Thrifty Globetrotters: Backpacker Memoirs
Thrifty Globetrotters: Backpacker Memoirs – I attended the University of New Mexico on a Navy ROTC scholarship. My family lived in Puerto Rico. Going home for the holidays (Christmas and summer) was an expensive proposition. I learned that if I had orders from my ROTC unit to fly home and back, I could fly free space on military planes.
I took advantage of this every vacation when I was a midshipman. I would get my orders from the unit, put on my uniform, and head to Kirtland Air Force Base in Albuquerque, looking for any aircraft heading in the right direction. If I can go to a military base on the east coast, I can easily go to Puerto Rico.
Thrifty Globetrotters: Backpacker Memoirs
A midshipman is considered an officer even though he is the lowest rank in the Navy. As an officer, I also had the right to stay … Read the rest