21 Years

I did some figuring, and at the time I'm writing this, I've spent the last 23 years and 6 months to the day in uniform. I started out in a green one as a Marine. I reported to boot camp at MCRD San Diego on August 23, 1988, and graduated on November 9th of that year. (One day early, so we could celebrate the Marine Corps' Birthday as Marines, and not recruits.) I'm immensely proud of my time in The Corps, and my experiences there are a big part of why I'm the person I am today. Like the cliche says, you can take the Marine out of the corps, but you'll never get The Corps out of the Marine.

On this date, February 23rd, 1991, Operation Desert Storm began. Coalition forces had already bombed Iraqi positions for 38 days, in preparation for a massive ground assault to liberate Kuwait. The Marine Corps was tasked with breaching an enormous minefield and staging a diversionary attack on Iraqi forces, while Army units drove forward into Kuwait. The Marine assault was so successful so quickly that it became the main focus of the liberation. In 100 hours, Kuwait was free of Iraqi control. The operations of Task Force Ripper and Task Force Papa Bear will go down in history as examples of how an armored assault is supposed to work.

Today, American troops are still in harm's way in Iraq and Afghanistan. it's looking increasingly likely that Iran is next. I won't comment on whether or not any of those wars are right or wrong. I don't know if any war can ever be described as "right", anyway. That's probably a question for philosophers, not me. My job is to stay out here on the front lines, ready to respond when the call comes. Someone else can sit back and think about it. I'm busy.

There are a lot of brave men and women that put their lives on the line every day for complete strangers. Some are deployed to trouble spots all over the world, hunting down those people that want to destroy our nation. More are right next door to you, in police cars, fire trucks, and ambulances. We're out here 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. None of us are doing it for the money, or for the glory, and it's sure as hell not glamorous. Most of us are doing it because we genuinely want to make a difference in the world. We're out here because for a lot of us, doing nothing is far worse than anything we could run into out on the streets. So when you see a veteran, or the local police officers, or firefighters, or EMT's, remember that. Come on up and say hello. We don't need parades, or monuments, or any of that stuff. The best award I've ever gotten was the day a guy walked up to me and told me, "You saved my wife's life last year. Thank you." Nothing can ever top that.

To my fellow Marines, keep up the good work. you've made this old jarhead proud. I'm glad to see that The Corps is in good hands.

Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. -John 15:13