The Marine Chronicles: Big Switch Again (Part II)

It was the Commandant, the Commandant of the Marine Corp.  He is the Commanding Four Star General of the Marine Corp.  The Commandant has a house on the beach that he uses whenever he feels like it of course and whenever I suppose he needs the down time to relax.  Well the Commandant took daily walks on the beach whenever he was around.  He walked fast too, that man was definitely in shape.  Well after I picked up my jaw off the sand as he walked by waved hello, I was trying to figure out if was suppose to salute, say hi back, or whatever.  I didn't know what to do.  So I just saw him walk away down the beach.  He would eventually come back our way to go back to the beach house.  Later we were instructed as to how to conduct ourselves since it was going to be a daily occurrence for us to see him.  All of us on shift that day couldn't stop talking about seeing the Commandant.  We would only see him in pictures or on TV sometimes.  To a Marine meeting the Commandant is the equivalent of meeting the President--so for us to see him was exciting.

The next day I was on shift and here he comes, the Commandant on his daily stroll on the beach.  Well somehow he happened to be coming right next to me as he passed by and some how some way he smiled, said hi, and I said, "good afternoon General!" but the next thing you know I am walking with the General.  How this took place or even how it was initiated, I cant even tell you but there you go, me and the Commandant were walking and talking.  I had abandoned the beach and my crew just gave me the blessing to go with him and they covered for me.  He and I talked about a great many things, he spoke to me in a manner of how a father would speak to his son.  I don't know even think he would ever remember speaking to me for all I know.  I would remember this and of course never forget.  I don't know if it would be wise to get involved in all of the details of our conversation but I will give you the gist since it does relate as to why I left the Marine Corp.  By the time he was done talking to me, he knew that I "wanted in" on the War on Terror.  He made some recommendations and of course I listened. 

The Marine Corp at the time did not have a specialized unit dedicated to killing terrorist--the ARMY did.  However leaving the Corp was the last thing I wanted to do after speaking to the Commandant so I wanted to check out being assigned to Embassy Duty.  It would give me the "foundation" for many things the Commandant had spoken about.  At the time I was ready to get out, my Career Planner (kind of like a recruiter for folks that are IN the Corp already) told me there were no slots available for Embassy School.  I found this out to be a lie and the edict had come down to recruit for other careers.  I was not interested in anything else.  So my fall back was the ARMY since they had DELTA FORCE, a unit whose origin is based on the failed mission in Iran in 1980.   August of 1985 I had departed the Marine Corp only to re-enlist in the ARMY the following September--and thats how and why that happened.  How or if I ever got there and achieved that goal (killing terrorist for living) is another story.

BTW....that pic is almost 22 years and 90 lbs. ago.  Not a great pic but nonetheless the only one I got of me AND the Commandant.  I do have one of just him floatin' around here somewhere.

Comments

[kathi]

Finally, I asked for a full picture of you months ago. Thank you. Geesh, was that soooo hard?
So now we know. There wasn't enough killing or terrorist fighting for you in the marines. See, that surprises me (as someone who knows nothing about the branches but the basics), because I'd thought the marines would have been the more violent of the two services. Charlie has always wanted to join the Marines, and I've always encouraged him to go Army...I may have to rethink my direction.

[BlackOps]

Kathi,
Duhh....I certainly dont look anything like that now. Of course the Corp trains their peeps to be killers but at the time they didnt have a unit in place whose sole purpose existed for anti-terrorism. I am so out of the loop now on these things now, God only knows what "machines" we have in our governments arsenal to take care of these things. If you want your son to grow up with some issues, send him to the Marines, if not, ARMY's the best way to go. For some reason, that 3 month Basic Training fucks you up. Even me :)

[ghostie alix]

au contraire! that's a great photo!
we should all hope to look as good as the Commandant at his age, he is REALLY fit.
what a cool memory...and even cooler how it shaped your life.

[LL]

Dang, I think you left some details out, but that is such a cool story. I know about this part "How or if I ever got there and achieved that goal (killing terrorist for living) is another story." I THINK. Keep up with the stories. They are addictive.

[SmileDragon]

That was a very vague story, but now I understand why you, a Marine, would switch over to the Army, of course the better of the two branches. ;) Tee hee hee.

[Desult]

That's awesome that you got to meet the commandant. I hope I get to hear of what came of things before Tuesday.

Please don't take this the wrong way, but as a PT...you've got a very nice pair of quads in that pic.

[blondage]

Wow. Great pic, and I loved the story.

[BlackOps]

Alix,
You are too kind, if you only knew. Yes, I suppose he would have to be in the best of shape, settin' an example for his Marines and all. My memory of quite a few things is pretty solid, if I could remember where I laid my keys down yesterday. Most definitely I would agree that conversation was the catalyst for some life changing events that took place later in my life.

LL,
Yes, I had to leave some things out of that story on purpose, sorry about that but certain things people cant be privy to. Many thanks.

Smiles,
Yes, like I said I had to leave certain things out but I think most of the WHY that needed to be addressed was hashed out.

Queenie,
Yes, it was great meeting him, obviously an unforgettable experience. I wasnt really going to elaborate on what happened after but we shall if I want to continue on that line. Is it that time already? Thanks, I have heard that for years though and no, I didnt take it the wrong way at all :) Coming from you, its a huge compliment coming from you.

Blond,
Thanks!!

[Paul]

How many good men got out because they didn't get a meeting like yours? Or rather got the same kind of lies that you did from C planning?

Operation Eagle Claw in 1980 was something I was involved with.
Cause - inter service posturing.
Result - Good men dead and injured at desert one and a blackeye that haunts reputations even now.

[Kyuball]

Ok, that was worth the wait. (Secretly, I was hoping for Barbara Bach or some other hottie from the eighties, but the Commadant will do.

One thing though...who else thinks the Commandant looks like Jack LaLane? Seriously. When your blog came up, that's the first thing that came to my mind...Jack LaLane the Juiceman.

[BlackOps]

Paul,
You couldnt be more right. I have known some really solid individuals who moved on to other things but probably wouldve been career military from a meeting such as mine. I also know some solid individuals who did manage to stay in without the chance meeing I had and served very well.

You are right on all counts, a tragic event of which very, very few remember and know about. I do remember elaborating on this subject with you from another blog and post.

Kyu,
Im glad it was...you are just too damn funny. Sorry, no Barbara Bach, at least you had the time right.....I do have a Playboy Pin up story for you down the road. Now I had to go hit the juicer.

[SmileDragon]

You linked me, thanks!

[laura aka supermom]

Wow, that picture makes you look old. Maybe it's your socks being pulled up like that!

[BlackOps]

Smiles,
Its all good.

Laura,
LOL!!

[Adam]

What's up devil dog? I would like to thank you for writing about this stuff from your past and posting it for people to see. I had to laugh that you had to translate some of your experiences from Marine talk to civilian talk. What is funny about being a civilian is that when two marines get together and tell their war stories, people who are not Marines have no clue what the hell is being talked about.

In any case, it is cool that you publish these memories online.. Perhaps one day when the details get more fuzzy you can always refer back to what you wrote. Personally, some of the details regarding my Marine Corps stint are becoming more and more unclear and I only got out in 2001!

Frater Infinitas, Semper Fidelis.

[BlackOps]

Yeah, I know some peeps may not have the lingo and get lost on some of this stuff, so you gotta splain it sometimes.....I mean who knows what the hell the Commandant is except another jarhead. Thanks for stopping by and I will be headin your way to check out.