United States:Â Captain at the Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office shared his life experiences and his journey in the United States Marine Corps.
Read here the full statement by Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office:
I enlisted in the United States Marine Corps in the summer of 1986. This was the summer before my senior year. I had it set up so I would graduate from High School and leave for Boot Camp a day or so after graduation.
When I enlisted they had three Aviation Mechanics and one Military Policeman. I took my chances but was hoping for Aviation Mechanic. My father was an F-4 Phantom mechanic in Vietnam. Upon graduation from Bootcamp, I was given the MOS 5811- Military Police.
I returned home and attended the University of Minnesota while drilling on the weekends with the Marine Corps Reserve. The next summer I went to the Military Police Academy at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas. I thoroughly enjoyed the training and when I returned, I switched my Major from Aerospace engineering to Criminology. To be truthful the University of Minnesota had a lot to do with the switch because I was failing out of Calculus Three.
In subsequent years I was fortunate enough to volunteer for some temporary assignments. I went to Okinawa, Japan; Cold Weather training with the Lake Superior Scottish Regiment; attended the first portion of Officer Candidate School- until I broke my foot.
In the summer of 1990, Sadaam Hussein invaded Kuwait. That fall my unit was activated and sent to Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. I had to wait until my foot was fully healed and then I was able to be activated. We spent Thanksgiving and Christmas training for the impending war. We flew to Saudi Arabia on New Year’s Eve. We were sent to Camp 15 outside Al Jubayal. We were there for about four or five days until all equipment caught up with us.
We were then sent into the desert and moved almost daily until the ground invasion was to take place. I was part of a team that was placed on the far side of the breach with a new-fangled GPS and a Radio. Our frequencies were encrypted and we were to call in air strikes on the Iraqi positions as our tanks went through the breach. All of us that volunteered for this mission were single and without children. The breach went off without any problems and Desert Storm took off.
The invasion went so well that the ground war only lasted four days. We were then tasked with processing and temporarily housing Enemy Prisoners of War [EPWs]. Just think of an extremely busy night in the intake but outside in the desert using concertina wire for walls. I returned stateside in the summer of 1991 and was Meritoriously Promoted to Sergeant for my performance in Desert Storm.
I trained in Camp Pendleton and Twenty-Nine Palms for the next few years until I got out in 1994. I was hired in 1993 at Hennepin County as a Detention Deputy. I wanted to stay in but juggling the Reserves with a new career with Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office was just too much. I do regret getting out, especially on September 11th.
Everything I have is because of the Marine Corps. My first house was purchased with a VA Loan, part of my college was paid for with the GI Bill, and my career with the Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office was due in large because of my Marine Corps experiences. For that, I am truly thankful.”
