25 years, it doesn't seem as if it has been that long, I only feel the 25 years in my bones.
After leaving Tiffin I joined the US Marine Corps & became one of the Few & the Proud.
I enlisted, went to Paris Island SC; upon completion of boot camp I went to Camp Pendleton CA for Advanced Infantry Training. I mastered the machine gun & the art of blowing things up. Upon graduation of Infantry Training School I received orders to North Island Naval Base, CA where I served as a member of the base security defense force. In 1985 I submitted a request to Headquarters Marine Corps to transfer from the Infantry to a position in aircraft maintenance. My request was granted & I found myself at Naval Air Station Memphis TN for Aviation Maintenance training. I finished 1st in my class & received orders to Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point NC. I served with Headquarters & Maintenance Squadron 32 (H&MS-32) for five years. While serving at Cherry Point I was offered & accepted a position teaching SERE (Survival Evasion Resistance & Escape) school. I completed my tour at SERE school as an instructor & then resumed my position at H&MS-32. Jet engine maintenance was becoming old hat; a position became available at Naval Air Station Patuxent River supporting experimental flight test & I took the position. I moved to Patuxent River MD in 1989 & I served with STRIKE Aircraft Test & Evaluation squadron (now VX-23). I performed flight testing on AV8-B Harriers until 1995; I then transferred to the MV-22 Osprey program for experimental flight test operations. In 1996 I left the US Marine Corps & accepted a position with a defense contractor that provided jet engine test cell support; I also joined the Air National Guard & within the year I received orders to Biloxi MS for C-130 Avionics Communications & Navigation system training. Upon completing of my schooling I was released from active duty & resumed my day job. Then, in 1998 I accepted an engineering position with a different defense contractor supporting Naval Air Systems Command. I have been working for the Military my whole life & I really do not know anything else. During this time I met my wonderful wife Jena in Baltimore MD. We met while I was performing my monthly training with the Maryland Air National Guard. Jena and I married in 2000 & now have 3 wonderful children (4, 3, & 2). I retired from Military service a few years ago after 23+ years of honorable service. I now spend my free time with my family raising our children. Semper Fi