HQDA detailers received complaints from commanders concerning the quality of placements for their Training and Combat Development Directorates at Fort Rucker. They wanted CGSC graduates. What better way to solve that problem than to send a non-select CGSC graduate. And DA told me this was my only promotion opportunity. By now, I realized that what they said was not what they meant, but the options were scarce, and I was within three years of retirement. Enterprise was not a high-cost area, and I might be able to get a flight instructor or maintenance officer job after retirement as they were primarily civilian. We went to Enterprise in December 1982, found a lot, designed a house similar, but even better than our Fresno house, and began
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I didn’t know if I would qualify for another mortgage after I retired. It had to be on a golf course or a lake, and the golf course area was not pleasing. Gateway, with its lakes and tall trees, was the location. We found a corner lot at 101 Oak Leaf Circle on the lake with an excellent view. Access to the lake was small with the overgrown brush, but a backhoe would solve that problem. We liked the Fresno house floor plan, so we started with that and made improvements. The land sloped to the lake, making a full access basement possible and we put 6’ windows and French doors down there. The family room and living room shared a large chimney so we put a heatilator in the family room fireplace that would heat the entire living end of the house. The cantilevered deck in the back spanned the entire length of the house and provided an elegant, spacious feeling. Stairs led down to ground level on the south side with a large landing with a hot tub. We integrated our favorite slope-cut oak walls in the family room and made the foyer even more elegant than Fresno. The ceiling was cedar with rough cut Cedar beams including a king beam on the left. The kitchen, just off the family room to the right had modern Jenn-Air appliances. The laundry room was just off that. Four bedrooms, including a large master bedroom with French doors leading to the full-length deck, finished out the
I didn’t know if I would qualify for another mortgage after I retired. It had to be on a golf course or a lake, and the golf course area was not pleasing. Gateway, with its lakes and tall trees, was the location. We found a corner lot at 101 Oak Leaf Circle on the lake with an excellent view. Access to the lake was small with the overgrown brush, but a backhoe would solve that problem. We liked the Fresno house floor plan, so we started with that and made improvements. The land sloped to the lake, making a full access basement possible and we put 6’ windows and French doors down there. The family room and living room shared a large chimney so we put a heatilator in the family room fireplace that would heat the entire living end of the house. The cantilevered deck in the back spanned the entire length of the house and provided an elegant, spacious feeling. Stairs led down to ground level on the south side with a large landing with a hot tub. We integrated our favorite slope-cut oak walls in the family room and made the foyer even more elegant than Fresno. The ceiling was cedar with rough cut Cedar beams including a king beam on the left. The kitchen, just off the family room to the right had modern Jenn-Air appliances. The laundry room was just off that. Four bedrooms, including a large master bedroom with French doors leading to the full-length deck, finished out the