Interviewing a Career Marine, Part II of III

This is the second installment of a three-part interview with my Senior Drill Instructor from boot camp.  Today’s installment discusses the latter part of his career. Click here for the first installment

What did you do after you finished your tour as a Drill Instructor?

My next assignment was to 1^st MAW Marine Wing Support Squadron 173 in Okinawa Japan for one year unaccompanied.

After my tour there I received order to Marine Corps Air Station El Toro and was assigned to Marine Air Group 70 which was a contingency command.  We were a staff of only 25 Marines, however, when Kuwait was invaded that was our contingency, and the unit became 2500.  I was the Logistics Chief for that unit and it became the size of an Aircraft Wing with 14 Squadrons.

How did your job change as a result of the massive increase in unit size?

My job changed in many ways as a result of this massive increase. Since I had previously been on Embassy Duty they knew I had a Top Secret Clearance which was immediately reinstated. I was given responsibility for several STU-3 telephone keys (which are classified) so I was happy to get all of that into the correct hands when I arrived in country but I did have to setup a few of those phones for key officers in the command.  I had one Squadron that was training in Nevada and they never had the chance to return to Hawaii where their home base was located. We put them up in temporary barracks at El Toro and they went straight to the Middle East with no chance to say goodbye to their family. It is hard to list all of the crazy situations that came about from this massive increase; all I can say is I would report to work at 06:00 and leave at 23:00 until I deployed myself.  I had been on leave the day Kuwait was invaded because it was my birthday, August 2^nd and when I returned from leave everything was crazy with preparations to leave. At first I was supposed to deploy on the 14^th of August but the S-4 Officer told me I was handling everything so well they kept me another week and I arrived in country on the 20^th of August 1990.  Imagine deploying half way around the world in three weeks’ time after the event of hostility took place.  I really had my hands full because we had to setup billeting areas for all of the Squadrons, Office areas, make arrangements for the Field Mess and even provide a place for the Chaplains to hold services.  Supply falls under S-4 so I had to make sure there was an office in a warehouse for my supply chief. The Armory was also a major concern; plus I was put on an emergency action team that had to respond if our base was attacked. This is the tip of the iceberg; because I was the Logistics Chief I had to make sure everything falling under the heading of Logistics was done.  It’s a good thing that in 1989 I was sent to Norfolk VA to the Advance Logistics course which is where I was promoted to Gunnery Sergeant. (It is very rare for someone in my field to be promoted in front of my peers but this happened to me).  I can only say I wouldn’t wish this situation on my worst enemy because it was so crazy. The S-4 Officer was a Major-select Captain who was an F-18 pilot, so he was not much of an expert with Logistics. The good news is he gave me credit for doing his job on my combat fitness report. So this made me look really good when it came time for promotion to Master Sergeant.  

After the first Gulf War I received orders to be a crew member of the USS Peleliu (LHA -5) where I started out in charge of the Well Deck, when the ship did rescue operations in the Philippines when Mt. Pinatubo erupted in May 1991. The second deployment I was in charge of the Flight Deck when the ship was part of the amphibious withdrawal from Somalia in 1994.

One of your Facebook posts talked about going through the Chief Petty Officer initiation while you were on the Peleliu.  Can you expound on the process and the meaning behind it for the readers?

Since I was a crew member of the ship and lived in the Chief Petty Officers Quarters it was a tradition to go through the CPO initiation which had been done by the other Gunnery Sergeants who were part of Ship’s Company. This is a long standing tradition for Navy E-7’s to go through a time honored type of ceremony which included all sorts of pranks and wild goose chase ordeals. There is one full night where you go through a kangaroo court which includes drinking truth serum, [which] is a foul concoction that you have to drink.  After one full night in the morning there is a ceremony where the Ship’s Captain pins the CPO rank insignia of an anchor on your uniform.  I still have this rank insignia that I was awarded. The senior leadership begins at E-7 in the Navy; with the Marines when you are promoted to Staff Sergeant you are considered a leader (SNCO).

For clarification, this was one set of orders, but two deployments on the Peleliu, right? If so, how long were you ashore with the Peleliu between deployments, and what was your job during this shore time?

I was not part of a deploying unit; since the Amphibious Navy was established to transport Marines, those ships are actually built with designated Marine Spaces, so the Marine Corps has a few billets which are part of the Navy crew of the ship. There are four Marines in Combat Cargo (1 Officer and 3 Gunnys or above) then there is a Communications Detachment usually made up of a Marine Captain and a Gunny and two Sergeants.  Finally there is a Major who works in the Air Department (usually a helicopter pilot) which is liaison between the Marine Composite Squadron that deploys aboard the ship.  [These] billets stay aboard the ship even when the deployed units are not.  The Logistics Marines are in Combat Cargo and we were responsible to make sure the Navy didn't encroach on the Marine Corps spaces and also to update the Ship’s Characteristics Manual, while also keeping an inventory of the LFORM (Landing Force Operational Readiness Material). These are MREs and Ordnance to sustain 60 days of combat. This is not an easy job but it is very rewarding. I did an extension aboard the USS Peleliu, so instead of a two year tour I was there for four and one half years.  I was also promoted to Master Sergeant in the Captain’s Cabin in May 1995, the day before father’s day, which was great since this is the only time my father was present at any of my Marine Corps promotions.

What was it like to return to the Philippines after Mt. Pinatubo, considering that you’d previously spent a lot of time in the Philippines?

It was bittersweet because there was so much damage caused by the ash from the volcano. We were scheduled to stop in Subic Bay after our Liberty stop in Hong Kong, however since the mountain erupted causing much damage on the base we were ordered to commence evacuation of dependents. We were allowed to go on liberty, but much of the town had been destroyed.  It looked like 12 inches of snow was on everything but it wasn't snow it was ash.  Very sad to see a place like Subic Bay with so much damage.

Have you been back to Subic, or the Philippines in general since then?

I have not been back to the Philippines since 1991. [We] are planning a future trip there.

Any specific thoughts on the withdrawal from Somalia?

That was a tough deployment where we were at Sea for more than 55 days and it was miserable.  That is another place we really had no reason to be but I guess politics called for our presence.  I did get to see Mombasa Kenya which was an unusual place to go on Liberty.

I’m familiar with long stints at sea.  During my two deployments, I had three beer days.  You probably realize that to qualify for a beer day, you need to spend at least 45 consecutive days at sea.  I was qualified for a fourth, but we were only a day or two from our next liberty, so the CO said there was no need for the fourth.

My next duty station was back at El Toro where I was assigned as the Operations Chief at Marine Wing Support Squadron 373. The Operations Chief of a Marine Support Squadron makes sure that all of the missions the unit is assigned are met. We had to send detachments to support air operations to many different locations, including local Air Shows, Bridgeport California, both cold weather aircraft operations and mountain training aircraft operations.  Most of the time we sent detachments to 29 Palms expeditionary airfield. I was also the unit historian so every month I had to write a history of the operations the unit had participated in, so the Commanding Officer would review and sign, forwarding it to Headquarters Marine Corps.  Since Operations and training are in the same office, we had to make sure everyone took the semiannual PFT, and also we had weekly squadron runs along with inspections.  One honor I had at this unit was to be the Commander of Troops for our Sergeant Major’s retirement parade.  He requested an all enlisted parade, and since I had been a Drill Instructor I was assigned the job.  It turned out really well, which was a big relief to me, since I didn't want to be responsible for messing up a Sergeant Major’s retirement parade.  This unit was very familiar to me since it was the Support Squadron that deployed to Desert Shield/Desert Storm to support MAG-70.  During that conflict I actually shared a tent with the Operations Chief since we worked so close together to complete our mission.  The Marine Aircraft Group was much larger than normal so providing Logistical Support was a real challenge. 

My final assignment was again aboard an Amphibious ship, the USS Boxer (LHD-4), where we again deployed to the Middle East, only this time we went to the coast of Eritrea, since there was a war between Ethiopia and Eritrea. [We] were there to protect Americans, and the Ambassador came aboard our ship. I had my retirement aboard the USS Boxer at 32^nd Naval Station in San Diego back in February 2000. 

Any specific thoughts about our involvement in the war between Ethiopia and Eritrea?

We didn't get involved with the war, our mission was to make sure Americans were not targeted and if needed to evacuate them.  Luckily this did not happen but we were there in order to be safe not sorry.

This is the end of Part II of the interview.  Click here for the third and final installment, where he tells some more stories and shares some insight he gained from the Marine Corps.

Bonus:  For your reading pleasure, a little piece of Marine Corps history. (Click to view full size.)