the short version of my Marine Corps travels

1. On March 10, 2003 I went to boot camp at Parris Island, South Carolina. I was assigned to Platoon 4016 in November Company, which had Platoon 4017 at the same time. My drill instructors were SDI GySgt Quinn, DI SSgt Craig, DI GySgt Principe, and at different times, DI Sgt Wise and DI SSgt Gonzales-Skanes. I graduated on schedule on June 6, 2003. We shared the parade deck on graduation day with six platoons of male recruits from 3rd Battalion's Lima Company.

2. After ten days of leave, on June 17, 2003 I went to the Camp Lejeune area in North Carolina for three weeks of Marine Combat Training (MCT) at Camp Geiger.

3. After I emerged from the forest and swamps, I went straight from MCT to Supply School at Camp Johnson just down the road from Camp Geiger. My class started on July 22 and our class of 30 brand-new Supply Administration clerks graduated on August 19, 2003.

4. Shortly after our class picked up, we had to choose where we would like our first duty station to be located. The choices were East Coast, West Coast, Overseas(Japan) and Hawaii. I put Overseas and got my wish. On September 11, 2003 I flew to Los Angeles and then early on September 12 (and I do mean early) I flew to Okinawa and became part of the 7th Communication Battalion on Camp Hansen.

5. The week before I was going to submit the requests for my next duty station I got web orders to Marine Corps Logistics Base, Albany, Georgia. At first I was annoyed, because I had wanted to go to a deployable unit, but after awhile the excitement of going to a new place took over. On September 19, 2004 I left Okinawa and flew to Albany.

6. In June of 2005, I went back to Supply School at Camp Johnson for the NCO Supply Course, or Enlisted Supply Intermediate Course. It was a 30 day class and even though I was only a lance corporal, my NCO classmates treated me like I was one of them already. I also happened to pick up corporal on July 1st, the day after I returned to Albany.

7. I knew my unit in Albany wasn't deployable, but I didn't know they sent small groups of Marines with each major rotation into Iraq until I arrived on the base. I also didn't think I would be able to get myself onto one of the teams but while I was at Camp Johnson that June, my gunny called to tell me they put me on the next one. We left Albany in late August 2005 to go to Camp Lejeune and check into Headquarters Battalion 2nd FSSG, and then we headed to Camp Taqaddum, Iraq sometime during the last week of August.

8. Iraq: August 2005 to March 2006

9. MSG Duty: May 2006 to now