The Roosevelt Roads Naval Station, Puerto Rico

I was stationed at the Roosevelt Roads Naval Station from April 1977 till December 1979. I left Puerto Rico on the same day as the attack on the sailors riding the bus to the Sebana Seca communications station near San Juan. You hardly heard anything about that here in the states but it was a terrorist attack on U. S. Military personnel by Puerto Rican terrorists. I guess they just didn't want to upset you guys up here even though several sailors were killed and many wounded, all by machine gun fire.

We had a pretty good life down there in Puerto Rico, terrorist attacks aside, we even had good old Jeraldo Rivera come down and make a fool of himself one time. You see, we were dealing with the Vieques Island protests even way back in the 1970's. Some of my pictures are of the Naval Station Security Police conducting exercises and involved in handling protests at the gates by protestors during those trying times.

I've been a cop for going on 29 years now, and this was my first patrol vehicle. I was working for the Naval Station Security Police at the time.

On our way to a protest at the main gate.

Greg Solberg after the protest, we all kinda looked like this.

My house and yard, on Lexington Drive. This was when I was about to come home, can you tell?

El Yunque mountain as seen from the base.

I took this from the roof of the Air Operations building in 1979. President Jimmy Carter was in South America and this plane was staged at Roosevelt Roads. It would later become Air Force One.

Enjoying myself at the enlisted beach. We used to have our Division Christmas parties down there as well.

Getting ready for a practice anti-terrorism exercise. I'm the one in the black beret, crazy as it sounds, the one I got on graduating from the U. S. Army Armor school at Fort Knox, Ky. in 1975.

A bad scan of a newspaper article where the Marine detachment donated a bunch of excess gear to the area Boy Scouts. I was the Scoutmaster for the post troop at that time.

My 2nd son Marshall and I have a moment. Now he has done six years in the Navy, come home, and gotten married.

My oldest son James Dale back when I was still bigger than he was. Now he's put ten years into the Navy, and is back home again.

Attending the only bi-lingual Woodbadge course they ever attempted. One of the best experiences I had in Puerto Rico.

My turn to tell a campfire story.

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(you should be hearing the theme to "Top Gun" right now)