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03:35 EST
From the confines of Camp Leatherneck
ALMAR/ALFAM/ALFRDS,
Busy week here, things have been busy. Have I mentioned things were busy? They were! Sunday was Mother’s Day and I didn’t get to call Mom…yeah yeah, I know. The calls made from here were over 100,000 calls…that’s Marines calling their Mom’s…that’s good! I was one of the unlucky ones that did get through, but them Mom ignored my call. Just kidding, we just missed each other; but I did make up for it and called her on Monday and it didn’t hurt I had flowers and cards delivered on Mother’s Day!
I also heard the Lakers were swept in the playoffs…that’s awesome! Everyone knows I’m anti-LA and anti-Boston! YUCK!!
So, I’ve been given the key to my new room this week. I go to check it out, the lock doesn’t work and I get to walk right in. I turn the light on, which doesn’t work, and then turn the A/C on… soooooo, the A/C blows hot air and what to my eyes appears….nothing. No rack, no mattress…nothing! So basically I have a box of hotness. The lock got fixed the next day and the A/C guy came Saturday to replace the entire system. Oh joy! In the process, I got to wipe down the walls and all the fixtures, mop, and clean the screen. So when my rack “in a box” showed up, it took me 2 ½ to put it together. My mattress arrived “new” with a corner missing out of the mattress. Either way, it’s been a fun week and I have my own room…that’s what 17 years gets ya.
So there has been a lot of hoopla going on here this week. Tents going up, things getting cleaned up, the MEF compound getting all spruced up…I thought to myself…”Self, this could be an awesome freaking surprise birthday party these cats are throwing me!” No, no, no…apparently the Commandant of the Marine Corps and the Sergeants Major of the Marine Corps were coming to town…silly me! I did get to see General Amos walk past me in the chow hall, then entered the entire entourage that preceded him…we went back to work. I still, after 17 years, have not grown accustomed to changing things because someone is visiting. If you don’t like how you’re doing business, then change the way you’re doing it and keep your area up to par…makes no sense to clean up cause you have a visitor…you should be ready for anyone to come to your house or place of work with going into a frenzy cleaning and changing things. BUT, it is pretty awesome to hear to these men speak on the status of our Corps. We had an interesting night before they’re arrival, so they talked about that and everything else around the Corps. As I do not agree with the pomp and circumstance sometimes, those men of 41 years of duty and 35 years of duty are due their time and respect. Here’s a little story for you. PFC Weber leaves artillery school in Ft Sill, OK and gets orders to his first duty station in the fleet. Lima Battery, 3rd Battalion, 12th Marines, Camp Foster, Okinawa, Japan for duty as an artilleryman. PFC Weber checks in to the battery 1stSgt…..1stSgt Kent. Let’s just say the PFC learned very quickly how to be a Marine. While in the battery, 1stSgt Kent gets promoted and becomes the Battalion SgtMaj…that was 1995. He has been a SgtMaj as long as I’ve been in our beloved Corps. The man is an amazing Marine. Being on his Battalion Color Guard was a little nerve racking, as I could never just, “get it right Devil Dog”. Through the years, I’ve run into the SgtMaj, recalling a few times that we spend in 3/12 together. The Corps bids him farewell after 35 years of honorable and faithful service.
Now that all that is out of the way, it was a decent week. Half of my Marines were traveling the country picking up gear, so it’s just been Brian and I. We work well together and honestly I feel lucky having someone of his caliber to work with. With that, I’m going to wrap this up and say good bye till next week.
MSGT JOEL WEBER
II MEF FWD C6
UNIT 73920
FPO AE 09510-3920
