“Jacko” has asked me to tell you about my military service. Since I believe in full disclosure, here it is – warts and all:

United States Marine Corps:
Enlisted, on the delayed entry program, in January of 1980.
Shipped out to boot camp (MCRD San Diego, on the buddy program with Kenny, a high school bud) 24SEP1980
Training commenced 01OCT1980, Third battalion, platoon 3090.
Graduated boot camp, 12DEC1980.
Arrived Monterey Defense Language Institute January, 1981.
During the course of learning Korean, it was discovered that a slight hearing impairment rendered my services as a linguist unnecessary. Turns out there is, indeed, a big difference between “dictionary” and “drugstore” and it could actually matter in times of strife.
Assigned to Communications platoon, H&S Co., 3rd Bn, 5th Marines, 1st MarDiv, Camp Pendleton. I was now a radio man in the Fleet Marine Force. Ooh Rah. Battery Operated Grunt.

Pretty unexciting tour of duty, the unit rotated to Okinawa twice in the time I was there. We participated in Team Spirit 82 and Team Spirit 84 while in Korea. We lost a platoon from Lima Co. in a training accident during TS84; the chopper they were on (CH-53a “Seahorse”) ran into a fog bank and the side of a mountain, in that order. No survivors. A couple of Marines from boot camp were involved in a little dustup on a small island named after a lousy Ford car. A Marine friend from DLI was in the barracks at Beirut, along with four other Marines I had met and trained with along the way. Served UCMJ for dereliction of duty while on Okinawa. (charges warranted a verbal warning. butterbar OOD walked into the barracks on my firewatch just as I bent over to adjust the blouse on my boot; he thought that since my eyes were not on the corridor I was obviously neglecting my post.) Served another one for expressing the desire to see if a different butterbar would float in the Sea of Japan. (also a verbal warning. butterbar crawled into the hold of the ship we were being slow transported on for a beach exercise and caught me sitting in a chair right next to the only dry door in the hold, and thought I was not being vigilant. after all, someone might sneak in and steal a jeep or something…)

Due to the lateness and delays involved in my promotion to corporal (finally promoted, in spite of excellent pros and cons, time in service, etc. etc. on 01MAY1984), I figured that was going to be the story of my enlistment. I elected to not reenlist. Since I was by that time a functioning alcoholic, I am very surprised to see on my DD214 that I still managed a Sharpshooter on my rifle and a Marksman on my pistol. I was sure I would have UNKED on both for the first time. The rest of my time in I wore Expert badges in both. I also was awarded a Good Conduct Medal, two Meritorious Masts (recruiting duty, you know), and a Sea Service deployment ribbon (w/1*). All that and an Honorable discharge to boot.

Looking back, if I had known then what I know now, I would have reenlisted. I should have stayed on board and served a full twenty years or more. There is so much slack in the civilian world that I am considered a real pain in the butt when I start holding people to the minimum standard. That’s just sad.

I hope that answered your question, Jacko. If anyone wants any details, drop me a line.

Thank you for stopping by, God bless you all, Wear Red on Fridays, support Warriors for Innocence, and write in Cary Cartter for President in 2008!

Tag: Write in Cary Cartter for President in 2008

Jenn has invited me to call in to her Fabulous BlogRadio Show to debate with John Bootie.

Only problem I can see with “debating” John is that our positions are so similar, people may not see the difference between us.

Here’s a hint – My favored hair style is a flat top.

Anyway – it should be, at the least, an interesting conversation with another person more interested in the Country than his wallet.

Thank you for stopping by, God bless you all, Wear Red on Fridays, support Warriors for Innocence, and write in Cary Cartter for President in 2008!

Tag: Write in Cary Cartter for President in 2008

I’ve been trying to wrap up this contract with the fewest casualties. Tough to do with the level of customer service exhibited by the product supplier. More on that later.

Today, I need to ask all three of my loyal readers to go to Texas Fred‘s and read this. Dave Mooney, the owner of Blue Star Deli in Farmers Branch, Texas, needs some help. Seems that because Dave has been a member of the staunch opposition to illegal invaders, he is being targeted to be boycotted by ALL the Mexican-derived people in the South Texas area. He needs our help, please take a minute to read the piece at Fred’s.

That’s all for now – gotta go slay a paper dragon.

Thank you for stopping by, and God bless you all.

On this day, I would like to first wish you all a safe and fabulous Fourth of July celebration, remembering all those who have given all in order to secure these continuing liberties.

Deborah, from the North: Thank you. Your note means a lot.

Moving on to current events – the Governor of Arizona, Janet Napolitano, has signed into law a bill that should effectively remove the illegal immigrant from the state of Arizona. At least, the incentive for them to be here will be removed. The bill has built in penalties for knowingly hiring illegal immigrants. No, not monetary – at least, not directly. First offense would result in your business being placed on probation for three years (five, if the hiring was ‘intentional’). Second offense your business license would be revoked. Period.

I’d say that’s pretty tough, wouldn’t you?

Only one problem. The enforcement part.

It really doesn’t matter how “tough” the laws are, if there is no enforcement and, more importantly, punishment, the lawbreakers won’t care. They will continue to break the law.

The only effective law is one that is fairly enforced, and punishment meted out afterward. Currently, the national passport requirements for traveling to Canada, Mexico, or any Carribean vaction spot are not being enforced, because “people weren’t ready” for them I say, tough. There was plenty of warning the rules were going into effect. The lack of punishment can be seen as the root cause for many maladies crippling the country today, mostly at the local level which will spill into the regional levels and beyond. Graffiti is a widespread problem because no one wants to hold their kids responsible for damaging other people’s property. Vandalism follows, with the “broken windows” model following (where there are broken windows or other signs of vandalism, the basic crime rate will rise).

My solution? Well, it’s pretty simple, yet it will be seen as a radical departure from the status quo: Hire enough police officers to have an effective presence in the area. Follow that with actually prosecuting and punishing those caught breaking the law. Overcrowded prisons? Just another incentive to not break the law. Once the perception is changed to actual punishment of the criminals, instead of coddling, the number of crimes and criminals will be reduced. Heck, even if the only thing the additional officers do is patrol the streets and write speeding tickets, overall the roads will become safer when the speeders slow down and the minor traffic infractions are not occurring as often as they are now.

Back to the illegal immigrant law: There is talk of a large exodus of the illegals, since they won’t be able to find work. Boo-freakin’hoo. I look at this as a positive. Number one, the traffic was much lighter, and there were fewer accidents, on the days of the illegal immigrant rallies. Number two, once the cheap labor is gone, the market will do a rapid self correction and people will be able to get a decent wage once again. Number three, the entry level positions that the illegals love to hang on to forever will be freed up for high-school students to once again use as a stepping stone to the workforce.

On a personal note, the neighborhood will be safer to walk in at night. Right now, the large groups sharing the single family homes are causing enough traffic and trash to make anyone feel uncomfortable outside their own home.

Well, I’ve prattled on long enough. Time to update the on-line numbers and then catch some sleep before the festivities of the day begin.

Please be safe. Don’t drink and drive. If you must drink, do so responsibly. Remember that alcohol and gunpowder don’t mix. Well, they do, but with usually disastrous results.

Thank you for stopping by, God bless you all, Wear Red on Fridays, support Warriors for Innocence, and write in Cary Cartter for President in 2008!

Tag: Write in Cary Cartter for President in 2008