The AOCS trainees called the large, paved parking lot behind the Indoc Battalion and WWII barracks, the Grinder. It was half a mile long and 200 feet wide. Near the center on the Grinder’s south side was the Aviation Cadet Recreation and Athletic Club, better known as the ACRAC.

On September 16th, 1966, 11:30 in the morning,  I became an Ensign in the United States Naval Reverse. After over eleven weeks of unrelenting constant stress, we had now graduated into the status of Commissioned Naval Officers.

A “solo tie cutting ritual” is a symbolic act where an individual severs their emotional and physical ties that no longer serve them. It signifies a personal milestone of achieving independence. 

We could find a bar on the ground floor of our BOQ.  Close to our rooms. We referred to it as the BOQ Bar. A previous squadron passing through our quarters converted the space into a place where we could bond with our buddies when sharing drinks. An age-old ritual shared by the military over the generations.