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Welcome
to Barry's Home on the Internet ! History
This is my
personal homepage intended for introducing new friends to who I am and what I do as well
as keeping old friends and family updated on my interests and activities. As I further
develop changes to my history and home pages I will upload them for your viewing pleasure.
For those who don't know me I am currently 42 years young and on active duty in the United
States Coast Guard as a Telecommunications Specialist.
My job as a Telecommunications Specialist
(TC) in the Coast Guard is the Regional Systems Manager responsible for all aspects of
Coast Guard computer systems on Long Island, NY. My primary duty includes Microsoft
NT Network Administration, hardware installation, maintenance, and support, software
installation and some limited system training.
My previous duties included the
operation of the ships radio room. I had 6 radio operators onboard my previous unit
responsible for controlling all radio communication circuits. My secondary job aboard was
Computer System's Manager for the ship's administrative computers. We operated in the CTOS
(Unix based OS) environment and I maintained the overall system operation and software
installation, maintenance, and training. As part of my system management I was responsible
for the various modes of connectivity for orderly flow of electronic information and mail.
These modes include use of land lines, cellular connections, and INMARSAT communications
paths. I worked closely with our ships Telephone Technician (TT) who was our hardware
geek. I was stationed aboard the USCGC SHERMAN based out of Alameda, California. The Coast
Guard has various missions. The primary mission of SHERMAN is Search and Rescue (SAR) and
Maritime Law Enforcement (MLE). Our principle operating area is the Gulf of Alaska and the
Bering Sea. It is there that we spend most of our time enforcing U.S. and International
Fishery Regulations as well as being a ready SAR resource. In the tortuous icy waters of
the North Pacific and Bering Sea we stand ready to provide the best SAR platform in the
world today. For more information about the Coast Guard and its missions checkout the
Coast Guard HyperLink below on this homepage.
MY PERSONAL HISTORY
I
was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma and raised from the age of 3 in what remains my permanent
legal residence, the City of Broken Arrow, located just southeast of Tulsa. My father was
an employee of American Airlines for just shy of forty years and my mother a loving homemaker.
During junior and senior high school
I was active in wrestling, cross country, and I played trumpet for 6 years in band. I
obtained my Third Class Radiotelephone License with Broadcast Endorsement when I reached
the age of 16. This opened the door for my first job as a station operator at KTBA Radio
92.1 FM in Broken Arrow. I was interested in all forms of communications and became active
in Citizens Band (CB) Radio. I was originally licensed under my fathers call sign KFT-4239
since at the time I wasn't old enough to hold the station license (when licenses were
required by regulation). When handles became popular I was known as America One (A1). When
I turned 18 years of age I was licensed as KBKY-8570 in the Citizens Band License Class. I
was an active member of REACT and
several local CB Clubs. Since I was only working part time at KTBA Radio I was offered a
second job at a local Radio Shack Franchise Store where I worked through my junior and
senior year of school.
I joined the U.S. Coast Guard in April of 1974 on the
delayed enlistment plan. Upon graduating from Broken Arrow Senior High School, Broken
Arrow, Oklahoma in May 1974 I worked the summer months at Broken Arrow Metal Products
where I worked with metal sheers, metal breaks, and drill presses for the manufactured
home industry. The most fun I had at this job was operating the fork lift trucks,
unloading raw materials from tractor-trailers and moving huge spools and sheets of steel
around the plant. I entered active military service in August 1974 and attended basic
training at Coast Guard Training Center Alameda, Alameda California in Company Hotel 97.
Soon after basic training I attended Radioman "A" School located at Tracen Petaluma in Petaluma, California
to become a Radio Operator in the Coast Guard. Upon graduating from Radioman School in May
1975 I was assigned to the 378 foot Coast Guard Cutter CHASE stationed out of Boston,
Massachusetts. It is here that I spent the first two and a half years of my career in the
Coast Guard. We patrolled the North Atlantic and performed Ocean Station duties to help
guide transatlantic aircraft and vessels across the vast open waters. While on station we
also conducted weather observations and oceanographic research. During my tour aboard the
Cutter CHASE we also conducted Haitian Migration Interdiction Operations (HMIO) in the
Caribbean Sea. Even though it wasn't at the same level as today our participation in
illegal migration and narcotic interdiction work helped protect our sovereign nation. The
Cutter CHASE also protected the rich fishing grounds known as George's Banks off the
northeast coast upon commencement of the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) which extended our
protected waters out to 200 nautical miles. Without the EEZ foreign nations would deplete
our natural resources in the maritime environment. As part of our training onboard CHASE
we participated in a Mediterranean Cruise for our academy cadets which took us to
Portsmouth England, Rota and Malaga Spain, as well as Naples Italy. During this cruise I
spent Independence Day of 1976 on the Isle of Capri off the southwest coast of Italy. I
was later transferred to Coast Guard Radio Station St. Louis, Missouri for further
transfer as a plank owner of the new Coast Guard Group Upper Mississippi River located in
Keokuk, Iowa.
I was encouraged to get into the amateur radio service by Chief
Radioman Dale Ludwig (WB0IJE). I attended a Novice operator course with his son which was
offered by the Tri-State Amateur Radio Club. I was licensed as a novice class operator in
1978 and issued the radio call sign KA0BBQ. Once licensed I became a member of the
Tri-State ARC and was introduced to the SKYWARN
program. This new experience with radio pretty much ended my interest in Citizen Band
Radios. While in Keokuk I also attended Emergency Medical Training while assigned to the
group and received my first EMT Certification from the State of Iowa Department of Health.
In my off time I worked through ManPower™ at various jobs. Most notable was my time
with AMEX Corporation in Fort Madison, Iowa. They refined raw tungsten and molybdenum for
the hardening of steel products. While also with ManPower™ I helped a company install
a main frame computer at the Armor Dial Corporation. It is here that I found out what
corporate diversification is since the parent company of Armor Meats, Dial Soap, Scott
Rice Office Supplies, and Kiddie Fire Extinguishers was Greyhound Bus Lines. Go figure! I
performed cleanup duties as well as worked with fork lifts to move material about in the
warehouse. I spent the end of my first term in the Coast Guard at Keokuk along the banks
of the Mississippi River.
I was discharged from active service
and entered the Coast Guard Ready Reserve for my first year of college at the University of Tulsa, Oklahoma. The following year I
joined the Naval Reserve and performed monthly drills for the next four years. During my
first summer of college I worked for the City of Broken Arrow street department. I
performed every job from refuse hauling (OK, environmental reuse engineer), driving
equipment (mowing tractors, front end loaders, dump and flatbed trucks, street sweeper,
and street painter), general road crew duties such as asphalt laydown and installation of
ground loops for traffic signals, and yes, hide from the supervisor's when not gainfully
employed. Well, it was better than 6 people standing around watching one person work! I
became very active in Amateur Radio during college and was an active member of the Tulsa
Repeater Organization, the Broken Arrow Amateur Radio Club, the American Airlines Amateur
Radio Club, and the University of Tulsa Amateur Radio Club. I was also an active member of
NOAA'S SKYWARN
program assisting the National Weather
Service in identification and tracking of severe storm activity. In addition to my
interest in SKYWARN I became a Reserve
Police Officer for the City of Broken Arrow and attended their police academy while in
college. I worked with the department for over two years during and after college. Upon
graduation from the University of Tulsa in 1983 I received my Bachelor of Science Degree
in the field of Telecommunications.
I re-entered the U.S. Coast Guard as
a Radioman in 1984 and was assigned to the now defunct Second Coast Guard District Office
in St. Louis, Missouri. While stationed in St. Louis I lived in Granite City, Illinois
which was just to the east of St. Louis. I was an active member of the Egyptian Amateur
Radio Club and the St. Louis Repeater Club. During my tour in St. Louis I started getting
interested in computing and purchased an Apple ][ Plus with a whopping 64K of memory.
Before leaving St. Louis I upgraded to an AMIGA 2000 computer system based on the
Motorola 6800 microprocessor with 2MB of system memory and an IBM Bridgeboard for MS-DOS
based applications. When my tour was complete in St. Louis I was transferred to the Mobile
Aerostat Detachment in Key where I remained for 3 years working with Coast Guard Group Key
West and the Mobile Aerostat Program. Our Coast Guard mission mainly dealt with illegal
Haitian Migration and narcotic interdiction off the southeast and gulf coasts of the
United States. While in Key West I was active in the South Florida FM Association, The
Florida Keys Amateur Radio Club, and the Key West Amateur Radio Club. I was bestowed
Honorary Citizenship to the Florida Keys for my community service work through amateur
radio. In the late eighties I was again transferred, this time to Coast Guard Group Mobile
located in Mobile, Alabama. It was at group Mobile that I became really interested in
computing at work and became a computer systems operator for the group office. I again
attended Emergency Medical Technician
Training, this time from the University of South
Alabama where I received my National Registry for EMT. I was again very active in
amateur radio and served as an officer of the Mobile Amateur Radio Club for three of my
fours years in Mobile. I was involved with all aspects of the club, including teaching HAM
Radio classes, repeater control operator, and mentor for new operators.
In 1993 I was once again transferred
back across country where my career started, in Alameda, California. I am currently
stationed onboard the USCGC SHERMAN
home ported in Alameda.
I am involved in the Amateur RACES program
with the Alameda County Sheriff's Department and the city of San
Leandro, California RACES program. As a member of these organizations I lend my time and
expertise in the field of emergency communications to the community.
Alameda County RACES (ALCO
RACES)
Return to Barry's Home on the Internet!
Barry's Home on the Internet ! History © by Barry A. Wilson 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999
Last revised: January 06, 1999 11:43 PM
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