“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!

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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!

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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

It seems like it was just yesterday when I was happily drawing kitchens.

I sure miss those days. Weekends off, daytime working hours, seven to eight hours of sleep – at night! in a row! – and now, I just seem to be losing track of the days. Sleep deprivation has gotten the better of me. My accountant tells me that I am losing money in this contract, with having to pay a helper seven days a week. My internal clock tells me I’ve just lost track of the better part of a week. My mind and my body are on the verge of mutiny (on the “plus” side, I’m down to 196) and I am physically unable to keep up this pace. A typical day:

0000 hours: I’m driving towards the dock, to pick up the papers. I may stop for gasoline, if the tank is thirsty. It’s usually thirsty.
Between 0100 and 0200 hours: papers loaded, headed to the first stop.
Between 0430 and 0600 hours: route finished, heading home.
0600 to 0800 hours: paperwork, updating the online database, filing, sorting, getting things ready for tonight’s run.
0800 to whenever little Miss wakes up: nap. Feed little Miss, help her learn how to play, read to her, wait for her gorgeous blue eyes to get heavy and fall down. Nap for about an hour, while little Miss also naps. Repeat as needed, per little Miss’s schedule. Shower when possible. Shaving is an option, but only until TMBWitW gets home.
1700 hours: TMBWitW is home! Family time, dinner, conversation, TMBWitW catches up with little Miss.
2100 hours: print out new run sheet for that night.
2115 hours: lay head down for another nap.
2345 hours: get up, try to jangle the body into awareness, slam some caffeine. Cold water works well, also. Make sure everything is in order for the run tonight.

Yes, this is seven days a week. Sundays are a bit different; I need to pick up my helper and get the trailer, so my evening nap is cut short by thirty minutes or so.

Your mind plays tricks on you after not getting enough sleep. It’s hard enough for me to type, since I am slightly dyslexic, and I have to concentrate on every word to make sure it’s spelled correctly so these entries are legible. Bad spelling makes my reading slow way down, because then I’m not sure if what I’m reading is spelled correctly or not. When I have enough sleep, this process is almost seamless and I can operate at the same speed as most of the world. When I haven’t had enough sleep, though, it’s way tougher than normal.

If the schedule were consistent (notice the variable at the dock – you can’t count on when the papers are going to come off the line, so you can’t really sneak a nap while at the dock), or if there were days off for recovery built in, I think it wouldn’t be so bad. But, here I am, with a sleep schedule so out of whack with what God designed, that my whole being is disrupted.

Which brings me to this point: I won’t be doing this much longer. I have caught myself taking naps at red lights. Not a problem when I’m the only one on the road, but sometimes it’s during the day. Or during rush hour. Phoenix area drivers are notoriously impatient, so don’t even delay them getting to their oh-so-important destinations. I’m getting pretty good at identifying vehicle make and model by the sound of the horn… Anyway, July 29 will be my last day as a contractor. I am so looking forward to maybe getting some sleep after that…

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!

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Note to self:

If I can’t see, I can’t type.

New starter in the QX4. I hate automotive engineers.

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