What Goes Around?

On more than one occasion, I have talked about my older daughter's ex-boyfriend... the biological father of my grandson.  Anyone who knows me well, knows that I have nothing but contempt for this individual, and knows why.  The guy is currently 23 years old, has assaulted me and broken my nose, has run over my daughter with his truck, absconded with my grandson, and has been convicted of two felonies.  (That's just the highlights.)  He hasn't seen his son in over seven months, and hasn't paid a nickel to support the costs associated with raising a child.  To make matters worse, he tells anyone who will listen that it's my daughter's fault that he can't see his son, which is absolutely false; and during the most recent custody hearing, he told the judge that he had another child on the way, and that he was ready to stop fighting to see my grandson so that he could focus on the baby on the way.

When he ran over my daughter, DHS got involved.  They determined that he was a danger to my daughter and grandson, and gave him supervised visits with the boy.  He was told that he needed to complete a psychological evaluation and a drug abuse evaluation, and to get counseling if that's what the evaluations determined he needed to do.   He was given three one-hour supervised visits per week in the interim.  Over the next year, he made no attempt to complete his evaluations.  He was inconsistent in visits to the point where DHS dropped him down to one visit per week.  Eventually he quit showing up altogether.

His felonies consist of first degree theft and burglary.  His assaults on my daughter and me brought about two more convictions, but he has served no jail time to date.  A few days ago, I found out that he got busted for OWI. In addition to the OWI charge, he's been charged with speeding (20+ over the speed limit), driving without a license, driving with no insurance, failure to obey a traffic signal, interference with official acts, providing false identification and not wearing a seat belt.  When he got busted for the OWI, the court saw fit to re-evaluate his felony convictions.  (The first conviction earned him a deferred judgment, and the second conviction earned him a five-year suspended sentence.)  Based on the County's inmate roster, he's still sitting in jail.  Makes sense.  In order to get out on bail, he needs to come up with about $15000 in cash.

IF he's convicted, there's a reasonable chance that he will finally spend some time behind bars.  It's not guaranteed, and I'm not going to hold my breath.  But I am holding out a bit of hope that what he sent around will finally get back around to him.

Another Evening with Slipknot

Back in November, my best friend and I went to see Slipknot and Korn in concert in Moline, Il.  (Click here for my blog post on that concert.)  I was actually supposed to see that concert with my younger daughter, but she had a scheduling conflict, so I went with my friend instead.  It was a crazy good time.  Last night, Slipknot played in my hometown, and I was able to attend that concert with my daughter, and like the concert in November, I had a blast.

Doing a concert in my hometown is great.  I know the city, so I was able to find a parking spot that was free, easy in, and easy out from the venue... no waiting for all of the other cars to leave.  In addition, we stopped at a restaurant downtown and grabbed a quick bite before hitting the concert.  Once we arrived at the venue, we saw a group of conservative, evangelical Christians picketing the concert.  I didn't thoroughly read their signs, but what I read didn't incite anger on my part.  The signs weren't full of hate and anger.  Those of you who know me, realize that I'm a Christian.  Part of me was tempted to ask the protesters if they believe that it's possible to be Christian AND attend the concert, just to find out.  In the end, I didn't, and am glad I made that choice.

We arrived at the show kind of early.  This gave me a chance to grab a beer.  My daughter also took the opportunity to buy a T-Shirt before the concert started, and we were able to get relatively close to the stage.  This worked out well, because by the time the opening act was halfway through their set, we were in the third row.  By the time Slipknot came on, my daughter had worked her way front and center, with me right behind her.  This, by the way, is the first time I've seen a band twice on the same tour, and I once again left the concert very impressed, though the reasons were somewhat different.

Don't get me wrong, the crowd was incredibly energetic (probably, in part, because Slipknot was playing in their home state), and the band was on.  But I was taken by the fact that security was constantly giving water to a very hot and thirsty crowd.  I also saw that the band did a few things differently between the concert in Moline and what they did last night.  This tells me that they don't have everything rehearsed, and that the interaction with the crowd is at least somewhat genuine.  During the concert, custom percussionist Chris Fehn (AKA #3) went through the pit, and gave my daughter a high five.  Later in the concert, Mick Thompson (AKA #7) threw out a pick, and my daughter got it.  What's really cool about this is that I got a pick from the exact same band member when I saw them in November.  What are the odds?!?

I was also impressed with the security folks in general.  They weren't Nazis, trying to crush our fun.  In addition to them constantly providing us with water, they were going out of their way to make sure that everyone in the front was safe and having fun.  There were a couple of them who were very obviously watching out for my daughter... they gave her water every time they brought it out, and they frequently checked in with her to make sure that she was okay... not getting overheated, crushed by the crowd and so forth.  After the concert was over, I made a point of thanking them for watching out for the kid, and for doing a grand job in general.

By the time the concert was over, I was physically drained, and my clothes were soaked with sweat.  I suspect I lost a couple of pounds in water weight.  But I created another lasting memory with my younger daughter.

Proud to be Cheap

My kids spend a lot of time and energy teasing me and calling me cheap.  There's something they don't understand though... it doesn't bother me.  In fact, I wear that moniker kind of proudly.  It's a trait that I came by honestly.  Furthermore, "cheap" often translates into "Dad doesn't buy me everything I want."

When I say "I came by it honestly," I mean it.  Both sets of grandparents were alive during the Great Depression.  My mom's dad used to tell me stories about how his family couldn't afford peanut butter.  He had friends whose parents were on welfare, and got peanut butter for free, but my grandfather's father, who had a job, couldn't afford peanut butter.  As a result, my grandfather always had peanut butter in his house, and he ate it at least once per week.

My dad's parents were adults during the Depression.  They never talked about it, but it was obvious how much of an impact it made in their lives.  They never wasted anything.  My grandmother made her weekly grocery list on cardboard scraps.  They washed and saved the Styrofoam trays that ground beef comes on.  My grandmother made seat cushions by crocheting used bread wrappers.  They had a party line until the day my grandmother died.

When my parents were first married, there were times they had to choose between deodorant and food.  I remember my mother darning holes in my father's socks instead of throwing them away and buying new socks.  I remember my father putting cardboard in his own hole-ridden shoes so that we could have new shoes for school.  In a neighborhood of two-income families, my mother was a stay-at-home mom.  I grew up watching a black and white TV, with no cable, when my friends all had HBO and color TV.  When I was a teenager, I finally convinced my parents to subscribe to cable TV, on the condition that I paid for it.  And even then, my parents, who owned the one (black and white) TV in the house, had first say on what we watched.

When I joined the Marine Corps, I made decent money as a young, single guy with no bills, but I made the mistake of maxing out a couple of high interest credit cards.  I paid them off while I was serving in Desert Storm.  When I returned from Desert Storm, I actually had a few grand saved up.  Shortly after that though, I met and married my first wife, who had zero financial discipline, and I made the mistake of allowing her access to my credit cards.  In about a year, I went from having a few grand in savings to being over $10,000 in debt.  It took us about four years to break the debt cycle, and once the debts were paid off, she saw it as an opportunity to spend the extra money, instead of saving for a rainy day.

We were debt free for the next few years, but as I mentioned, I didn't have any money.  Despite this fact, my first wife insisted that we stop renting and purchase a home.  I agreed, and had a plan to start saving for a down payment, but in the end, we moved into a home we really couldn't afford, with zero down, and a loan that was exclusively in my name.  Three years later, she dropped a bombshell and said that she didn't want to be married to me anymore.

I sat down and figured out the bills, and cut my expenses to the bone.  I ditched cable TV.  I had to keep Internet access for work, but I turned the thermostat up to 78 degrees in the summer, and 64 degrees in the winter.  We went weeks on end without eating meat, and I went for months without touching a drop of alcohol.  I refinanced my house to lower my monthly mortgage payment.  Despite all of this, I was still $500 per month short of paying my mortgage.  Fortunately, my close friend Antoine moved in.  If he hadn't become my roommate, I would have lost the house.  (We also had a **LOT** of fun as roommates, but this story isn't about our fun; it's about how I became a cheapskate.)

Fast forward a bit more... I met another woman, she moved in, and we got married.  (Antoine moved out during this time.)  She made (makes) significantly more than I do.  The money crunch is gone, and I'm not living hand to mouth, but if you ask my kids, I'm still cheap, and I'm okay with that.  You see, I'm old school... I was brought up to believe that the man should be the primary bread winner, and I'm not.  This in and of itself doesn't bother me, but I'm cognizant of this fact.  I carry a proportional amount of financial weight based on our income, but I don't carry 50%.  I'm not crazy generous with money because in order to do so, I'd have to spend her money... and it's not my place to claim her money.  I'm not crazy generous with money because I save money for a rainy day.  I can't count the times I had to fix a car in the freezing cold in order to get to work.  I can't enumerate all of the instances where I had to eat rice to make rent.  Saving for emergencies has not brought me ahead financially, but it's absolutely cushioned the unexpected blows.

Let's take things a bit further.  We live in a modest, split-level home built in the late 1960's.  It's more than we need, but less than we could afford if we stretched ourselves.  But the point is that it's more than we need.  Why upgrade?  I drive a 13 year old truck that I've owned for 11 years.  It's got almost 200,000 miles, and it's starting to rust.  But it's reliable and it's paid for.  Why would I buy a new vehicle and have years of car payments?

My kids call me cheap, but like I said, I came by it honestly... three generations of hardship has made an impression on me.  If I've done my job, my grandchildren will be calling my kids cheap.

Israel and Palestine in Layman's Terms

Yep, Israel and Palestine are in the news again.  The crux of the most recent iteration of page one news is that Benjamin Netanyahu came to the U.S. and delivered a speech to Congress.  In the speech, Netanyahu supported a two-state solution to the Palestinian problem.  This caused a major drop in Netanyahu's domestic ratings immediately before an election, so he retracted, and he got re-elected.

Fast forward a few days.  America is pissed, and our official line is that the Israeli occupation of foreign land must end, and there needs to be a lasting peace.  Now it's time for my two cents:  They're all full of shit, and here's why...

Let's go back thousands of years.  Around three thousand years ago, Israel was a reasonably large empire.  This empire was based on a covenant with the One True God.  For the next thousand years or so, Israel's empire ebbed and flowed.  Around zero B.C. Israel was effectively a state in the Roman Empire.  Let's fast forward a bit more, and for the sake of oversimplification, Israel effectively ceased to be a country.  Historically speaking, most people in this situation would either be eradicated, or would be assimilated into the conquering culture.  This didn't happen to the Jews.  For thousands of years they managed to maintain their heritage.

Now, let's fast forward to the Holocaust.  Millions of Jews were exterminated.  I submit that the world must have experienced some sort of guilt over this, so the UN created a new Israel.  Look, in all reality, the Arabs were understandably pissed about this.  After all, they lost some of their land.  So, over the next 20-odd years, they let their anger fester, and they decided to kick Israel's ass.  But Israel was smart.  They struck the first punch and in six days, they managed to double their land, and completely remove the country of Palestine from the map.

Here's my take.  Israel saw the writing on the wall.  They knew they were going to get their asses kicked, but they didn't wait to get attacked.  They, justifiably, struck first.  When all was said and done, Israel said "Hey, we'll give all of your land back, as long as you acknowledge that we have a right to exist and leave us alone."  EVERY country involved said "Oh, HELL NO!"  Egypt has made peace with Israel since then, but that's effectively where we are today.  The Arabs don't want to recognize Israel's right to exist.

Here's my take.  It's a little bit nuanced, so bear with me...

There were a bunch of bullies on the block who wanted to kick Israel's ass.  They all started following Israel home after school one day.  Israel saw what was happening though, and opened a can of whoop ass on ALL OF THEM.  Palestine got the worst of it.  They lost everything.  This wasn't a fair fight to begin with.  Israel was way overwhelmed, and they STILL managed to kick ass.  Palestine, who was one of the original aggressors, lost everything, and how they're whining about it, and acting like they're the ones who were wronged.  Fuck them!

Now, with that said, I have nothing against them trying to carve out a homeland like what Israel got after the holocaust.  In fact, I applaud them for going to the UN, the same international body that magically created the country of Israel.  But I CANNOT support the UN creating a new Palestine at this point in time.  The Palestinians fought Israel and lost.  Now they're saying "we want our country back."  Where are the consequences of aggression?  I will admit that it's reasonable for there to eventually be a Palestine, but not today.  The Palestinians absolutely CANNOT have their country restored while the original aggressors still live, or else there is no real consequence for their aggression.  In fact, I believe that the consequence should last through their children's generation, and their grandchildren's generation.  That's the time that the retribution will be fully paid.  The UN can consider creating a new Palestine after the death of the last grandchild of the original generation of aggressors.  Not before.  Otherwise, aggressive countries will believe that they can act with impunity.

My Thoughts on Net Neutrality

A couple of days ago, I asked my Facebook friends to share their thoughts on Net Neutrality.  The overwhelming majority of people who commented oppose Net Neutrality on the premise that government intervention stifles innovation.  Now that a couple of days have passed, I think it's fitting that I answer my own question.

Before I answer the question though, I am going to take a step back and address my friends' position that government involvement stifles innovation.  At a macro level, I generally agree with that statement.  In fact, I'll take things even a step further, and say that governmental interference not only creates unintended problems, it's also horribly ineffective at addressing these problems once they appear.  Social Security is a prime example.  The overall assertion, however, is a very black and white statement, and we live in a gray world.

For the purpose of this discussion, I am going to posit that government and business are opposite sides of the same coin.  Government is corrupt and inefficient.  Business, however, is corrupt and greedy.  Business, left to its own devices, will chase profit at the expense of everything else.  This greed is why America has a minimum wage, a 40 hour work week, environmental laws and anti-trust legislation.

I have no problem with Internet service providers making a profit.  I do, however, believe in Net Neutrality.  I have a problem with ISPs becoming the de facto gatekeepers of the internet.  I have a problem with the idea that ISPs can force vendors to pay for faster service on the front end, and then force subscribers to pay for faster service on the back end.  I also have a problem with business having the ability to slow down or effectively block traffic that they consider competition or objectionable.  This is the alternative to net neutrality.  Innovation and the free flow of ideas is still stifled, but in a different way.  It's business stifling the competition instead of the government.  Net neutrality is designed to promote competition and information by making sure that an ISP cannot impede traffic flowing across its network.

Let me use a couple of hypothetical situations to make my point.  Let's say that Disney buys Mediacom.  Not likely, but it could happen.  Disneycom decides to block or significantly slow all internet traffic going to streaming companies that compete with NBC, Disney, Pixar, etc. unless they pony up some extra cash.  How does this benefit the consumer?  Alternatively, let's say that the new Comcast CEO is a hard core Catholic who decided to slow or block traffic to sites that have to do with pornography, contraception, homosexuality or whatever.  How does this promote the free flow of ideas?  As I said, these are hypothetical situations to make a point.

Like I said, I generally agree that government is inefficient and stifles innovation.  I also, however, believe that business is greedy and will do anything it can to make as much as possible.  In this case, I believe that net neutrality is the best option for the consumer in the long run.

Interviewing a Career Marine, Part III of III

This is the third installment of a three-part interview with my Senior Drill Instructor from boot camp.  Click here for the first installment, which discusses his early career.

Click here for the second installment, which discusses the latter part of his career.

What was your favorite duty station/deployment/billet and why?

My favorite duty was Embassy Duty since it was unlike anything else in the Marines.  We were a very small unit in both Indonesia and the Philippines.  However we had to be prepared for many different security threats.  On this duty we would have parties every Friday at the Marine House to raise funds for the Marine Corps Ball, which was a big function for the whole Embassy staff. We were required to attend cocktail parties at the Ambassador’s residence, and also were tasked with being a Color Guard for formal functions. I was proud to be in the color guard for President Regan’s inaugural party at the Embassy in Manila. This was really an exciting duty, since you were able to meet many State Department people, DEA agents, FBI agents and even foreign country officials. You learned what other countries were like from the Marines who had been there and from State Department employees.  I was married at the Embassy in Manila, and it was something I will never forget.

                                                                                                                                 

What was your least favorite and why?

My least favorite has to be when I was at El Toro the last time, because I was the Operations chief, which was a Master Sergeant billet and after a new Second Lieutenant checked aboard the S-4 (Logistics Office), my boss reassigned me to his office so I could train him.  The billet in the S-4 was only a Gunnery Sergeant position, and for my career it didn't look good to go down to a junior billet.  I contacted a good friend who arranged orders for me to report aboard my second amphibious ship which is very good for my career.

I’m guessing this was in the 1992 time frame.  I don’t think I ever mentioned this to you, but you were one of the last people I saw as a Marine.   I was going through SEPS when I saw you.  You were a gunny at that point.  I didn't talk to you because I was one of the thumper privates from PLT 3111.

You should have said something to me. I was always hoping to run into someone who could tell me if I made a difference for them.  To be honest with you I was not aware that my Junior Drill Instructors had any thumper privates, but I could understand.  When I was a strong Junior Drill Instructor, I was very hard on the recruits and I didn't want them to like me even a little.  I had two company honor platoons in a row so they more or less had to make me a Senior Drill Instructor. Being short I was surprised that they did make me a Senior Drill Instructor and I wanted to do my best. We were always told that working at MCRD San Diego, the Drill Instructors are in a fish bowl with everyone watching, and we all had to train in accordance with the SOP (Standard Operating Procedures).  Every Drill Instructor has to take and pass the SOP test every six months.  The crazy part is we all know the rules, and we all find our own way to break those rules, knowing if we are caught it could mean our career. I learned when I first started that no matter what you do, you have to be fair and only punish when there is a reason; so many just want to live up to an image and always be hard. I felt that what we were teaching was the basics and it was every Recruit/Marine’s responsibility to remember and build on what they had learned in Boot Camp.

What's your favorite sea story?

When I was aboard the USS Peleliu in the Indian Ocean we couldn't outrun a Typhoon and we had to weather the storm. The ship had some actual damage from the storm where the catwalk around the flight deck was ripped off in three different sections. I think that is an experience all of the Marines and Sailors aboard will never forget.

Crazy.  I had a similar experience when I was on the USS Tuscaloosa.  We were going from San Diego to Okinawa and caught the tail end of a typhoon shortly after passing Hawaii.  When we started entering the storm, we were on the 04 deck (the highest point on an LST) and taking pictures as the water would splash over the deck of the boat.  Water was spraying us.  At the height of the storm, we were taking 45 degree rolls.  Biggest roll was 48 degrees.  It was fun watching all of the other sailors and Marines getting sea sick.

Many Marines I know have close to as much sea time as sailors.  How much sea time do you have?

I received sea pay for six and one half years, but this is a little misleading because we still received sea pay when the ship was in Dry Dock at the shipyard in Long Beach.  However this is also a very dangerous environment and one crazy thing that happened when I was officer of the deck on duty, and the ship was up on blocks, one of the big California Earthquake happened.  I will always remember the ship bouncing on blocks in Dry Dock at Long Beach.

What was your favorite place to visit and why?

I enjoyed Bali Indonesia since the USS Boxer went on liberty there and my experience at the Embassy had taught me how to speak enough of the language to bargain; all of the locals were surprised to see a white man bargaining in Indonesian.

What was your least favorite place to visit and why?

I really didn’t enjoy the Middle East, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain.  We were there to fight the war but I didn't have the feeling that we were really welcome.  Even though being a Marine means you are trained to fight, I am sure most Marines do not enjoy war.  There is really nothing glamorous about war.

Truer words were never spoken on both counts.  I felt welcome while I was in the gulf in 1988 during Earnest Will.  I felt welcome in 1991 and 1992 during Desert Shield and Desert Storm.  It seemed like we were doing something worthwhile.  But the “liberation” of Iraq seems to be a different story.  The Iraqi people initially wanted us to depose Saddam Hussein, but after that, they just wanted us gone.  They didn’t want democracy.  I believe that the people of the Middle East think in a fundamentally different way than we do.  I believe they don’t necessarily want democracy.  And I think we’re a bit foolish and egocentric to expect that we can change their way of thinking. I also think that most Marines… most military personnel… romanticize the thought of war, until they’re actually exposed to the reality.Your thoughts?

I agree with you, we cannot expect them to have a democracy when they don’t have a desire.  I really think it was a big mistake not to establish some sort of military base in Iraq.  If you look what happened after World War II, the US bases established in Europe and Japan are still there and they [have] served a very important purpose to prevent another build up to a world war. With Terrorism on the rise and this horrible organization of ISIS, there has to be a US Base established, especially in Iraq which is the center of all the trouble.  It will also give us some leverage and observation capabilities over Iran, which is another country needing close watch. I am sure they are the primary supporters of ISIS, but nobody wishes to risk their life in order to bring proof of this to the world’s attention.

How did your family handle your career?  Deployments, DI duty, etc?

I was very lucky since my wife had been in the Philippine Army as a Nurse; she understood what being in the military means.  Since she has a career as a Nurse she was not bothered by the numerous separations caused by training and deployments.  She encouraged me to stay in the Marines until I retired. Her father was a Filipino Scout, who fought for the US Army in World War II and survived the Bataan Death march.  My step-father had been a China Marine, so we both had an idea what we were getting into with my Marine Corps career.  This life is very hard on family relationships and I am very lucky to have a wife who understands.

How does your family like it now that you're retired?

We are very happy and since retirement we have been able to remodel our house and do some traveling.  We plan to do much more traveling, especially when my wife retires in two to three years.

What did you do after leaving the Corps?  Are you still working?  Did you return to Seattle?

After I retired I went to Seattle and spent a couple of weeks with some old friends. Then I just did nothing for about five months and after that amount of time I decided it’s time to find another job. I applied to work at Wells Fargo Telephone bank, which is where banking is completed over the phone. I did well there and was awarded a trip to Maui, Hawaii; it was the first time my wife had been to Hawaii and since then we have gone almost every other year. After six years with the phone bank I decided it was time for a change, so I applied for a position with Business Banking.  Our job was to review business loan applications and to make sure the borrowing business was active with the Secretary of State which is in compliance to the USA Patriot Act.  Not loaning money to an organization that support[s] terrorism or money laundering.  This job is mostly that of an auditor and I also did well at this position.  Once my house remodel was complete, and I made it to the companies retirement age with enough time, I decided to retire for the second time so I can help maintain my newly remodeled house.

How much of a role does the Marine Corps play in your life now that you’re retired?

Once a Marine Always a Marine.  About once a month my wife and I go either to Camp Pendleton  (60 miles) or San Diego (100 miles) to shop at the Exchange and Commissary.  [I]Want to use those benefits I worked so hard to earn.  I am in touch with a few Navy friends and Marines who served with me during my career.

To what extent do you stay in touch with your fellow Marines?

There are a couple who were on Embassy Duty with me that are friends on Facebook. We share photos and stories every now and then. I have a friend who is an active Sergeant Major on the East Coast; he sends me information and updates about the Marine Corps. There is a friend who was aboard the USS Boxer, and he now works as a contractor training Marines at Camp Pendleton.  With Facebook it is amazing how easy it is to get in touch with old friends.  But not everyone likes to use Facebook so I have a couple of friends who keep in touch the old fashioned way by writing letters.

One last question:  What question did you think I’d ask that I haven’t asked, and what’s the answer to that question?

What do I think of the Marine Corps today?

The Marines keep on evolving, which is a good thing, because war and conflict always change around the world.  Marines are ambassadors of America to the world, and they are still respected. Today’s Marines  are expected to do more, learn more and adapt to changing situations faster than ever before. To become a Marine is not easy but it is something that will change your life.

Bonus:  Picture taken at a Marine Corps Ball

 

 

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.)