photo of Jerry Cox

 

Norman (Jerry) Cox

Life after NBA

Summit 1964 - 1966
Summit & Amador 1975 - 1977




I joined the Navy in 1964. I went to the Great Lakes for Boot camp and then to Norfolk VA for Radioman "A" school. I received orders to Panama Canal Zone and was station at Summit until 1966. I ran around with Bob Hester, Gary Thoma, J.J. Washburn, and Charlie Hess. I started out as the guard mail driver for about a year and then assigned to help upgrade VLF building and ant field. I made RM3 relisted and went to Bainbridge MD to Radioman "B" school where I made RM2 in December of 66 and received orders to Commander MACV in Vietnam and left to go to San Diego for school before I went in country. After counterinsurgency, Language, weapon training, and SERE Training I departed for Vietnam in Dec of 66 and left in April of 1968 after enjoying all that Vietnam had to offer including TET of 68, I received orders to the Aircraft carrier Kitty Hawk and was send to TTY repair school and off I went for a 9 month Westpac cruise where I made RM1 in April of 69. I got married to my first wife in 1969 and we left to go to Norfolk VA for duty at NAVCAMSLANT. After that I received orders to the Aircraft carrier USS Constellation where I made two 9 months Westpac cruises. We had my daughter Misty in 72 and we were devoiced in 1974, those 9 month cruises made that happen a lot. I then went to New Jersey for duty on a minesweeper until 1975. This was the worst tour of duty that I had, the only thing the CO said when he made LCDR was that now he could give out more punishment at Captain Mast. At one point I was the only RM onboard and he would not try and get anymore because he said that would make him look bad, so when we got underway I had to sleep in Radio and only got 4 hours of sleep a day and that was when the ET's would look after radio while I sleep and wake me if something happen, I make the mistake to telling him, is was hard with one RM, but he couldn't get underway with no RM. It took me 5 years to get over my eval.

I received orders back to Panama Canal Zone and was station at Summit and Amador until 1977. I had a great time and party a lot, I was the senior unmarried enlist at the COMSTA. I was at summit and help tear down LF and send all the part that could be used to Hawaii for there transmitter. We had a contest between Army special forces, Air Force Special Forces, Marine recon, and Navy Seals to see who could get into the guarded antenna field and blowup all the antennas. I was standing with all the brass up on the hill looking over the antenna field when they shot off a flare to tell everyone the contest was over and a Navy Seal stood up at the base of each antenna, the Marine and Army was outside of the guarded field and the Air Force was across the canal, you could see the brass was not happy about that. Then we blew them up and down they came. The OIC at summit was a LT wave and she did not care for my partying so I ask to be send down to Amador, where I was a Watch Section leader. I had Mark Anton and Steve Sawtell as my tech controllers, Steve wife Cathy was in my section also. I had a great section and we had a great time. When John Skidmore and Mark made chief the LPO job became open and they move a RM1 that had just made it into that position and I had a issues with that and they decided to move me to maintain Dept. to help install a Microwave system between the sites. I married my wife Dianne (a Zonian) in 1977 and we came back to the states (Charleston SC) in 1977. I had orders to a fast attack submarine and I was station onboard her until 1979 when I was medical disqualified from submarine duty. While I was waiting to be medical cleared for sea duty, Mark Anton who was DESRON 4 RMCS call me and want me to go onboard a Knot class frigate, because the new chief had no sea duty and was going to need help. I meet him and Mark and said OK and was expecting order to that ship, but I received orders to the USS Garcia (It was McHale's Navy, but one of my best tours in the Navy, I could write a book and make a lot of money) I also made RMC. In 1981 I received orders to COMINEWARCOM in Charleston SC and stay there until 1985. I next received orders for COMDESRON 20 in Charleston SC (my best tour in the Navy, and I made RMCS). In 1988 I received orders to NAVSECGRUDET Charleston as the CMS inspector and stay there until 1989 when I was ask to go back to sea with COMCRUDESGRU Two as the Radio officer and leading Radioman in Charleston SC. At the end of the first gulf war I was retired (April 30 1991). Our flag ship was the USS America and my retirement flag was flow on her, I will treasure it forever.

I then when back to school and got my EE degree in computers. I went to work for MILCOM systems CORP a government Subcontractor until I retired in 2006. I now live in Ocala FL with my wife and restore old car and watch the horses.


email image



BACK to BIOs Page

BACK to NBAer's Playground