In the early days of the SR71 program at Beale there were other activities on the base Including another top secret program called Tag Board and B52 planes and crew that rotated two operational locations during the Viet Nam conflict. More people we’re aware of the SR71 presence on the base but the Tag Board operation was known to only a few. During that time I decided to
attend USC Graduate School being taught on the base that offered a Masters Degree in Aerospace Operations Management MAOM. The classes were held in a conference room of the B52 squadron. I was the only civilian in the class and there were 3 SR71 crew members also attending; Bill Campbell, Jerry crew, and Dave Dempster. The instructor had us form in groups of three and write a proposal that would solve
an Air Force problem. Jerry, Dave and I wrote a proposal to re-engine B47 to carry external bomb loads for interdiction flights over north Vietnam. I still have a copy.
There were several other Air Force attendees and I always assumed that they were from one of the B52 squadrons. The classes were held in the evening and on one winter night I was driving to my class but was halted by the security police before I could drive over a taxiway going to the B52 squadron area. I watched a B52 come out of the hangar and pass in front of me that was from the Tag Board squadron. Inboard on each wing was a D21 drone. At the time I was unaware of the D21 but knew it was not a normal B52 configuration.
At the end of one semester, the class went to the officers club and had a few beers. The officers club was in a location overlooking a Deer Creek that ran through the base housing area. There was a SR71 silhouette over the fireplace at the club. Sometime during the evening some B52 crew members showed up with a silhouette the B52 that they tried to mail over the SR71 silhouette. The two factions were in a heated discussion and as it got louder the bartender called the base commander. When it became obvious that blows were going to be thrown the base commander, a Brigadier General I remember, entered the room wearing a World War One German helmet what’s a spike on the top and in his best German accent declared “Vhat is going on here?”. His appearance and demeanor completely calmed the situation.
I did graduate from USC with a MAOM degree, received my diploma, framed it, and put it on m office wall. Several years later I received a letter from USC saying that if I wanted a masters degree in systems management, I had two choices; choice one was to take two additional classes to receive the diploma, the second choice was to send in my MAOM diploma and $25 and I would get a systems management diploma. I took the second choice. Years later I met with retired LtGen Bill Campbell in the DC area and he said he had done the same thing.