[J.B. Books]

Not all Veterans are combat veterans, many of us are what we call Cold War Warriors. Military service often demands sacrifices that most civilians would not accept. In my case it was spending a year, all of 1985 on very remote radar site in Iceland that monitored the comings and goings of the Soviet Air Force and directed fighters to intercept and escort them with the show of force. There were roughly 140 of us at the site, it was an unaccompanied assignment requiring family separation for a year. We lived, ate and worked 24/7 within a 125 yard circle. We lived in a one room facility regardless of rank. There was no TV, no radio, phone calls were too expensive to make, the internet had not been invented. You couldn't have a vehicle. There was no doctor or dentist if you needed one, just a couple of Med Techs. A couple of emergency Air Evacs happened but they could only be done during the day (in the winter days were only two to three hours long) and in good weather as the old H-3 choppers lacked navigational aids. The nearest bit of civilization was 14 miles away, a fishing village of 1500 people. It had a communist government and the Air Force deemed it off limits to us for that reason. There was little semblance of the life we take for granted. In the back our minds of those who were there we knew we would be the first casualties if the Cold War turn hot. In spite of remote nature looking back it was a good assignment for me as a young Captain. I learned a lot and grew as a person. If I could go back in time I wouldn't change a thing and do it all over again. As the old song goes, some gave all and all gave some.