RALF HARTMANN
Brooklyn Tech gave me the foundation that has helped me all my years after graduation!
I fondly remember the Aeronautical course of study and some of the various courses I had to take. From Ms. Cincotta to Mr. Berman, to Mr. Esposito to “Crazy Al” for physics and of course our SOS! From the pattern-making class to the application in the foundry and all the way down to working on the T-6 aircraft. A school well remembered!
Upon graduation in 1968, I applied to about four colleges and got accepted to all. But I was just tired and mainly bored with classwork and could not fathom going on for another four years of school. So I volunteered for the Air Force, and because I scored so high in their qualification exams, the recruiter said I would be placed in a comparative field of work! What did the Air Force give me? Parachute Rigger and Ejection Seat Specialist!!! Minimum required test score was the 50th percentile. After one tour in the beautiful, downtown jungle in the Cambodia/Laos/Thailand triangle, I came “home” in 1971. I applied for a position as a Computer System Analyst and, after a second battery of test, I was accepted for advanced training. I then had subsequent tours in Germany, Spain, Nebraska, and finally New York. I was recruited for White House Communications, but turned down the offer. If I had been single though I would haveĀ taken the hand-picked position. While in Nebraska, I ended up controlling satellites, commanding them to record specialized global data and sending some of it to the Joint Chiefs of Staff in the Pentagon. My last active tour was to Plattsburgh Air Force Base where I served as the superintendent of communications for the base. I retired from the Air Force in 1988.
After the military, I worked for a French company, headquartered in Paris, and our plants in Canada and the US designed automated door systems for Alstom, Bombardier, Siemens, and Kawasaki. Traveled several times to India, Taiwan, Japan, Nevada, California where we had major rail projects. Retired again in 2011.
My wife and I built a house in the Adirondack Park, living near Saranac Lake, NY. We have a daughter in Alaska and a son about 45 miles away.
Thanks, Tech, for giving me the background and knowledge that helped in all my undertakings!