Welcome Home - A Podcast for Veterans, About Veterans, By Veterans
Welcome Home is a Willing Warriors and the Warrior Retreat at Bull Run project. The program highlights activities at the Warrior Retreat and issues impacting all Veterans. For questions or feedback, please email us at podcast@willingwarriors.org.
Welcome Home - A Podcast for Veterans, About Veterans, By Veterans
Guarding Guam: Phil Massicotte on Military Life and Transitioning to Civilian Adventures
What does it take to transition from high school to the Air Force and end up guarding nuclear weapons on a tropical island? Join me, Larry Zilliox, as I chat with Phil Massicotte, a retired law enforcement officer and Air Force veteran, who shares his unexpected journey to Guam after enlisting right out of high school. We reminisce about the strange mix of tropical storms, unforgettable characters, and the camaraderie that shaped our lives on this unique assignment. Phil’s stories provide a vivid snapshot of military life, from typhoon flights to quirky daily routines.
Meet the characters who filled our lives with humor and warmth, like Bear, the ex-Navy guy who never met a meal he couldn't conquer, and Lois, the flight engineer whose laughter was as infectious as her spirit. Together, Phil and I honor our comrades whose paths led to remarkable civilian careers, like Johnny Walker's venture into entrepreneurship and Ricky "Doc" Dockery’s journey to becoming a high school principal. We also reflect on the sobering responsibility of guarding nuclear weapons, sharing memories that resonate with a mix of pride and nostalgia.
Our conversation doesn't stop at military tales; it extends to the often challenging transition to civilian life. From the stark climate contrast between Guam and Albuquerque to transitioning to civilian life, Phil recounts the adaptability required in both military and civilian environments. We explore how the discipline and experiences gained in the Air Force have prepared us for diverse career paths, shedding light on personal anecdotes, humorous moments, and the continuous adventure of veteran life.
Good morning. I'm your host, larry Zilliox, Director of Culinary Services here at the Warrior Retreat at Bull Run, and this week our guest is Phil Massicotte. He's a retired law enforcement from Connecticut, veteran Air Force veteran and famous for having been in Guam with me for a year, able to stick it out for at least a year. So I want to welcome Phil to the podcast. Well, thank you for having me. Let's begin with when you joined and why you joined.
Phil Massicotte:I joined right out of high school. I was 18 years old, actually went into basic training a month after graduating high school. There was no path for me for college. I was raised by a single parent in the 60s, 70s, 15, nice, 14, looking at military as well. Everybody else was looking at colleges and I kind of liked the Air Force, so entered boot camp in July of 1980. That's exactly what I expected From there. Stayed in Texas and went to the technical training for security specialists, finished that that was pretty much what I expected as well. Came home for leave and that's when my career started. I mean, I got my assignment. I'll never forget being at boot camp.
Phil Massicotte:They had a big map on the wall of all the bases around the world and I saw this little island out there and I said, wow, look at that. I feel bad for the guy who's gonna get a side on Guam. And I didn't know. I said I put it for all these coast bases. I just figured that's where I was gonna go. Well, no, you go with. A mission requires you to go, sir. And guess who got Guam? Yeah, you know what? It turned out to be the best thing that ever happened.
Larry Zilliox:Air, air Force needs to come first. Sure, sure, yeah, absolutely I learned that quickly. Did you go to air base ground defense at Camp Bowes?
Phil Massicotte:No, I didn't do that. No, I didn't get selected for that. They weren't doing everybody. So, no, I never did. I wanted to. That was another 19 weeks, I believe.
Larry Zilliox:Yeah, it was a good while. Yeah, and it it was not bad when I was there because it was sort of the fall, so it wasn't like the crazy hot of oh, yeah, that was in july.
Phil Massicotte:Yeah, yeah, yeah, that was in august. It was terrible, you know, some days we didn't even march, it was so hot, you know. Yeah, it was so bad. Yeah, that was. You know guam was something bad. Yeah, that was. You know Guam was something else. Man, that changed. That was such a surreal experience from the word go. So, you know, that was my first assignment, you know, and I was excited about it. We spent the whole flight from California to Guam 14 hours yeah, trying to outrun a typhoon there was a typhoon on the way.
Larry Zilliox:Did you come over on commercial aircraft?
Phil Massicotte:Yeah, pan Am yeah wow. Back when Pan Am yeah, 747. Wow, yeah. And then I get there and of course you know I'm thinking everything's supposed to work as planned. You know you get a sponsor and mine was Simmons I don't remember Simmons? I don't I don't, I don't remember that His nickname was big.
Phil Massicotte:Was he on our flight? Was he on D? He was on our flight, big, tall like six foot four. Oh, african-american, you don't remember him? No, I don't. Wow, yeah, we call him Gene Simmons sometimes. Yeah, he was supposed to meet me there. Of course he didn't meet me there. I take a cab in, and I take a cab in with this other guy, troy, who's on the law enforcement side, and we get to the base. We get in, they give us a dorm room and we're standing on the second balcony of the dorm looking at this typhoon coming like going. What the hell are we supposed to do? And just then the bus, the midnight shift bus, came in with the flight you were on?
Phil Massicotte:yeah, delta flight yeah because you guys are just getting off duty from the third shift and the whole flight came up the stairs fully armed, everything. Came up the stairs and we turned around and you were the first one up and you came up to us and said you guys know, and like yeah, all right, all right. And he talked to us for a few minutes. Other guys were coming up and giving us the stink eye, you know, cause we were new, you know, and then I learned the term Jeep. Then too, you know, which is just enough experience to perform.
Phil Massicotte:So, these, yeah. So a couple guys came in what's up Jeep. I didn't even know what the heck that was, but it was funny.
Larry Zilliox:So I don't know if you remember Kato, sure he's on my list and let's go through this list to help our listeners understand who we're talking about. I'm just going to throw some names out and kind of give you an update of kind of where they are. I'm just going to throw some names out and kind of give you an update of kind of where they are. I'd start with JW, which was Johnny. Walker, was my roommate and Johnny got out after, I think, four years in the Air Force and joined the Coast Guard and was stationed down in the Tidewater area and then got out of the Coast Guard, started his own electrical company running good, the PAG. Paganelli he was my roommate, yeah, got out after four years and today is a commander for the Cleveland Clinic Police Department.
Larry Zilliox:Ski and Liz Ski they had a room next to me and Johnny for a while but then Ski got married, liz was law enforcement and Steve Paczynski he got out and was working for the power company in North Carolina is retired now. And Liz you just never know what Liz is doing. She's an artist, she's always got something going. Bob and Brenda Bob and Brenda Blonigan Brenda was law enforcement, bob worked with us security and he eventually became a New Hampshire state police officer was also in the reserve. Brenda was a detective for the Portsmouth County New Hampshire Police. They're both retired now and actually we all went. The last time we all got together there was a bunch of us was up in New Hampshire for Bob's retirement from the Air Force Reserve and when he hit Guam he was an airman maybe airman, basic airman right.
Phil Massicotte:I think Airman first class, I think.
Larry Zilliox:Yeah, and then he retired as a full bird colonel in the reserve. Yeah, it was amazing Alice Alice was law enforcement, worked on D-Flight law enforcement. She got out and is a nurse down at a VA hospital down, I think, in Louisiana. Ann also Ann Warren law enforcement with us D-Flight. She retired, worked for the VA and retired now and volunteers for the Red Cross. Lives in Albuquerque, new Mexico, near Albuquerque. Chris Case Chris was my roommate for a while. Bear Ex-Navy guy Wanted to go in to be a Navy SEAL but blew his knees out and buds Got out of the Navy and joined the Air Force.
Phil Massicotte:What a character he was boy, funny guy.
Larry Zilliox:Yeah, yeah, and you never wanted to get between him and food.
Phil Massicotte:No, he was the only person I know that would stack two or three slices of pizza together and eat them like as a stack, like a handful of potato chips or a sandwich.
Larry Zilliox:yeah, so we'd all get off work and take the bus back to the dorm and you'd go up to your room and put your stuff away and then you'd maybe head over to the child hall for midnight meal. And he never he never made it to his room, man. He just dragged all his stuff over to. He couldn't wait to get to midnight meal.
Larry Zilliox:Unfortunately, he passed away a number of years ago His wife called me and said he had some health issues. He's no longer with us, lois, he's underwater diving. Yeah, yeah, lois wasn't part of our unit or squadron or anything like that. She was a female flight engineer on a C-141 and coming out of Travis and every time she hit Guam she'd stop in to see us. I think we met her at the club and she was a hoot. We had a lot of fun with her. Yeah, she was funny, she was funny.
Phil Massicotte:Doc Ricky Dockery yeah, fun, yeah, she was funny, she was funny doc, uh, ricky doc, yeah, was uh, he worked, uh, he works uh cdc right yeah, yeah, he was in the not cdc. Yeah, but it was small central security control, csc.
Larry Zilliox:Yeah, yeah, he. Uh, he got out and became a principal, high high school principal. He's retired now. Tim Levy was one of. He was just a great guy. He was still in. He probably would have made it a career. He was stationed in New Jersey but unfortunately he was killed in a boating accident. Well, he was at Fort or not Dix, but whatever the Air Force base is in New.
Phil Massicotte:Jersey McGuire, mcguire, mcguire yeah. We went down to see him, yeah, me and Peg.
Larry Zilliox:Yeah, had a good time Bill.
Phil Massicotte:Southard.
Larry Zilliox:Southard's still running around out there somewhere. I see him on Facebook every once in a while. Ronnie Ard yeah, shake and bake. He had a voice. He was fun. He had a voice. Yeah, he sure did. It sounded like the commercial. That's why we called him shake and bake. That's all. I forgot that. I forgot that. Yeah, so we had a flight of how many on DeFi. Was it like 30? Maybe? Yeah, 30 or 40, maybe? Yeah, it like 30? Maybe 30 or 40., yeah, maybe, yeah, you know, oh, you know. Another one I'm thinking of is soup Steve soup.
Phil Massicotte:Yeah, yeah, he he boy, he was good comic release he had.
Larry Zilliox:He was canine handler for law enforcement. He was on deflight with us and um he was on D flight with us and he always had trouble with his dogs. I remember one time his dog was Stupid dog yeah.
Larry Zilliox:I heard just yelling. We were clearing M-16s and the clearing buckets were on the side of the building at Central Security Control where the armory was. And I heard him out back yelling and, like his dog, his dog was just sitting there looking at him like a dumb knucklehead and he had his pistol out and he was threatening his dog with it. And I'm like man, you got to put your gun away. Man, you can't be waving your gun around. He's ready to shoot it, dog.
Phil Massicotte:He was crazy. Yeah yeah, I got pictures of him when we came back from the Fiesta and he had to ride in the trunk of the car.
Larry Zilliox:I was just going to say that he was the first to jump in the trunk.
Phil Massicotte:Yeah, yeah, we drove like I don't know how many miles back to base with him in the trunk.
Larry Zilliox:Well, you know everybody, everybody was loaded. So so we had, uh, we were there in Guam and our mission, we were part of SAC and it was, uh, it was, we were guarding believe it or not nuclear weapons. Yeah, Priority.
Phil Massicotte:That was what was surreal. That was what was surreal about the whole thing to me, because you know you're going through the training and everything and you have an idea, but when you get there you're like wow.
Larry Zilliox:Yeah, that's a B-52 that has nukes on it.
Phil Massicotte:That's a B-52 with nukes on it, yeah, yeah, and I got gotta walk around and guard it.
Larry Zilliox:Yeah, you know, it was really something, yeah, but the uh the mystique wore off fairly quickly when it was raining.
Phil Massicotte:Oh my god oh, no, kidding, we had those cans. Remember the cans? Sure, that's what I couldn't understand when you guys are getting off the bus and everybody had a can and me and troy got a can of rumen with, like what are these guys carrying cans for? These od green pans they were, couldn't figure it out.
Larry Zilliox:They were dog food cans that we had got, yeah, from, uh, the canine folks, and basically it had a lid on it and put your gas mask in it. You put all your stuff in it and you kept it dry, and it was also something to sit on when you're out nowhere. That was great. Yeah, everybody always had to have the can with us. Yeah, you did. Yeah, you'd see a bunch of guys sitting around outside CSC sitting on their cans just waiting for your mount.
Phil Massicotte:Yeah, yeah, I think you stood on your can, didn't you? When you gave your last garden mount.
Larry Zilliox:Well, I had to make sure everybody could see me. So when did you get to Guam?
Phil Massicotte:So I got to Guam in November of 1980. How?
Larry Zilliox:long were you there?
Phil Massicotte:And I was there until, like March of 81, my 82, 82. Wow, so you were there almost two years yeah, yeah, pretty much it was february or march, not sure. Then I went from there to, uh, albuquerque, kirtland, yeah, albuquerque, you, that was something else. You, yeah, you followed by you.
Larry Zilliox:Yeah, ski went down. I'm not sure why they sent us all there. I don't know. For God's sake and place, I didn't know.
Phil Massicotte:That's something else huh, I did not enjoy that place either. Yeah, and the stuff I saw at the ECP I worked the entry control point, all kinds of stuff coming in and out of there. You know I knew it wasn't good there. You know I knew it wasn't good. You know you have the sandia national labs come through there and you're certain you have to search their vehicle when you stick your head in there and the guy says hey, don't hold your head back there too long. You know. You know I'm like wow, what are we looking at here? You know, but there's all kinds of bizarre stuff went up in there, I know decommissioned now I guess, yeah, well, I, I guess they put this storage area out in the desert.
Larry Zilliox:Yeah, yeah, so I, yeah, I remember I was in Guam three years, two months, 18 days, 10 hours and 32 minutes, yeah, and so I kind of was there for the duration, do you?
Phil Massicotte:remember the morning? Yeah, you were there a while. You the duration. Do you remember the morning?
Larry Zilliox:Yeah, you were there a while you put in for an extension, right, and you got approved. Well, yeah, the problem was I ran up against my four-year enlistment was ending and I went to a briefing and this guy at HR says, look, you know you're going to get out, but you're going to be in the reserves. Technically, you'll be in the reserves for two years and if something happens, they can call you back. And I said, well, can I extend? And then I'm not going to, they can't call me back. No reserve commitment. Yeah, and that's what I did. I said I'll extend two years and then I'm done, you'll never see me again. Yeah, so, yeah, I did. So. I was there much longer and then I think I only did about eight or nine months in in Albuquerque. And the thing I hated most about Albuquerque is coming out of Guam, and I'm sure you experienced the same thing. I got to Albuquerque and about froze my ass off.
Phil Massicotte:Um, oh yeah, it was cold, it was cold there and we just weren't ready for it In the winter. Yeah, no, no, we haven't seen. You know, it was kind of like Florida weather. You know, in Guam it's not very humid.
Larry Zilliox:You could always count on Guam being a 10-degree difference. So if it's 85 in the daytime, it's 75 at night.
Larry Zilliox:Whatever it is, it's the same every day, every day, and then sometimes during it is, it's the same every day, and then sometimes during the day it's going to rain on you, they would issue us these ponchos that they'd say, oh yeah, here, put the poncho on. You know, you're sure you've got to stand out the rain, but you'll have the poncho. You put this poncho on and you'd sweat to death so much You'd be just as much as wet as if it You'd cook in there. Yeah, if it rained on you. So you just stopped carrying the thing. You just stood out there in the rain, got wet and then you just dried off.
Phil Massicotte:After an hour or so it was really something that was the only thing about. Out there in the deserts in New Mexico you can hold, you know, in the middle of a shift when it's hot, you, in the middle of a shift when it's hot, you can trench yourself with the hose and it would be dry in less than 20 minutes. You're totally dry. Yeah, and Guam was just Guam. Remember the Guam rot? It was just so humid there, not everything, it was just like you felt sticky all the time. You just couldn't sleep well, but you know what it was the off-duty. Yeah, you know it was just, but you know what it was the off-duty stuff that made it all great. You know, we had some good, good times there in Guam.
Larry Zilliox:Yeah, and right on base they have a beautiful beach called Taragi Beach. It was a lot of, we spent a lot of time down there. Yeah, that's where the range was too.
Larry Zilliox:Yeah, the range was right down on the beach too, and that's where the range was too. Yeah, yeah, the range was right down on the beach too, and that's where eod range was too. You could see him, yeah, setting off those big 500 pound bombs. For some reason, I don't know why, I guess they just decided the old ordinance from world war ii or something.
Phil Massicotte:You know, yeah, yeah, sometimes, but uh, yeah, we were just, uh, it was something, and that you know, the first day we were there on that balcony you ended up coming back. I didn't know it was you. You ended up coming back in a flight suit yeah, pilot's flight suit, and colonel wings on your shoulders and your OD green ball cap and you had like a seven-inch long 50-ring cigar hanging out of your mouth.
Larry Zilliox:I was getting ready to play poker. That was sort of that jacket when I saw it.
Phil Massicotte:Yeah, I didn't know. We didn't know what the deal was because I didn't see any rank on your jungles. When you came up and Troy's like, is this a real colonel? I go, I don't know, that's a dude. That came up and then with you, I didn't know we didn, and then with you, I didn't know whether to salute or stand at attention, so we did some half-assed thing and then you just started talking like a regular guy. I go, all right, he's doing this as a goof.
Phil Massicotte:I guess, that's what you normally dressed. Yeah, that was your.
Larry Zilliox:Yeah, yeah, that was my poker-playing outfit. You know, somebody else I forgot to is Kato. Yeah, you know, he was a Filipino and he always had his nunchucks and was doing crazy stuff and you know he retired from immigration. He was working in California. Oh, he went to immigration. Yeah, he went to immigration. Oh, no, kidding Law enforcement. Oh, good for him.
Phil Massicotte:Yeah, yeah, remember him doing his. He had his nunchucksucks.
Larry Zilliox:He was on top of the bus doing his nunchucks yeah, johnny going through his johnny collie jumped off the third floor.
Phil Massicotte:Yeah as that other idiot jumped off the second floor. Yeah, because somebody called him a, you know, uh puss, that's why. But yeah, and then he got it was crazy bunch of characters, man really well, I know, but they were just fun and laid back and they made it all worthwhile we had a good time. We had a lot of good time. But you know, I'm just going through my head, but I can go through stories.
Larry Zilliox:Man, oh my God, we have some stories I mean most of those we don't want to share.
Phil Massicotte:No, we don't want to share. But it was, you know, that set me going. And when that kind of wore off, like you said, the excitement of it all kind of wore off and I was ready for another assignment. And that's when I went to Manzano, yeah, to Albuquerque, and he followed after that, and then I ended up three years there. And then I ended up going up to Northern Maine, at Loring, where you started, yeah, going from the deserts in New Mexico to the frozen tundra of northern Maine. But I wanted to be close to home. I did three years up there. It's not close to home, yeah, with Angela too. Well, it was driving distance. It was like an eight to ten-hour drive to Connecticut. And you know, you got to go through a selection.
Phil Massicotte:I knew I was getting out, I knew I wasn't going to drag the kids around the world. You know, stopping at different bases, three years here, four years there, and I can't even learn to develop relationships. You know that's what I was worried about, yeah. So I went to plan routes. It was time to get out, still done, thinking about me, and I said yeah. So I ended up in the process with the state, I got hired and then I got out in March of 88. After almost eight years. I got out on a manpower reduction thing and I took it, yeah. And so like a couple of weeks after that I was, you know, working for the state, going to the police academy. And then, once I got out of the police academy that's when I started my career. I started at Whiting Forensic and then went to Central Investigations and the commissioner's office and did that for a while and I supervised it and I went to support operations as a lieutenant in support operations, yeah.
Larry Zilliox:Back up a little bit here. So Whiting Forensic Institute. For all you listeners out there who aren't familiar with Connecticut facilities, it's a loony bin for criminally insane people Maximum security, criminally insane individuals.
Phil Massicotte:Yeah, you need to come in for court evaluations. They got an open case and they're coming in to be evaluated for competency and things like that. So basically it was a prison. Yeah yeah, I worked for the state but I was a police officer at the famous Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services. So we were responsible for the state police and security services at the six different major facilities in Bridgeport even Hartford, newington and Middletown.
Larry Zilliox:How did you find your transition? I mean what I mean you, you, you got employed really quickly.
Phil Massicotte:Yeah, you know, I it was. Then again I went to from the military into a paramilitary kind of environment. So my transition was kind of easy, going from the air force into that right out of there a couple of weeks like I was on leave. Then you know, now you're in academy and they're yelling and screaming at you again and all that stuff you know, and they're going through the training and I thought, yeah, but yeah, I ended up doing a lot of investigations, you know statewide and central investigations, and I ended up supervising it and then commanding it and then I went up to captain in field operations for my last couple of years, I supervising it, then commanding it, and then I went up to captain in field operations for my last couple of years.
Larry Zilliox:I've been retired since 2013. Yeah, was there ever a thought of doing something else, or were you just always going to thinking you were going to go into law enforcement?
Phil Massicotte:Yeah, I knew I was going to probably go into law enforcement. The transition that was really difficult for me. After all that my military career, going into my law enforcement career is kind of a smooth transition. But once I retired in 2013, I went from overseeing 130 people to overseeing my dog. You know, I had no responsibilities. Really, you know, that was the toughest transition and I think I probably experienced with combat not necessarily combat veterans, veterans who've been around for a 20-year career I probably experienced the same thing, sure, and most of them do. You know I just became a little lost, you know, started suffering from depression and all that.
Larry Zilliox:Yeah.
Phil Massicotte:Trying to find my groove, you know so, yeah, so I went from that to a you know full-time that yeah, trying to find my groove, you know so, yeah.
Phil Massicotte:So I went from that to a you know a full-time grandpa you know which is timing was perfect, because my kids just had their kids and I was available, so, but it was a totally different. That was the struggle. And there was a struggle, I think, probably similar to life. You know, lifers in the military, yeah, but you know you push through it and you find your way and you're okay.
Larry Zilliox:you know, Did you make a VA claim for any kind of services?
Phil Massicotte:No, I didn't. No, I should have. I know it's a long process. I should have. I got tinnitus too. I didn't put in for the tinnitus, that's a presumptive condition, but I was in, I think that was a certain time frame. No, but I haven't used veteran services, I have to say, for anything like that.
Larry Zilliox:You got a plan from the state, though you got a retirement thing from the state right.
Phil Massicotte:Yeah, I got a pension and I got full retirement, full medical, yeah, yeah, so I'm lucky. And your wife is so much younger than you. Is she still working? She's still working. Yes, yeah, well.
Larry Zilliox:I'm lucky and your wife is so much younger than you. Is she still working?
Phil Massicotte:She's still working.
Larry Zilliox:yes, yeah well, you know.
Phil Massicotte:Yeah, she'd rather be at work. I think sometimes you know she can't.
Larry Zilliox:She's probably the youngest grandma in Connecticut, I would think.
Phil Massicotte:Yeah, I don't know about that.
Phil Massicotte:But she looks very young for her age, that's for sure she does. Oh my goodness. Well, we used to go to this diner on a regular. Every weekend We'd go to the same diner. We knew this waitress for like 10 years. She knows by name, she knew our grandkids and this and that and after 10 years she thought I was Angela's father. She didn't think the whole time All those years she thought I was Angela's father. The whole time all those years she thought I was her father, not her husband. I wish I knew that I wouldn't have gave you a tip. Yeah, I'm a lucky man.
Larry Zilliox:Yeah, she never came to Guam with you, did she?
Phil Massicotte:No, she never came to Guam. She came to New Mexico. She came, came to Guam with you did she?
Larry Zilliox:No, she never came to Guam, I remember.
Phil Massicotte:She came to New Mexico.
Larry Zilliox:She came out to New Mexico. Oh, that's where you guys got married. I remember we got married. Yeah, you remember. There we came for the wedding. What a wedding that was. Yes, you did In the judge's chambers.
Phil Massicotte:Bertolino County. Yeah, Bertolino County Courth yes.
Larry Zilliox:And I remember I don't know. You know, when you're young like that, you're just stupid. And I'm getting sent to PCS from Guam to Albuquerque and like three weeks before that you're going to get married. And I said oh, all right, well, let me get a, let me hop over there from Guam to Travis, let me hop over there from Guam to Travis.
Larry Zilliox:I'll stay with Lois and then I'll fly down to Albuquerque and go to this 20-minute wedding and then fly back, have Lois pick me up in the Air Force and then hop back to Guam. And I remember that very clearly because I was really close to being AWOL because I couldn't get a flight. I couldn't get a flight and then all of a sudden, a flight comes up on a C5 and the guy says to me he says here's the deal, though this is a straight direct flight from Travis to Guam, not stopping in Hawaii, and it has an in-flight refueling. Are you okay with that? And I'm like, well, yeah, because I'm going to get back and I won't be AWOL. Of course I'm okay with that. And that was a long flight, man. Oh yeah, that was really long, you know, like 14 hours or something like that. It was ridiculous.
Larry Zilliox:But at least you know at least you weren't in troop seats like you were when you were on a C-130.
Phil Massicotte:But yeah, I took a C-135. I took a hop from Guam to Travis on a C-135. And yeah, and the jump seats, they were falling stuff too. And yeah, I had my short-sleeved shirts on, I didn't know, you know. And yeah, I had my short sleeve shirts on, I didn't know. Once we got up there, man, everybody was throwing on their jackets and I'm like they're looking at me like I'm an idiot, which I was.
Phil Massicotte:You got your Hawaiian shirt on, I'm going on a vacay. We got up there it froze, but I did get to see some mid-air refueling, to lay down next to the boom operator and see all that. But yeah, other than that, you know you're sitting in your jump seat, the jump seats are all all full of people and you know and you're trying to be everybody's got their book or whatever. Didn't have phones back then, that stuff, you know so. Or you went to sleep and I remember falling asleep and waking up and everybody you know was all laying on top of each other. You know they got strangers laying on your shoulder and it was just so terrible, but it was $10, you know, yeah, and they give you a box lunch, yeah.
Larry Zilliox:Space available. Yeah, it's a lot different today. A lot different today, yeah, huh, oh, my goodness, can't get hops anymore. Yeah, well, you know, that was the greatest thing, man, that that was the greatest thing. Yeah, it was cheap and we saw everything coming in and out of Guam so you could get a flight, no problem. You know, oh, yeah, yeah if you wanted to go and then I remember I don't know if you ever took a Typhoonavac, but I took a Typhoonavac out of Guam with PAG.
Phil Massicotte:Yeah, no, I never got the opportunity. There was one and it filled up and I never got the opportunity to go.
Larry Zilliox:Yeah, we went to Okinawa. What a crazy place that was. Yeah, did you have to do 12-hour shifts or something like that? No, you got there and all the bombers were empty, you know. And so they went from Priority A to Priority C. They already had a full flight of guys there working the flight line and securing everything. So most of the time you had the night off. And I remember pag and I hooked up with a guy on their flight there who spoke japanese. His parents were mercenaries and so we went downtown drinking with him and it was crazy because he spoke the language.
Phil Massicotte:And wow, man, yeah it was right, it was crazy, that's that's no, I never got the opportunity. I did go tdy to hawaii yeah and, uh, what was great about that?
Phil Massicotte:I went there, I went, I went to the hospital there, I was there for three days and I went back to flight operations with my orders. And the guy looks at me and he goes uh, you can't leave today. I go when can I get out? He goes well, your orders say you can only take a strategic air command aircraft and we don't have one coming in for 10 days. So go have a couple of Mai Tais, because I hang around for another 10 days in Hawaii while waiting for a flight.
Larry Zilliox:Oh man, yeah, so the Air Force was kind of crazy back then. I hope they got it together more.
Phil Massicotte:Yeah, yeah, I hope they got it together more now. Yeah, I don't know, I don't know. I think they probably do. It's a totally different setup than when we were all together, you know, with the security forces and everything.
Larry Zilliox:Yeah, A lot has changed and I'm sure it's for the people.
Phil Massicotte:A lot has changed and back then in the 80s we were looking for Ivan to cross the wire. You know, remember Ivan? Yeah, it was the Russians, yeah.
Larry Zilliox:They were going to invade Guam. We had to be alert. Yeah, it was kind of ridiculous.
Phil Massicotte:It was something else, and my first time being around nuclear weapons it was just like yeah, I don't know, I I don't know, I forget who I was riding with. It was Kevin. It was this guy named Kevin, I think.
Larry Zilliox:Yeah.
Phil Massicotte:I can't remember who he was, but I was riding with him. Kevin Austin, yes, kevin Austin, yes, yes, yes, and I remember they were loading it up for a convoy and I'm looking at these things. I must have been in the daze or something, because he came over to me and he says he goes, don't worry. Worry, if anything happens, you won't fail a thing. Okay, that's reassuring. Yeah, very good.
Larry Zilliox:You should just be incinerated in a tenth of a second.
Phil Massicotte:Yeah, it's ridiculous my military career. I'm very happy with how my military career was. A lot of frustration though.
Larry Zilliox:Yeah, yeah, but a lot of fun A lot of fun, a lot of good people, the tribe frustration though, yeah, yeah, but a lot of fun, a lot of fun, a lot of good people, the tribe.
Phil Massicotte:We're still in touch with so many of them, you know, yeah, and all the people that I'm in touch with other than, uh, john dylan, yeah, and in new mexico, yeah, it's just people from guam. It was just a special bond there, you know. It was just, it was something else.
Phil Massicotte:You know, everybody just came together for each other yeah, yeah, you know and I remember the first sergeant when I, it was just, it was something else, you know, everybody just came together for each other. Yeah, yeah, you know. And I remember the first sergeant when I it was time for me to get my through my training, but now it's time for me to hit the flight line. I go to the first sergeant. He was assigning shifts and I had already been like on this in the same dorm and and everybody on D flight was on my floor down below. So I said to him I said he goes, oh, where are we going to put Airman Massacott, let's see. And I go, I'd like to go to D-Flight. And he looks at me and he goes dog flight. And I said, yeah, I liked it even more when he said that. I said, yeah, I want to go to dog flight. And just a blast, it was just great. It really was something else.
Larry Zilliox:The only downside to it, really and I love Guam, I learned your scuba dive there but the only downside to it is when I look back at my six years when you worked the way we did. You were on three swing shifts four to midnight yeah, it was brutal. Then you had 24 hours off. Then you worked three swing shifts four to midnight yeah, it was brutal. Then you had 24 hours off. Then you worked three mids, which was midnight to eight, and then you had three days off and for six years I was sleeping Every three days I was sleeping at a different time. Yeah, it was crazy. Sleep cycles were all screwed up and today I still suffer from insomniaomnia and it's just terrible. That's. That's the one thing. If I recommend anything to young guys in the air force if you're, if you're working in a job where there's swing shifts and that kind of thing, do everything you can to get on days, yeah Well every base I went to the first.
Phil Massicotte:my first order of business was to try to get on a day shift. Yeah, you know I was done with that stuff. But then base I went to my first order of business was to try to get on a day shift. Yeah, you know I was done with that stuff, but then when I went into luring I ended up back in that cycle.
Larry Zilliox:Yeah.
Phil Massicotte:For a year or so and then I ended up getting on day shift and then when I left the military and I went to work with the state, my shifts were midnight to noon, two on, two off. Oh, wow, you know, yeah. And so I went right into ship work and that's when I really started hating it. So that's when I looked at getting promoted and getting some kind of investigative job and moving up the ladder because I was guaranteed autonomy and you know, the freedom. Yeah, because eventually I had, you know, when I was Lieutenant and Captain, I ended up having statewide responsibilities. So it kept it, you know, it kept it not exciting, but it kept it fresh.
Phil Massicotte:Every day, busy Every day, yeah, busy. You know I was doing lawsuit, a lot of lawsuit, investigations up there in the office of commissioner. Yeah, so I would be. I'd get a case, you know, a patient suing a treatment team for abuse or whatever. I'd have to make, you know, investigate it and file a position paper for the commissioner to send to the attorney general's office. So it was like an attorney's working product. So that was, that was pretty interesting.
Phil Massicotte:Yeah, never ending never ending work, though Never ending, never ending. And then left and I thought you know they're not going to survive without me, kind of thing. Oh yeah, who are they going to bring in? They didn't even have me train anybody to take my position.
Larry Zilliox:It didn't matter, Life went on Kidding A monkey could do that job. What are?
Phil Massicotte:you talking about?
Larry Zilliox:Exactly, of course, of course, have a nice retirement, we'll find somebody to fill in.
Phil Massicotte:Right. Well, you know what? I wouldn't have made the rank I made in civilian sector had I not gone through that experience. It was seven years eight months in the military. Really, when I brought that to the table on our boards and promotional boards and stuff like that, it really made a difference. It really did. They were impressed with what I did, especially when I went and I got hired and I ate my first assignment to lieutenant the commanding officer at Whitey Forensic. So they were really impressed with that kind of background. Anybody with military.
Larry Zilliox:Military experience. They can count on veterans, that's for sure, yeah.
Phil Massicotte:Yeah, yeah, you, you know, and they got a. You know I had all those military, uh um, mindset, even though you know we joke about the air force, but you know it, we still had that mindset and I brought it to the, to that environment, you know, and it kind of it kind of yeah, i't know kind of like spread to other officers you know who were like stuck in a rut, yeah, and you get a couple of new guys who have some you know pep in their step.
Larry Zilliox:Yeah, you know, I think it was always lost on us what the job we had and the responsibility that we had, not only in guarding these weapons, but they sent us to work with a crazy amount of lethal force. Oh yeah, we went to work with an M60 machine gun and 203 grenade launchers and just ridiculous stuff, yeah, and the area that we guarded was right next to the housing area and I'm like, are we going to unleash this on somebody? Yeah, and it's going to devastate the housing area and I could never get my head around that. But you know, yeah, the 15 and 5s.
Phil Massicotte:you know the helping hand, broken arrows and all that stuff. Yeah, we had a tons. You know the helping hand, broken arrows and all that stuff. Yeah, we had a ton of weaponry. I know you know it was kind of ridiculous, it really was. I met some characters at every base, all kinds.
Larry Zilliox:Yeah.
Phil Massicotte:Yeah, you know, I met a whole group of people, interesting people, people you know you didn't think really existed.
Larry Zilliox:That's right.
Phil Massicotte:You were those Southern guys. You know, when I went to New Mexico there was a bunch of guys that I ended up befriending. They were from all from the South Tennessee and Georgia and this and that South Carolina and they kind of I was the Yankee and they kind of took me under my wing and we became good friends.
Larry Zilliox:Yeah.
Phil Massicotte:Dave Franks and a few other guys. They ended up working for the Department of Energy.
Larry Zilliox:Oh yeah.
Phil Massicotte:On those SST trucks. Yeah, they did that and they ended up having a career.
Larry Zilliox:Yeah, believe it or not?
Phil Massicotte:Wow.
Larry Zilliox:Yeah.
Phil Massicotte:Well, that's the other thing about the military, too, is you're going to go in and you're going to meet people and you're going to be forced to work with people that you would not normally ever meet in your lifetime. It's not like you could stay away from them, no, no, no. And when you're in a fire team building with them or you're on a two-man alarm response team or something you know you've got to way to get work through that, yeah, yeah, it's, it's, it really gets you, it does prepare you. Yeah, you know, because anywhere you go and I went from, I went from this, uh, in the military to the state and you know there was a different set of characters there, but you know, it kind of prepared me for that.
Phil Massicotte:And then from there I went to the city when I was aviation commissioner, yeah, after I got out, retired from the state and went to the mayor, to Mark Meripur, and became chairman of the aviation commission. I did that for like seven years. I always liked being around it. But you know, all that prepared me for all those people I met in every government system. You know, really, I really did because, man, I was like holy cow. You know, after listening to some people and their stories and their lives and you know, wow, you know, my life was simple compared to some of these guys.
Larry Zilliox:Yeah, yeah, they were all different kinds and you know that was back still where people joined the military, because it was either that or jail, yes, yes, yeah, or some judge would. Where people join the military because it was either that or jail.
Phil Massicotte:Yes, yes, yeah, or some judge would sentence you to the Marines or something you know. But yeah, either go to the Marines or you go to county, or something that's right.
Larry Zilliox:Luckily, the Air Force had a pretty high entrance standard, so we didn't see too much of that. Not too many.
Phil Massicotte:No, but yeah, we saw some crazy people.
Larry Zilliox:Yeah, wow.
Phil Massicotte:Surreal stuff happening. Like you're trying to go wait what is he doing? Oh, he's catching bullfrogs.
Larry Zilliox:I know Southerners used to throw those big toads against the fire team building.
Phil Massicotte:Oh, the big toads man, yeah, you know. Or chase a rat down the ramp or something you know, man, you know, or chase a rat down the ramp or something you know.
Larry Zilliox:Oh man, these are crazy people. You would recommend it to any young person out there joining the military.
Phil Massicotte:Oh, yeah, absolutely, yeah, absolutely. Why not? It was a good start for me. In more ways, I think, over my career, I've seen that my Air Force career really propelled me. Oh, even over people, because nowadays, even before I left, everybody needs a college degree now to be a cop in Connecticut or pursuing a college degree. But it was those people, some of those people didn't make the rank because they lacked something. You know, you go to college all you want, but if you don't have to lead people or talk to people or control people, you know with your voice, then just you know with your voice, and just you know, yeah, yeah, you're not going to make it too far. So the military guys a lot of my my first Lieutenant was a Marine, my next Lieutenant was in the army. I mean, there's it seemed like everybody who was promoted had some kind of military background with them.
Larry Zilliox:I don't know how it has not changed quite a bit, changed quite a bit. I'm sure it's the same. I mean that, yeah, your, your service experience does bring a lot to the table and especially in the law enforcement community. There's no doubt about that, yeah right.
Phil Massicotte:Yeah, I mean, I went my first eight years of state service without taking a sick day, so I had a huge sick time bank. And I remember going for one of my promotional interviews and of course they always come to the question of sick time and I was getting ready for that because I was proud to say to them I haven't taken a sick day since I've been in state service. So one of the people on the board is a human agency, human resources person, and so I know what they're going to say oh yeah. So oh well, I don't know, maybe you won't. But so I said I am happy to say that I haven't taken a sick day in eight years. And this guy looked at me and went what's wrong with you? And I said that's the point. Nothing. Isn't that the point of sick time? But I don't know, it was just my. I don't know what it was, I just didn't want to use my sick time in that way.
Larry Zilliox:Well, you know, and we would be sick on Guam but it was from drinking, it wasn't. Yeah, oh yeah, we would be sick on Guam, but it was from drinking, it wasn't. Yeah, oh yeah, we never got ill, we just went to work with hangovers.
Phil Massicotte:Yeah, and you're humping around a nuclear-loaded B-52 with an M-16, 120 rounds and you're hungover. I remember hearing down the ramp. You know how quiet it got on the ramp late at night, midnight shift. Sure, four planes down. I hear him puking, you know, and he's echoing through the hole and everybody's like yeah, yeah.
Larry Zilliox:Exactly, there was no sick days for us, that's for sure.
Phil Massicotte:No, you slipped it off in a fire, team building or something.
Larry Zilliox:Yeah, really.
Phil Massicotte:Yeah, I mean I can talk for hours. I mean, let me know when you can tell the real stories. Yeah, we'll leave it at that. Yeah, all right, well, listen, but absolutely recommend it, not a problem. Thank you for including me in this. Yeah, that's great. I always like reminiscing about military stuff you know.
Phil Massicotte:Your kids are tired of hearing about us when we get together. Yeah, absolutely, you know. But both my kids, yeah, they were born in the Air Force Base. Yeah, yeah, you know, they're Air Force brats. Wow, air Force brats, all right. Well, thanks again, z. Yeah, I appreciate it, buddy, I'll be talking to you All right.
Larry Zilliox:So for our listeners, we'll have another episode next Monday morning at 0500. Until then, if you have any questions or suggestions, you can reach us at podcastwillingwarriorsorg. Until then, thanks for listening.
