airman Colin Doyle, Airman John Phoenix, Airman Craig Larsen, and Sergeant James Lyman, and myself became virtually inseparable. We spent as much time as our shift and duty schedules allowed, mainly at the bowling alley or at the movies.
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| Craig, Colin, myself and John in Colin's and Craig's room |
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| Me, John, Craig and Colin at Colin's Farewell Party |
It was during that time, that my interest in Motocross turned into a passion, mainly due to Colin's obsession with it. I was introduced to music styles unknown to me until then, mostly Californian punk and rock, but also to up and coming new bands such as REM or the B52s. I was never a fan of popular music that you hear on the radio every day, or that is being played at clubs. Bands that were known only to a small circle of fans at that time were suddenly my thing, such as The Descendants, Bad Religion, Dag Nasty, NoFX and others. We visited their concerts and ended up travelling as far as Heilbronn to see them live.
Countless weekends at the Bowling Center "Tiger Lanes", or trips to surrounding places and cities, visiting concerts, motocross races and events, or even just going to places like Frankfurt to watch Colin and Craig skateboard, made my time at Sembach the most enjoyable time ever.
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| Colin, Craig and some skateboard kids they were friends with after the Bad Religion concert |
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