February is often the coldest month of the winter. Last February was an exception. It was unusually warm. My oil bill proves that. February 2020 reminded me of another February.

In 1977 the Groton Board of Education decided to introduce a two-week vacation in February to save money on fuel and to air out the school, both good ideas, and a bonus for families that liked to ski. For me, it meant an opportunity.

That year was the year that the government fiscal year changed from July to October. The result was a period called 197T, and the Navy had extra money for training. Reservists, such as myself, were offered the opportunity to take an extra two weeks of active duty for training (ACDUTRA).

I jumped on that chance. As a fairly new ensign (I was former enlisted) and a third-year teacher, I could use both the experience and the money. I applied for and received orders for those two weeks to the Navy contingent at a DoD agency located on Fort Meade, Maryland, an Army post. This was going to be my first contact with the Army.

The trip to Maryland would have been fairly easy had it not been for the fact that just before I left, the heater core in my Chevette began to leak. A jar of Stop Leak and an extra gallon of antifreeze got me to Fort Meade and I learned that the on-base garage could replace the core.

After this, when I planned to drive to my ACDUTRA, I’d rent a car. Then, if the car had a problem, it was Mr. Hertz’ problem, not mine!

I had never been to Fort Meade before and was surprised to learn that there was no fence around the base, such as at the Submarine Base. One could simply drive on. In fact, a major state road runs right through it.

When I arrived I checked into the somewhat dated Bachelor Officers Quarters. I was assigned a room that shared a bath with an adjoining room. The doors to the bathroom had sliding locks that provided privacy. When leaving one had to remember to open the lock so that the occupant of the other room could use the facility. I unpacked my uniforms and took my toilet kit into the bathroom. It was then I realized that the other junior officer sharing the facility was female. Although I was there for two weeks, I never saw her.

I did see someone else however, and it was quite a surprise. Walking back to the BOQ one afternoon I saw a young man in an Army Class A uniform with something on his shoulders that, from a distance, looked like a star. (It turned out to be a corps insignia.) My first though was that he was way too young to be a brigadier general, but being an ensign, and not having much experience dealing with the Army, I wasn’t going to take a chance.

When we got closer I rendered a very sharp salute that the soldier returned. I said “Good afternoon, sir.” As he passed me I noticed his sleeve. He wore the emblem of a private first class! I’ll bet he was as surprised as I was.

Behind the agency were a series of enlisted barracks and a mess hall called the Four Hats Dining Facility. Officers were permitted to eat there, and the food was pretty good. I believe it was run by the Air Force.

There was separate seating for officers once we had paid and gone through the chow line. While I was there I noticed that almost all the officers who chose to eat in the mess hall were Navy and Marine. I suspect that was because a large proportion of us were former enlisted.

The job I was assigned at the agency was an interesting one and it made use of my college major, which was social studies, primarily history with some political science, geography and economics courses thrown in. That combination, my college adviser told me, would certify me to teach any social studies course in Connecticut, grades 7–12.

All told, aside from the heater core, it was a good ACDUTRA. I learned a lot, including: fly and rent a car, hope there is no room at the BOQ so that you’ll have to live in a hotel, and that Army generals don’t look like high school kids. By the way, when I got back to Groton I learned that the weather for those two weeks had been fairly warm, so there wasn’t much savings on fuel oil after all.

Robert F. Welt of Mystic is a retired Groton Public Schools teacher.