5 posts tagged “marine corps”
December 10th, 1985 saw the release of a bunch of hard-charging "shower-shoes" onto this world as the members of Platoon 2097 stepped off of the Parade Deck of Parris Island, South Carolina (a.k.a., The land that God Forgot).
Among that gaggle of green, amphibious goo, was one Private First Class Jones. That was a long time ago, but that date continues to resonate across my body and soul to this day as this was the day I entered into a life-long fraternity, a brother-hood, a family unlike any other.
Although having celebrated my 18th Birthday at Parris Island, we were on our path to becoming men on December 10th the minute we lined up on the yellow foot prints on September 12th, 1985. Despite the fact that it has been 22 years, to the day, I still recall it as if it were only yesterday. Snippets include:
Private Bernard strong arming Private Hoffman for his Chits
Private Jiminez playing pop-goes-the-weasle for Sergeant Galbreath
3rd Phase Movie Night - "Rambo, First Blood"
And that graduation, the pride, the honor coursing through all of us. I don't think any of us were cognizant of the pain and struggle that we had been through. All that mattered now was getting off of the island and introducing the world to this new group of warriors fresh out of the "Pit."
There are only two days that remind me of the significance of the phrase "Once a Marine, Always a Marine." November 10th, the Marine Corps Birthday, and today, December 10th. To all my brothers from Platoon 2097 onwards that I may have lost contact with over the years, know this, you are still with me as you were then. When we cross paths, it will be as if we never lost contact. It was an honor to serve with each and everyone of you.
My Journey as a Marine (9/12/85 ~ 8/4/93)
Platoon 2097 (Recruit)
Charlie Battery, 1stBn, 10thMar, 2ndMarDiv (2512-Field Wireman)
HQ Battery, 1stBn, 10thMar, 2ndMarDiv (2512-Field Wireman/0121-Personnel Clerk)
JPAO, MCB, Camp Lejeune (4313-Marine Broadcast Journalist)
AFPBS Det. 5, MCAS Iwakuni, Japan (4313-Marine Broadcast Journalist)
FEN (AFN), MCAS Iwakuni, Japan (4313-Marine Broadcast Journalist)
The time of my return to Camp Lejeune from Indianapolis is sort of a blur. Work was work. Stories written, shot and produced for our local base weekly news program “The Lejeune Report” and if you were lucky and it was good enough, off to Navy News in D.C.. was a rather exciting place to work in the broadcasting field, more precisely in News. There was always something to report on. Features were even easier to come up with. There was always some unit in the field blowing something up or going through training. Across the river and around the bend was New River Air Station where you could work on a story about one of the several Helicopter squadrons. And if you were really ambitious you could take a drive up to Cherry Point and do some stories on some fixed wing aircraft.
Some of my favorite stories I covered during this period were on a CH-53 Helicopter Squadron who, in formation flew up to Cherry Point (First time ever), then spent the afternoon practicing Mid-Air refueling and ended the day doing offensive strafing of an old abandoned tanker in the swamps of North Carolina. That was cool. At about 100 ft. off of the ground or so, at a blinding speed circling around a ship while the Gunner hung out the side with his 50 caliber machine gun shooting the crap out of it. I got 3 or 4 stories out of the video and interviews I shot that day.
But all stories were not about blowing something up or shooting the crap out of something. I had a Navy News submission on the Marine Corps Onslow Beach clean up effort. This was an effort by the Base to provide Marines who volunteered, to walk miles of beach front cleaning up the beaches. The scary thing was all of the Medical waste that was collected included needles and more. It was a true environmental effort by the Marines that made a difference.
My scariest moment occurred as a result of the hostilities that were occurring in Panama at the time. Not many people knew about it from the media, but the Marines were down there, actually getting shot at and in some cases firing back. At that time the Marine Corps was rotating infantry units in and out of to provide some security around the Canal. There were rebels who were probing the defenses of the Marines and in some cases it got ugly. Our job usually involved shooting interviews and new packages on the units that were leaving Lejeune or returning to Lejeune from .
When things started to really heat up, I was assigned to head to Panama. Myself and another Print Journalist were being temporarily assigned to the command that was running the operation in Panama. Our mission was to cover the mission of the Marines there. We packed up all of our gear and headed over to the Marine Expeditionary Force (MEF) Headquarters at Lejeune to be driven to Charleston Air Force Base in to jump on a transport to Panama. Needless to say having covered the Marines who returned, it was not a fun place to be and I was a bit apprehensive about going, but it was News and I was excited to be covering something a bit more substantial than simple features. But, it was not to be.
We arrived at Charleston AFB right on time only to be told that the transport that we were to be traveling on had left early, so even in the Military you can miss a flight. Back to Lejeune, where it was decided that we would not go after all. For me, this event was the last straw. I had to get off of Lejeune and find those places where all of the other Marines on this base were going. Somewhere that wasn’t part of the 50 U.S. States. I begin to beg to be sent overseas. After all, isn’t that what Marines are supposed to do. Travel to foreign lands, meet interesting people and then shoot them (meaning shoot as in video people!).
Finally almost a year after returning from DINFOS, I was presented with orders over seas! The location; Rota, Spain. I was beyond myself. Finally I get to go somewhere! I started doing my research on the area, the base and everything about Rota. It was in Europe so that meant plenty of exposure to and the numerous things going on in 1988.
I was about 1 month out from leaving when I was called to the Headquarters Admin section. They informed me that my orders had been changed and I was no longer going to Rota! WTF! I was not too thrilled about this. Where were they sending me now? Pendleton in California? Yuma in Arizona? Awww come on! Let me go! They did, destination….. Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni, Japan. Where the hell is that? I asked? Everyone said the same thing… “In Japan”
Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni is in Japan, but it is primarily ½ a base. The other half belongs to the Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force. Hardly anyone I spoke to knew anything about the place. Most thought it was an Air Force Base. That is because all of the Marines in are primarily located in the islands south of known as Okinawa, which until the 70’s was a territory of the as a result of WWII. Iwakuni however, was a small town about 45 minutes south-west of Hiroshima. Aside from the only other real city close was which is on the large southern and a great party town I might add.
So what was I going to do there? I would be working for the Far East Network which is the equivalent of what you may have seen in the movie “Good Morning Vietnam.” A full blown Radio/Television station serving the Marines and Sailors of the base. Now that was when I began to get excited. Time to have some real fun.
I was a United States Marine! There is a lot that people say about Marines and most of it is true. One thing that I have always carried with me that I never understood growing up with my Father who was also in the Marines is the sense of, as they call it Esprit d` Corps. The phrase "Once a Marine, Always a Marine" is one that is taken very litterally.
My memories of the 8 years I spent in the Corps is sprinkled with many memories, some bad, but most great. The first three years were hard. Very hard. In 1985 I joined and graduated boot camp in on December 10th. Exactly one month after the Marine Corps Birthday of November 10th. So it is easy for me to remember. Those three months were what you might expect from Marine Corps boot camp so if you want to know more, just watch the first half of Full Metal Jacket to get a taste.
I eventually settled down at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina where I was assigned as a Field Wireman for an Artillery Battalion. The running joke at the time was that in most cases a Marine's job was rated by how long your life expectancy was in a combat situation. For an infantry man it was something silly like 5 seconds. Oh and if you are really lucky and end up as a wireman, that was like 3 seconds, because EVERYONE KNOWS you have to take out the communications first. This was just one of those unique Marine jokes that would float around when you were given your assignments.
Honestly, It wasn't that bad. Yes it was hard physical work and many deployments involved, but I met some great friends who I unfortunately have lost contact with over the years. At some point however, I realized that in respect to my longer term career ambitions (didnt' really have many at 20 years of age) there was not really much growth for me in supporting and Artillery unit. I wanted to do something else.
Surprisingly enough, I found out that there are hundreds of Jobs in the Marine Corp, some that have equivalent occupations in the "real world." It was one of those that jumped out at me so loud that I was completely shocked and amazed that it even existed. It was that of a Marine Broadcast Journalist or Combat Correspondent. I jumped all over it. I am in the middle of a series of blogs about that transition, so I won't go into it too much here.
It is this series that has made me look back to my time in the Military, and with the help of Google and some other blogging communities I have begun to find and re-connect with long lost friends and fellow servicemen/women I served with. At the same time, I put forth the effort to pull out the old photo albums and begin scanning memories from that period in my life. The result of which can be seen on my Flickr site here. As well as the VOX group I just created called U.S. Marine Corps.
This past week I was "found" by another former Marine I served with in Japan. Some look back on the past in terms of avoiding mistakes, I value the opportunity to look back as one that allows me to recall the joyous roads I have taken in my life that have made me who I am today. If I can reach back now and pull into my life again some of these individuals that I laughed and cried with in the best and worst of times, then I am truly blessed.
Check out the pictures... you might end up with a giggle or two. And if you know of any current or former military broadcasters, point them over my way!
That was the template phrase that each military candidate for military broadcast journalism back in the day knew very well. It was also the phrase that I studied and practiced over and over again for my audition reel. Following that was usually some copy written to show your inflection, articulation and general phrase and pacing skills. I never imagined that so much detail was involved in presenting the written word in verbal format, and let me tell you, it isn’t as easy as it all looks or sounds.
As I said, I passed the audition test and was accepted into the Defense Information School or DINFOS as we so affectionately called it. Back in 1988 it was still located at Ft. Benjamin-Harrison in Indianapolis, Indiana. The school itself is quite intense and operated by the Department of Defense, not a specific branch of the Armed Services. It was also the home to certain parts of the Military Legal and Finance training, as well as the Military’s Postal School. Yes, the military has its own Mail system. For my purposes though it was the Journalism part of the building where I would be spending my time.
DINFOS, the birthplace of military Broadcasters, Photo-journalists and Print Journalists from all branches of the Armed Services, all working and living together, well sort of. I remember our living arrangement very well. For me, I was in heaven. Having just come from living and working in Artillery for almost 3 years where our lives revolved around an Open Squad bay (think big room with about 48 roommates), the cafeteria out back and my work hole next to that, I was amazed to now be provided with a room! Not only that, but when I switched over to broadcasting I was immediately promoted to the rank of Corporal which made me now a Non-Commissioned Officer, so I got my own room! Unheard of!
Within this “U” shaped building, we 12 or so Marines were placed on the first floor of the right wing of the “U”, above us on the 2nd floor were the 78 or so Air Force trainees and above them were the approximate 120 or so Navy trainees. The entire 3 floors of the left side of the building were all Army. Joining the two ends of the “U” was the common area, a TV room and a Typewriter room and the Barracks offices. Yes people, this is all pre-home computer. We had to type everything and even use carbon inserts for copies!
As far as living conditions go, for Marines at that time, this was paradise. On top of that, all of the other services had weird curfews and regulations to follow since most of them were fresh out of boot camp or basic training. For us, we had nothing. OOH RAH! I sort of stood out because all of the other Marines were fresh out of boot camp and new to the Corps. I had been around a few years and was now in the position of being responsible for them all. That had certain benefits in and of itself that I won’t go into now.
I did strike a very unique relationship with one Army Drill Sergeant Jones, who was basically responsible for all of the Army personnel in the barracks. He was also the one responsible for ensuring that all of the Army trainees stayed in line. That meant evening bed checks for those still under the curfew period. He used to get a kick out of asking me, Corporal Jones, to accompany him on his rounds ensuring that all of the trainees were accounted for and in their rooms. Honestly though, I think he thought that my guys were either in the rooms or his trainees were in our rooms, doing…. Well….. never mind.
Needless to say, life there was fun. We were the few, the proud, the party animals of the barracks. This also meant for a serious issue around ensuring we were coherent enough during the day to follow through with our lessons. I was one of two Marines going through the broadcasting course at the time. It was a very intense course. In a matter of weeks, they had to bring you up to speed on every aspect of television and radio. In short it was something like 2 weeks in voice/radio (including news), 1 week in Television Operations, 1 week in Television reporting/spot production. I really don’t remember too much of the structure of the course, I just know it was intense and very high-pressure. You fail, you drop and go back to the fleet. Something I definitely did not want to have happen.
For me, the voice part was the most difficult. Days spent with tennis balls in my back for posture, breathing techniques, pencils in the mouth to learn to control mouth muscles to articulate better and during radio, always looking at the clock to make sure you get on or off air within the second you are meant to. You don’t, you fail. Radio and Voice was the “Boot Camp” of the school as I remember it.
As a single Marine at the time, I can honestly say that I was able to balance the work during the day with the Nickel-Beer nights at a local dive. I was even able to keep my Devil Dogs relatively out of trouble. Well, any trouble that would have gotten them booted from the course. I would like to think that I left my mark there somehow, but there are hundreds if not thousands of us “DINFOS Trained Killers” out there.
Hell some are even lurking in the Yahoo!Groups I have found and joined on my page. I am sure each of them have similar memories and stories about their time at DINFOS. Not sure what it is like now that the school was re-located to Ft. Meade in Maryland, I only hope they are enjoying the experience as much as we did in Indianapolis.
Up Next: Back to Camp Lejeune a DINFOS Trained Killer
Now you can say what you want about the War and Politics and why our troops are "over there." This week however, a small fighting force of about 177,000 will be celebrating. This does not include the hundreds of thousands more who wore the Uniform. For this week, is the week of the 231st Birthday of the United States Marine Corps. All around the world a standard script will be read at identical ceremonies. There will be a cake involved, the first two slices ceremoniously being given to the Oldest and Youngest Marine Present. There will be moments of silence for fallen Marines, the Marine Corps Hymn will be trumpeted and on that last note an all-mighty OOOH RAH! Will resound through whatever Aircraft Hanger, Ball Room, Theater, Tent or Field Positions those Marines find themselves in. For this is a corps who had fought and struggled through the Sand Fleas of Parris Island or the American Airlines flight overhead in San Diego reminding them of home, to join an organization that remains within your soul for life. As they say, "Once a Marine, Always a Marine."
As an example of the Semper Fidelis sprit that is one of the Corps Motto's I recieved the following e-Mail from a former Master Gunnery Sergeant in Tokyo, where I lived up until last year:
Subject: Tokyo Marine Corps Birthday, Nov. 10th
Listen up Marines:
Date: Nov. 10th, US Marine Corps birthday
Schedule applies:
1830 hours: cocktail hour.
1915 hours: food is rolled out -- buffet style.
2100 hours: birthday cake is rolled out.
2130 Hours: event finishes.
Open Bar: red/white wine, beer, cocktails (basic drink set), soft drinks for three hours.
Budget: ¥10,000 Yen per person.
Attire: Men: Business attire, coat/tie; Ladies: suitable for the celebration.
Cigars: Marines will be allowed to light them up, so you are welcomed to bring them along.
Your special bottle: Marines will be allowed to bring their favorite wine/liquor, champagne bottle. IMPORTANT: There is a
2,000 Yen corkage fee, which we will need to pay additional.
Venue: Fujimamas Restaurant Bar and Cafe Tokyo
The reservations are confirmed, so as we must pay regardless if a Marine and or their guests are UA. For those who have yet to confirm, there is still time to share the Corps comradeship among the Tokyo Marines, please do consider in attending; we leave no Marine in the rear echelon. As always, please feel free to forward our communications to other Marines in the area; we welcome them and look forward towards shaking their hand into the Tokyo Marines Group.
This year, we would like to try something different -- we would like to have Marines wear name tags; please provide e-mail me with your time severed in the US Marines, from basic training to when you hung up your camouflaged suites; I know some of you leathernecks might not remember, but about timeframes will be OK. If your lady has a name other than "devil pup" we would like to also provide her with a name tag. THIS IS AN ORDER.
On a side note, we did find cat woman; she is attending the celebration with Frank Kurdyla, our oldest Marine and who served twice with Chesty Puller; Frank still remembers his first kill in combat in the Korean War. We also have Marines from the Vietnam War and the Gulf War attending.
Now you have to keep in mind that these are "Former" Marines who have exited the Active Ranks and commenced with their private "Civilian" lives. However November 10th always brings them all together again to reflect on the past, support the present and consider the future of what we affectionately refer to as "Our Corp." As everyone knows, I will not attend this year's celebration, but I will attend in spirit. For any Marines out there who just happen to be in the Tokyo area on November 10th, Drop 'ole Master-Guns a note. Bob Bernal bbernal@gol.com
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