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Howard Dickman, ex staff, San Diego Org, checking in

SanDiegoMember

Howard Dickman
My name is Howard Dickman. I found out about Scientology while I was stationed at the US Navy's Antisubmarine Warfare base in San Diego, August 1972. By December of 1972 I had finished my HQS course and signed a 5 year staff contract. In February of 1973, when Carl Barney's SCS Mission and the Church of Scientology of La Jolla merged to become the Church of Scientology San Diego, the Sea Org ship "Excalibur" tied up in the harbor. I signed my Sea Org contract then and later that summer, after being discharged from the Navy, I did my Product Zero on the Excalibur while it was docked in San Pedro. Shortly after doing the 5X stat push we were ordered to 7X our stats, which I flatly refused to do, resulting in my being posted to the RPF on the Excalibur mid February 1974. I graduated in February of 1975 and became the Senior C/S of the San Diego Org. In December of 1977, my 5 year staff contract having been fulfilled, I routed off of staff per policy, leaving me with no free loaders debt.

I moved my family to Oklahoma, where I have since resided, and but for a few visits to various churches I have had very little to do with Scientology. I still have friends in the Church (almost 40 years of service!), that I respect and remain friends with. Thanks so much to Emma for this forum, I have learned so much by lurking on here!
 

Good twin

Floater
Yes. Welcome Howard. We rather enjoy stories. I was in from 1975 until 2008. There are plenty of old timers around here. The youngsters like hearing stuff too. Somehow everyone's story seems connected to everyone else's.

:drama:
 

SanDiegoMember

Howard Dickman
Stories? OK, I've got a few.

This one has to do with the RPF, and a confession.

First off, some background data to give you an idea of the RPF as it existed on the Excalibur in 1974. The Excalibur was an ex US Navy ship, 184.5 feet long and 33' 1" wide. The ladies on the RPF slept in the forward women's berth with the lady DPF members. The male RPF slept in the lower aft berthing with male members of the DPF. We did not pull any watches and were tied up to the pier most of the time.

That summer Bob Moretti, age 37, Speaker of the California State Assembly, was running for Governor of California. The RPF was taken off of the ship, bused to a phone center where we made phone calls asking who the electorate were going to vote for. Every evening we would hand in our tally sheets before going back to the ship for dinner. This was a secret GO project as we were hoping to get Moretti elected. I think we did this for about 2 weeks.

My confession: This cut into our study/auditing time, which annoyed me. There were a few times I started another major action on a PC so that we would end up just missing the bus to the phone center. I was questioned about that, but as I was productive in the chair no punishment was meted out.

During my petition to graduate the RPF the Excalibur's MAA told me to take that GO project off of my amends sheet. Talk about separation of Church and State!
 

smartone

My Own Boss
Welcome Howard and thanks for your post.

The RPF in the 70's sounds like a walk in the park compared to the insanity of the RPF now.

Not saying that the RPF was necessarily sane in the 70's.

It just didn't sound so EVIL in your posting.
 

Petey C

Silver Meritorious Patron
Hi Howard and welcome to the Board. You were smart to get out so quickly. Like you, I have friends who have been in for 30+ years and it's heartbreaking, though always uplifting to see their progression from the lies of Scientology to what the rest of us know as reality. Good on you for coming forth.
 

Arthur Dent

Silver Meritorious Patron
Welcome, Howard!
Glad you're posting.
We got in around the same time but wound up living different lives!
I stayed in for a long time.
Glad you didn't!
:yes:
 

Ogsonofgroo

Crusader
:welcome: & :cheers: Howard! Yup, you'll find an attentive audience here for stories, thanks!
So, is your bro still involved with the cult?
 

GoNuclear

Gold Meritorious Patron
My name is Howard Dickman. I found out about Scientology while I was stationed at the US Navy's Antisubmarine Warfare base in San Diego, August 1972. By December of 1972 I had finished my HQS course and signed a 5 year staff contract. In February of 1973, when Carl Barney's SCS Mission and the Church of Scientology of La Jolla merged to become the Church of Scientology San Diego, the Sea Org ship "Excalibur" tied up in the harbor. I signed my Sea Org contract then and later that summer, after being discharged from the Navy, I did my Product Zero on the Excalibur while it was docked in San Pedro. Shortly after doing the 5X stat push we were ordered to 7X our stats, which I flatly refused to do, resulting in my being posted to the RPF on the Excalibur mid February 1974. I graduated in February of 1975 and became the Senior C/S of the San Diego Org. In December of 1977, my 5 year staff contract having been fulfilled, I routed off of staff per policy, leaving me with no free loaders debt.

I moved my family to Oklahoma, where I have since resided, and but for a few visits to various churches I have had very little to do with Scientology. I still have friends in the Church (almost 40 years of service!), that I respect and remain friends with. Thanks so much to Emma for this forum, I have learned so much by lurking on here!

Howard,

I was also onlines while in the Navy. I was going to the SF org on weekends while I went thru the nuke school in Valejo, CA in 1974/1975 and when I graduated the prototype in Idaho in late 1975 I went to a sub on the east coast and was onlines at the New London CT mission. Being in the Navy and in Scientology at the same time didn't really mix well for me and was a total burnout. You are an amazing person to be able to hack the Navy and staff at the same time.

Pete
 

SanDiegoMember

Howard Dickman
One more story.

Larry Wollershiem and the RPF. I was the RPF Bosun when Larry came on board, but first some background info.

I went through a Vietnam War era Navy boot camp, they were not nice to us. I had fellow recruits light their shoe polish on fire and pour the liquid wax unto their boots creating a shine you could shave yourself from. Then during inspection the inspectors would step on their boots and berate them and make them do push ups for the dirty boots. One person transferred into our unit with scabs all over his face. He had been berated so much for his bad shaving that he actually shaved a layer or two of skin off his face to get that close shave. The night before graduation I slept with a piece of steel in my pillow case the tension in our unit was so thick.

During the RPF that I was on we cleaned the Excalibur and we studied or audited. Everyday we did the same things; granted as Bosun I did do a Navy white glove examination of everyone's work, but there was no verbal or physical abuse. Into this kind of environment came Larry Wollersheim.

At first he blended right in with his fellow RPFer's. We were tied up to the dock, we ate our meals (weather permitting) on the bow of the ship. We cleaned the main deck right up to the gangplank. One incident where we did get off of the ship was when the RPF was called to help on a Hill 10 incident. The Excalibur’s lifeboat had been taken out previously and had been beached. When we, the RPF, got there we had just a short amount of time to dig the boat out of the sand before the tide came in. After digging like crazy and with the water coming closer and closer to the boat, suddenly a wrecker showed up. Larry had hired a wrecker to help us move the boat. We were all very lucky that no one got hurt when the winch line snapped; it sounded like a shot gun going off! We never did get that life boat unstuck; the ocean claimed it.

I have used the Internet to find Larry's statements regarding the RPF. He has stated that “I was dying and losing my mind”. I was his Bosun and I was never informed of that. He stated that the “food was so bad”. We ate off of plates with utensils and although we were the last to be served, we ate what everyone else ate. This is where I first had granola and I loved it. In my opinion the food was not that bad, but as my wife will attest I eat almost anything! Larry also stated that “there was no way for anyone to reach him”. I don’t know about him, but in the twelve months that I was there I wrote to my family and friends, and Dave Thomas even came aboard to ask to borrow my paid sections of the SHSBC.

I still remember the morning after Larry was detained from trying to leave. His whole demeanor had taken a 180 degree turn. I remember the wild look that he gave me and I remember wondering what was so horrible on the ship that caused that change in him. Heck, he was right up there alongside of the wrecker driver, days earlier, he could have easily gotten a ride at that time.

I'm sure Larry has good reasons for his actions. I'm just saying, our RPF was not punitive. I'm glad, even after 36 years, that I did that program.
 
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