Let's gain accountability of all our military folks out there. Past and present. I'll start it off... My name is Gunnery Sergeant Thomas and I've been an Active Duty Marine for going on 15 years now. I'm a Small Arms Repairman by MOS, but my "job" is being a United States Marine and everything that comes with holding that title. I've been station in Okinawa twice... Yuma, AZ... Quantico, VA... Parris Island, SC... and am now at Fort Lee, VA teaching at the MOS schoolhouse. I've been a Marine Corps Instructor of Water Survival (MCIWS), a Marine Corps Martial Arts Instructor, and a Drill Instructor, amongst other collateral billets. I've been deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan and participated in numerous other exercises all over the globe. I absolutely love being a Marine. So much, in fact, I had supply issue me one and we've been married for 11 years now.
Alright! Austin just gave me permission to come aboard. I was Army, 1967-1970. I enlisted for Armor, ended up as a 94B20 - cook. Ft Lee, Va, Gunney. Stateside I was at Fort Carson, Colo with the 46th Field Artillery, from 1968 to 1969. Fort Carson really sucked back in the 60's so I started putting in requests -NCO school, Airborne, Korea, all turned down. Volunteered for Vietnam - approved. I was sent to the 1st Infantry Brigade, 5th Infantry Division (Mechanized). We were on loan to the Marines. Came under Command and Control of the 3rd Marine Division and operated with them along the DMZ from the Khe Sahn Plains to the South China Sea. When I DEROS'ed back to the States, my time was up and I had had enough. Honorably discharged as an E-5. Back home I never really fit in until I found my Brothers in Vietnam Veterans of America. Even today I do not really socialize voluntarily with civilians, but stay very active with VVA, VFW, American Legion, AMVETS. I also belong to my beloved Society of the 5th Infantry Division and try to make the annual reunions whenever I can afford it. Anyway, thanks for letting me join in. I appreciate it.
