A92Q is an Admiral! by Mike Grosko, K5VK

Here is a good HZ1AB story from Mike Grosko, K5VK:



Scott Redd, A92Q/K0DQ, Vice Admiral, U. S. Navy


Another interesting story that I'm pretty proud of:
 
I was operating on 20m ssb in the middle of a nice pile up when I get a
call from A92Q .   He sounded American, so I took some time to chat with
him (Scott).  He started to ask some sensitive questions about the
station, so I asked him to give me a phone # and that I would call him.
Anyway, a few days later Icall the number and ask for Scott.  The person
on the other end asked Scott who?  I said Scott the radio operator, then
I got the standard military "stand by".  Scott came on the phone and we went
through the usual ham conversations and then I asked him if he was in the military. 
He came back with a "Why yes, I am a Vice-Admiral!!!  My jaw dropped to the
floor on that one!  I said, "Well, I'm just a MSgt.  He said that's OK ,
ham to ham we can stay on a first name basis.  When I told the rest of
the club about this they had just about the same reaction as I did.  It
turns out Scott is K0DQ, and he was the commander of all the naval ops
in the Persian Gulf area!  I asked him if he would like to become a club
member and he said definitely "yes".  I made arrangements to visit with
him and hand carry the applications to him.  During this process I, of
course, had to explain why I was going to see a 3 star admiral and then I
went through the story.  I had a nice visit with Scott and his family,
he even bought lunch!  He's a great guy and a big contester.  He holds
some long standing world records and came in 10th in the world last
year, operating as A92Q from Bahrain, where he was headquartered. 
The club members were glad to finally have some horsepower on the
roster.  Scott's son Adam also had his Bahrainian license, A92MM, and
became a member as well.

Carl Brummet told me the story of Scott's first (and I think only) visit
to the HZ1AB shack.   Of course due to the situation in the
Middle East, a 3 star just can't move around very freely. However, he did
make it a point to attend the change of command ceremonies on the base. 
He made arrangements for an "official visit" to the shack in
conjunction with one of the change of command ceremonies. (Unfortunately,
I had already returned to the states by the time of Scott's visit.)  So a
few days before his visit, several of Scott's staff checked out the
facility.  Much to the poor Army captains bewilderment (the shack was
under his command as it also served as the MARS station).  On the day of
Scott's visit Carl was getting everything ready at the station, when the
captain showed up all spit shined and everything.  He told Carl that he
would have to leave because a VIP was due to arrive any minute.  Carl
just laughed and said "I don't think so, sir, because the Admiral was
coming to see ME!!"  Apparently someone forgot to give him the briefing
to the captain!!!

So, you can see the club has had some pretty "Interesting"
members.  And goes to show you that you never can tell who you might run
in to on the airwaves!  Be sure to add Scott and Adam to your ever
growing list.

			73,
				Mike K5VK
(March 1997)
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