◆ SpookStack

Dick Drain noted that the command difficulties were reflected in field operations; and Billy Campbell, who ran the air operations'at Retalhuleu from July 1960 until early February 1961, expressed rather strong feelings about the situation: When I first went down to the [Retal- huleu] airbase, I was supposed to be working for Col. Stan Beerli. I was told to go down and set up the base and approve the runway operations, with the type of training that we were going to conduct, and determine how long it would take us to do the training ••• My job was strictly from the operations end of it. Although DPD sent out a Chief of Base to be respon- sible back to them, and the office in Guatemala City sent out a directive saying we were responsible to them, and then Jake Esterline's people thought I was responsi- ble to them, and Frank Egan thought I was responsible to him. I ignored the whole damn bunch and went directly to Washington- to stan Beerli and, George Gaines ... Then we had to have round table discussions in Washington several times with everybody concerned with that planning -- the initial planning for the targets, etc. -- and with the Cubans. I lhad come in ••. He was then tebllea CUIer of Base, and I was the ops type. But I had control of everybody who was flying, and there was always a con- flict there. ~ 'ras a paratrooper and a real good frIend of mine, but he had nothing to do with flying airplanes or training aircrews. That was all my area. Though we did get into many discussions and conflicts with Guatemala City -- what people were we going to do it [flying missions] with, when were we going to ,... 25 -