I was stationed at Camp Pendleton, California while serving in the infantry, and then at Yuma, Arizona when I first moved into the Disbursing field. Wow was it hot there. I wasn't to crazy about the low key job of disbursing, so I opted to become a Drill Instructor and train Marines. I went to Parris Island, South Carolina and served for almost three years and trained over 500 young men into becoming Marines. Words cannot describe the satisfaction you get as a Drill Instructor. It was the best job I have had in the Marine Corps. At the end of my tour as a Drill Instructor I was able to attend Jump School at Fort Benning, Georgia, where I became certified to jump out of airlplanes. Too Cool huh?
After doing my job as a Drill Instructor I had to return to my assigned job in Finance, so I was assigned to Henderson Hall, Virginia. While assigned here I performed an additional duty as the reactionary platoon commander. I was responsible for security of the base in the event of protests or terrorist activities. The only other thing exciting about this place was that it was where I decided to run the first of my now six Marine Corps marathons. I again got bored with my job and decided to try something different and asked to be assigned as an Reserve Officer Training Instructor, which is a job assigned at large universities. I was able to get assigned to Purdue University, which was close to my son so that we could spend more time together.
While assigned as a Assistant Marine Officer Instructor at Purdue I was considered part of the university faculty, so it had a few benefits/perks. One of them was attending college was VERY CHEAP, so I started pursuing my degree in Business with a dual major in Business Finance. During the summer I would go to Quantico, Virginia to train young men to become Officers at Officer Candidate School (OCS). I did this for two years until I was selected to become a Warrant Officer. Having already achieved the rank of E-7 or Gunnery Sergeant, this was to be another big step and things were looking good career-wise.
After completing Warrant Officer Basic School in June of 1997, I returned to Camp Pendleton for three years before being assigned at my present station in Okinawa, Japan. I have now achieved the rank of Chief Warrant Officer-4, and currently serve as the Finance Officer for Marine Corps Base, Okinawa Japan. Since August of 2000, I have served as the Operations Officer for the III MEF Disbursing, and have served as the Disbursing Officer for the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit.
During my tour here in Okinawa, I have become an avid diver and have been doing underwater photography. It is diving that brought my beautiful wife, Noriko, and I together. We met by chance during a dive with mutual friends. Since that day she has been my dive buddy, my friend and now my wife.
That pretty much sums up the past 22 years!! I hope you enjoyed getting to know Mike....