I pulled my last alert at India LCC on 5/6 September 1985. Minot got its last pound of flesh by sending me to the ACP. By tradition, crewmembers going on their last alert get to address the alert force at Pre-Departure, and it just so happened that both my Olympic Arena deputies were going on alert that day as well. I got to say good bye and thank them for their efforts. Of all the people I knew at Minot, it is those two guys that I still wonder about.
I don't remember much about that last alert except leaving the LCC after changeover. I remember standing on the hinged walkway and taking a last look at a place I would never see again - a place that had become such a formative part of my life. I remember standing outside and watching the blast door swing shut for the last time. Through August, I couldn't wait to be done with crew duty. The petty irritations - like receiving 53 retransmissions of the same message over SACCS in one hour - were wearing on me. But now it was September, and I already missed it even before the blast door was closed.
It's funny. I still miss it.
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