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EXCERPT FROM THE BOOK:
Embassy Duty For The Golden Boy
When I first
joined the Corp, I vowed to become the best Marine that I could.
I vowed to continue my best efforts in order to get into embassy
duty.
I scored high
on my PTF scores and kept myself squared away. As a result, I
made Lance Corporal meritoriously. I was so gung-ho, I was on
the way of becoming a bit of a golden boy.
Becoming a
golden boy or getting ahead was not as hard as most people
think. Everyone always talks about how competitive it is out in
the world, that it is dog-eat-dog. To a degree, this is true,
but in reality the so-called competition is, for the most part,
a bunch of lazy, complaining, negative people without vision.
Most of the
Marines I knew always complained about their superiors, their
lot in life, their work and how they had no control over their
future. I found that people who were lazy or complained all the
time, stood out to the people above.
I found most
people had the misconception that if they did the best they
could, it would be considered sucking up. I also stood out like
a sore thumb, because aside from the three men we planned to
frag, I never complained about my superiors or my work. It’s
true that I wanted a different situation, which is why I strove
to do my best with every duty handed me.
I put in for
Embassy duty and my superiors told me they had me on the review
list to be considered for meritorious promotion to Corporal. It
appeared likely that I would go to embassy school. I was jazzed.
For people who
don’t know about the promotion process, it is slowest in the
Marine Corp. To make the rank of sergeant in four years, during
peacetime, is very tough. You have to keep your nose very clean.
Most are lucky
to get to Corporal by the end of a four-year tour. I was looking
at becoming a Corporal in less than two years, which might mean
Staff Sergeant by the end of four years; at least if I promised
to re-enlist. This was fine by me as I dreamed of one day
becoming the commandant of the Marine Corp.
It was the life
I wanted… or so I thought. I hungered for a life that would
finally have meaning, a life that would give me structure and a
feeling that I belonged. The powerful need to fill the emptiness
within me was a high-octane fuel for motivating my engine of
ambition.
To enhance my
chances for success as a career Marine; I decided to train
harder with weights, do more calisthenics and running. Every day
I ran two miles to the missile-park, two miles back to the
barracks and chow hall during lunch, and then the two miles back
to work. After work was the three to four mile run we were
required to do in addition to the other physical-training. I ran
a hundred miles a week, at a pace of six to seven minute miles.
I tried to further my education, which I had stupidly ignored in
high school. I took the GED and nearly made maximum score. I
started taking classes after work to further my math education,
but this never worked out. Every time I was half way through a
term, we had to go to Onslow beach to keep up our missile
training.
MOST PEOPLE TALK BULLSHIT:
One Primate's Search For Intelligent Life
(GENESIS)
MOST PEOPLE TALK BULLSHIT:
One Primate's Search For Intelligent Life
(EXODUS)
MOST PEOPLE TALK BULLSHIT:
One Primate's Search For Intelligent Life
(REVELATIONS)
MOST PEOPLE TALK BULLSHIT:
One Primate's Search For Intelligent Life
(JUDGMENT DAY)
THE MARINES: GOD'S CHOSEN
WARRIORS
VINCE'S GYM
CONVERSATIONS WITH NEO
NEO TEACHES ME THE ART OF WAR
& PEACE;
His Version of The Matrix
MEMORIES OF MY FATHERS
ZEN & THE ART OF RESISTANCE
TRAINING:
A Yogic & Scientific Approach To Weight
Lifting
ZEN & THE BIOLOGY OF
TRANSCENDENCE:
The First Matrix of Psychic
Phenomena
ZEN & THE ART OF KINESIOLOGY:
The Yogic & Scientific
Approach To Movement
ZEN & YOUR ENERGY SYSTEMS
ZEN & VARIOUS ASPECTS OF
TRAINING
HOMEPAGE TO ADVENTURES IN MARINE BIOLOGY
HOMEPAGE |
