Month: September 2024

Grounding Problems

Grounding Problems

Colonel Bayshore called me into his office. “Max we have a problem at the new Alternate Support Headquarters (ASH) in England and need you on a plane.”  “What’s the problem?”  “A grounding issue.” “Ummm, I don’t know anything about grounding.”  “None of us do. Here’s the manual.”

In 1988 Cath and I were stationed in Germany with the Information Systems Engineering Command (ISEC).  I was a Captain at the time and had my master’s in electrical engineering. ISEC did all kinds of complex Information Technology (IT) implementations.

When Colonel Bayshore called me into his office to talk about the ASH*, it was a classified site. The US European Command (EUCOM) ASH was in High Wycombe, England and where EUCOM HQ would bug out, if they needed to evacuate Germany during a war. Originally built in 1942 during WWII for other reasons, the US government later rebuilt the bunker to support the ASH during the Cold War. It was an underground complex and built to survive not only conventional bombings, but even an ElectroMagnetic Pulse (EMP) nuclear attack.

The site wasn’t yet occupied. The system installations were handled by a different organization than ours, with much of the IT work completed by a contractor. Most work was completed with systems installed, but one of the classified rooms had a problem. Whenever you used the secure phones in the room, there was crosstalk with other phones, making it impossible to have a classified conversation. The ASH facility could not pass its security accreditation until the issue was resolved. This meant the faculty could not undergo final testing or become operational. An engineer “somewhere” thought it was a grounding problem. They contacted ISEC for outside support, resulting in Colonel Bayshore’s call to me. 

Sergeant First Class (SFC) George Walls would also go on the trip. George was great and a super technician. We would work as a team at the ASH until we solved the problem. 

The next day, George and I started reading “MIL-HDBK-419A – Grounding, Bonding, and Shielding for Electronic Equipments and Facilities Volume 2 of 2” (Volume 1 was theory.  Volume 2 was applications). At 394 pages, it was a massive document and told us everything and anything we could possibly want to know about grounding buildings and electrical systems within those buildings

Vol II of Mil-Handbook 419A – All 394 Pages of it.

A day later, we were on a plane crossing the Channel. We continued reading and rereading MIL-HDBK-419A.

Arriving in England at the ASH, we met our government point of contact (POC) and a representative from the contractor. They were skeptical we would find anything, but welcomed our help. Our job was to identify issues, but not to fix them. The contractor would complete the corrections, once tasked by the government.

After giving us a tour of the facility, they offered to accompany us as we started our work. We politely declined, and let them know if we needed any help, we would contact them. We didn’t want anyone looking over our shoulders – partly to minimize outside interference in our investigation, and partly so no one could see how green we were in our knowledge of grounding. Quoting from the book/movie “MASH”, we were “The pros from Dover”** and we didn’t want anyone questioning that. 

The Descent Into the Bunker Complex.

We started our work in the classified room with the crosstalk problem and spent two days checking every system, circuit, wall plate, ground connection and the entire ground grid underneath the raised floor in the room. We found some wall plates that weren’t grounded and one improperly grounded system, but found no issues related to the crosstalk problem.

From there, we proceeded to the classified phone switch room and did the same type of inspection. Again, we discovered several issues, but none that we believed caused the crosstalk. We hadn’t solved the problem, but our list of grounding issues within the facility continued growing. 

Next, we went to the Tech Control Facility (TCF) where all connectivity (cables, wires and radio channels) for the systems going into or out of the ASH passed through. We documented more and different grounding issues. 

With the growing list of problems, I called COL Bayshore and recommended we inspect the entire underground facility for grounding issues, including all rooms, systems and connections. This was outside our original scope, but both George and I were concerned with what we were finding. COL Bayshore agreed, but needed approval for the expanded work. The next day, the powers-that-be gave approval. 

We spent the next few weeks at the ASH continually documenting grounding issues. Many were minor, but some were major. As one example, in a room housing the Worldwide Military Command and Control System  (WWMCCS), all systems were properly connected to the ground grid below the raised floor, but the ground grid itself was not connected external to the room, making it worthless. In another case, the grounding cable for an external backup generator was almost cut in half. At some point in the past, the generator startup battery arced to the ground cable, nearly severing it. 

A Piece of the Below Floor Ground Grid.

After about three weeks, we finished our inspection. Our list of grounding issues was twenty or thirty pages long and many items needed correction prior to the facility going operational. We sent a copy back to our headquarters at ISEC and also gave a copy to the facility government POC. Needless to say, with the number of identified problems, there was a bit of shock both back at our unit, and in the facility. 

Unfortunately, we still hadn’t solved the crosstalk issue. 

That night as George and I were having dinner and a beer, we talked things over. We tossed some ideas back and forth, and ultimately decided we would track a single phone circuit in the classified room from the phone to the connection plate to the classified switch to the TCF and see if we could find the problem. Maybe it wasn’t a grounding issue. 

The next day, we were back in the classified room and pulled one of the phones from its cable and inspected it. Nothing…Nada…Nope. From there we traced the phone cable to the wall plate. We took apart the wall plate and pulled out the physical jack the phone plugged into. As we looked at one side we noted the connection port, a resistor, and a couple of capacitors – nothing too exciting there. We turned it over and started tracing the circuitry. HELLO! What’s this? Two capacitors were interconnected and double connected to different circuit posts in the jack where the phone itself connected. 

Front and Back of the Phone Jack

We stared at the wiring and started talking. Was this the issue? There was only one way to find out. George pulled out a pair of wire cutters and …snip snip… cut the connections for the suspected capacitor. 

We reassembled everything, plugged the phone in and made a call. NO CROSSTALK!

We notified COL Bayshore and then spoke with the POC and the contractor about what we found. They were shocked (and surprised we had the temerity to cut the connections). We eventually tracked down why the connectors were incorrectly wired. It turns out the phones all came from the US for the classified system. The contractor obtained the connectors in Europe. They may have worked with the European equivalent phone, but they would not work with the US version as wired. 

George and I were still in England for the next couple of days and had become minor celebrities of sorts. Calls came in from both DC and Fort Huachuca, Az where they completed the original system implementation/design work. The calls were a bit funny. People congratulated us, but couldn’t quite believe we solved the problem, or how we solved it. They asked several questions – some we could answer, some we couldn’t. It didn’t really matter to George or me by then. We’d finished something no one else had solved, mostly through detailed work, and a little bit of luck. 

A couple of days later we made our way home to Germany, mission accomplished. 

I have thought about the trip more than a few times since then. Becoming an “instant expert” was important. I knew I wasn’t really an expert at the start, but I knew we had more knowledge about grounding than anyone else connected to the program. By the time we finished, we truly were grounding experts.

Finding the many grounding problems was important. The issues probably would have gone unnoticed until a system failed, possibly during a real-world crisis. 

Lastly, it was important to remember that sometimes the problem isn’t what you think it is, or what others think it is. Sometimes it’s something so small and innocuous it goes unnoticed, just sitting there looking innocent. Keeping an open mind is always important.

Addendum:

Major Radcliffe

Major Radcliffe

Charlie sent an email to all of us company B-3 West Point ‘78 grads. Colonel Bob Radcliffe, our Tactical (TAC) Officer when we were cadets, passed away. My mind did an immediate flashback to my last two years at school. He made such a difference in my life and was a true mentor and leader. 

For me, I’ll always remember him as Major Radcliffe. That was his rank when he served as our TAC.  By way of explanation, each of the 36 companies had an active duty officer assigned as a TAC Officer. The TACs:

“Are the primary leader developers/integrators of the Academy’s developmental programs. They oversee each cadet’s individual development in the academic, military, physical, and moral-ethical dimensions within the framework of the Cadet Company. The TACs train, lead, coach, and mentor cadets, with a continual focus on leader development. The TAC is … responsible for the establishment and maintenance of a command climate that fosters individual and unit excellence in all program areas.”

There were of course all kinds of TACs at West Point. Most were good, but some were martinets and some were too folksy. Major Radcliffe was one of the good ones. From my perspective, he was one of the great ones. He knew how to strike the right balance in his work with us.

Major Radcliffe in our 1978 Yearbook.

He was a Grad himself from the class of 1965.  He was also a first team All American Lacrosse player while at the Academy. After graduating and commissioning in the Infantry, he obtained his Airborne wings and Ranger tab. He did a couple of tours in Vietnam, where he earned the Combat Infantry Badge, the Silver Star and the Bronze Star for Valor. 

He made us toe the line as Cadets, but also had a human side. When Cathy and I learned she had MS, he worked with me to obtain an immediate weekend pass to see her in DC, which was so important for me. We weren’t engaged yet, but he came through. He also helped rescue me from myself when I screwed up on something at school. For both of those items, I will be eternally grateful.  

Additionally, Major Radcliffe had a sense of humor. I remember going to his home a few times for cookouts or dinners. On one occasion, he surprised us when he lifted his sweatshirt revealing the T-shirt he wore underneath. It said, “US Team. Southeast Asia War Games. 1960-1975. Second Place.” Sense of humor indeed. 

A Wry Sense of Humor

My last official interaction with Major Radcliffe was when he swore me in as a Second Lieutenant on Graduation Day. We were at Washington Monument on The Plain and I remember it as if it were yesterday. Mom, of course, snapped the picture. 

My Swearing in Ceremony with Major Radcliffe.

I only saw him a couple times after graduation.  Once in the military at an exercise or meeting somewhere. The second time was by chance in an airport. We were both civilians by then and chatted briefly, while waiting for connecting flights.  In 2020, Cathy and I were going to host a mini B-3 reunion and we invited him to the event. We traded a couple of emails back and forth and he looked forward to attending. Unfortunately, COVID intervened and we cancelled the get together. 

Yes, when Charlie’s email arrived in my inbox, I had my flashback to West Point. I also thought about his impact on my life and how he, along with West Point itself, changed the arc of my life. We didn’t call it mentorship back then, but that’s what it was. His mentorship and his leadership made a difference for many of us, and I’m glad he was in my life. It’s a debt I can’t repay.

Company B-3 Firsties (Seniors) with Major Radcliffe on Graduation Day.

Addendum:

  • The photo of Major Radcliffe in the South East Asia war games shirt is courtesy of company mate Charlie Wright. I’d told the story of the shirt for years, but Charlie had the actual proof of it.
  • Thanks to company mate Charlie Bartolotta for providing some of the information in this blog.

A Hustle Culture

A Hustle Culture

Here are some powerful words from our niece, Ann – I was in high school when Columbine occurred in 1999.  I started college in 2001 and then 9/11 happened. The Virginia Tech shooting occurred in 2007.  A year later, there was a shooting at my husband’s school, Northern Illinois University. He was on campus on Valentine’s Day, 2008 when a shooter walked in and killed 5 people in a lecture hall. For Sandy Hook in 2012, I was a mom and have been for every school shooting since then

Clearly I don’t know the answer on how to fix the gun problem, or the mental health problem, or the hate problem, but much of it seems to be a uniquely American problem. 

Across the board our (collective American) priorities are wacked. The pressure on American families is through the roof. It’s a hustle culture with overconsumption as the fuel.  There are two working parents in most homes trying to keep up with rising costs of basic living. This has been the case for me since I married in 2008. Those with any extra disposable income are outsourced to death trying to enrich their kids with activities and sports that formerly came naturally in neighborhoods and local parks. 

People are living way beyond their means, building pressure inside the home. Parents are stressed, over worked, underpaid, sick and depressed. I hate to say it’s the breakdown of the American family because that is usually used as a politically charged statement, but … We have grown so much as a country and we now really do celebrate so many varieties of families. Unfortunately, there is little or no support for them. 

In so many ways, American life has become a joke. American healthcare (as privileged as I am to be here) is a joke; insurance is a joke; childcare is a joke; maternity leave is a joke; FMLA is a joke; gun laws are a joke; the Department of Child and Family Services is a joke; WIC is a joke.  Our public schools, our school boards and our city halls have become jokes.  Many of our churches have become jokes. As we watch on the big screen, our highest government offices in our state capitols and Washington DC are also a series of jokes. 

Some kids out there are fighting for their lives socially, emotionally and physically. It doesn’t seem to matter. To make it extra special, we give our kids the technology to access it all, and put it in their hands.  We kiss them goodbye in the morning and expect that things will work out OK. 

I hope our gun laws change in a way that will benefit our society. But I also hope our society changes fundamentally to benefit our future.  If not, what do we have?

Casey, Ann and Their Two Wonderful Daughters.

 

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Addendum:

  • Ann originally wrote this in response to a post I’d made on Facebook about the recent school shooting in Georgia. She was writing in response to the deaths at the school, but also because of the utter neglect the 14 year-old shooter had received from his family and the systems that should have been in place to help him. Her words were as powerful as anything I’ve heard in a while, particularly in comparison to the talking heads on TV from both sides. Thanks for having the courage to speak up Ann. We love you. 
  • I’ve written a couple of other blog about Gun violence. You can read them here: 
    • There was no urgency to write this blog. I knew another mass shooting would happen sooner or later. I didn’t have to tie it to Buffalo or California. The next shooting would come along soon enough. I wasn’t disappointed. Texas happened this past […] Continue at: https://mnhallblog.wordpress.com/2022/05/29/guns-and-murica/
    • In light of the recent 4th of July mass killings in Highland Park , I’ve been rethinking Steven Stills classic song, ‘Find the Cost of Freedom’. “Find the cost of freedom, buried in the ground. Mother earth will swallow you, lay your body down” […] Continue at: https://mnhallblog.wordpress.com/2022/07/07/the-cost-of-freedom/
    • I was invited by the Brady Organization to speak at the End Gun Violence Rally on the National Mall yesterday. This was in conjunction with the 2022 DC March for our Lives today.  Here are my words … My Name is Max Hall. I am a graduate of West Point and Veteran of the United States Army. I would also point out that I am a gun owner […] Continue at: https://mnhallblog.wordpress.com/2022/06/11/speaking-out-on-gun-violence/

Summer’s End

Summer’s End

Labor Day Weekend at the Bay was a full-on Summerpalooza. Soft shell crabs and tomatoes…Crab cakes with corn…Grilled steaks and more crabs at our neighbor Vinnie’s home…Bike rides on the island…Drinking crushes at a beach bar… Eating fresh peaches, the juice running down my chin. It’s all been great, but I’m ready for Fall. 

Ahhh Summer – Cooking Soft Shells One Night, and Drinking Crushes at a Beach Bar the Next Day

What a strange Summer it has been, and I’m not just talking about the politics. The weather was … unusual. Quite cool at the start, we endured a drought for a couple of months. In early July it turned hotter than Hades, followed by a rain of several inches, a cool week in August with nighttime temps in the 40s, and then record setting heat the week before Labor Day.

Technically, we have about three weeks until the Autumnal Equinox marks the official start of Fall on September 22d, but of course Labor Day has always served as the unofficial end of Summer. 

Growing up, Summer was my favorite season. It was even better than Christmas time. When school let out at the start of Summer, there was unlimited time with endless possibilities. It was the time of going to the pool or Pitstick’s Dairy Lake for swimming – The ding-a-ling of the ice cream truck in the evenings, with cones for a dime – Staying out late – Pick-up Baseball behind Hohner’s house next to the graveyard – Boy Scout Summer Camp at Ki-Shua-Wau  – Cicadas, grasshoppers and lightning bugs – Making funny noises into the blowing fan in the front room before we had AC – Cookouts with burgers and Mom’s potato salad – Riding bikes with my buddies Howard and Tim, and later, with Cathy. Endless Possibilities.

As I grew older, Summers became shorter. Still fun, they were no longer endless and instead became finite in their possibilities.  Rereading the previous paragraph and the list of things I enjoyed about Summer, it is perhaps no coincidence they are activities from my youth. Is Summer more of a young person’s season?

Eventually, Summer lost its claim as my favorite season. Was it the passing of youth, or did something else cause the change?  I can’t answer that, but Autumn rose to the fore. 

Ahhhh, Autumn. How do I love thee? Let me count the ways – The drop in temperature and humidity – The crispness of a fall morning – Autumnal light (yes, that’s a real thing) – Going on vacations and knowing there will be fewer children wherever we are – The color of the leaves – Eating soups, stews and roasts again – Wild (not farm raised) oysters – Wearing a sweatshirt and shorts – Steeplechase Races – Orion reappearing in the night sky – Migrating birds – Walks in the woods and the crunch of leaves underfoot.  Here in Virginia, we are extra lucky. I defy you to find anywhere with more beautiful colors and weather than Virginia in the Fall.

During Fall, I enjoy watching the slow transition from Summer to Winter and how the world changes. It makes me feel alive as we leave the lethargy of Summer heat behind, but aren’t yet forced inside by the cold and snow of Winter. Although I know Spring is the season of new beginnings, I feel most alive in the Fall. 

We spent the last few days of August and the start of September at the Bayhouse on Tilghman Island. The heat wave eventually broke and it cooled down to seasonal weather. The end of Labor Day itself was absolutely gorgeous – one of those evenings you get a few times a year. It doesn’t feel like Fall yet, but I know it’s coming soon and I am ready to greet it. Author Victoria Erickson said it best for me: “If a year was tucked inside of a clock, then Autumn would be the magic hour.”

Labor Day Weekend – the End of Summer.

Addendum:

I’ve written two other Autumn related blogs:

  • As I walk and wander through the nearby woods this fall, I find my mind wandering as well. It is Autumn in the autumn of my life and I feel the passage of time. Death and decline are both more evident, and not quite the strangers they once were. It is not my own […] Continue here: https://mnhallblog.wordpress.com/2023/10/24/autumn-walks/
  • It’s not your imagination. The light actually is different this time of year. Golden and lush, it’s almost magical. It’s not just the color of the leaves, or the chill in the air. The light is different and it’s changing fast. Poets love to write about it, but there’s science behind the […] Continue at: https://mnhallblog.wordpress.com/2022/10/26/autumnal-light/