My memories of E-III (Ernie Castillo) go back to 1962 when he was the USNLO at Shelburne. He then came to COSL and we worked together until I left the Navy and went to work at ONI in Sep 63.
Working together, we "leveraged" the Data Processing Unit out of the loop and ONI assumed the evaluation function for the System.
In 1965, whoever was then COSL made a brilliant decision. He selected Ernie, then a LT, to be CO, Kef. Imagine, a CO who was an outstanding analyst, unheard of.
During this period, it became evident that CO, NAVSTA Kef needed to be told that the new station was more important than any other function on his base and the decision to deny Ernie housing "would be reversed." The CNO Op-095 sharp-shooter was Ed Nielsen who, although a civilian, carried the weight of a flag officer and was not shy about throwing that weight and the weight of VADM Charley Martell around. End of problem.
Because I had already "worked" the Norwegian Sea for three years, I convinced ONI that I should be at Kef when the curtain went up - and so it was in Feb 1966 that I was "walking the beams" with my main focus on beam 9. In fact, I was fortunate enough to be standing there when the actual curtain did go up. I walked into Ernie's office and suggested he visit the display room.
Great memories. Get well, Ernie and keep us posted on your progress. Fifty-six years of memories are not enough.
