Station HYPO

AT1 Stephen Curtis Chartier, USN
June 3, 1944 – April 15, 1969

“Spooks-At-Sea”

By: CAPT Harvey S “Scotty” Parrish, Jr. (Ret.)

In 2005, the Naval Security Group (NAVSECGRU) became part of a General Service command, marking the integration exactly fifty years after the initial assignment of a NAVSECGRU detachment to a fleet command. The process leading to this integration took an indirect route during the years 1954-56. As experience was acquired, it became evident that this integration should have occurred earlier and through direct action. This evolution took place in the Mediterranean rather than the Pacific area, which had a history of direct support detachments temporary additional duty (TEMADD) to fleet commanders, particularly during World War II.

Officers and Sailors in the picture are listed at the bottom of this post.

By the end of 1950, it was apparent that expansion of the facilities at Yokosuka was no longer possible. With project growth of NAVSECGRU operations envisioned, sites were surveyed, and the optimal choice was a site near the Atsugi Naval Air Station. Land was acquired under Procurement Demand JPNR 5307, dated March 15, 1951. The location of the site was to the north of a village named Seya. The new site came to be known as Kami Seya.

CTI2 Conrad Hoffman was in the first communications technician (CT) class to graduate Naval Communications Training Center, Corry Field, Pensacola.

I joined the Navy in October 1965, just after I turned 21. I went to Great Lakes for Boot Camp. For some reason, of all the tests given, my code score was the highest. I think I fell asleep during it, as I did in the language test. My foreign language score was so low I wouldn’t have qualified as an ENGLING. After struggling through CTR “A” School in Pensacola, my first duty station was NAVCOMSTAPHIL, San Miguel, arriving in June 1966. What a great place to begin my career. After working as a Morse operator for a few months, I made two deployments to the northern Tonkin Gulf, one on the USS England DLG-22 and the other onboard the USS Dahlgren DLG-12. In July 1967, I was TAD to Det Bravo, Danang, RVN as a Morse operator onboard the EC-121 and EA-3B ESM aircraft operating over the Northern Tonkin Gulf.

A native of St. Louis County, Missouri, Rusty Smith enlisted in the Navy in 1964 and, following recruit training, underwent “CTR” and “CTT” training at Corry Station in Pensacola, Florida.  This was followed immediately by WIDEBAND, a Class C-School, and, upon completion, was given orders to Europe.