Thanks so much for this thread, folk1234! My Dad just retired from the Corps last year after 24 years. He was a Master Sergeant. After a brief 3-year stint as an MP in Albany, Georgia, my Dad got into mechanics and never looked back. We went from a greasemonkey to the Motor Maintenaince Officer (MMO) for H&S Battalion here at Camp Lejeune. My Mom was also in, for 4 years, and also was an MP, but retired after I was born. My Dad's being in the Marines has taken us all over the place...living in Japan for 3 years ('92-'95) was certainly one of the most enriching experiences of my life. It's there that I REALLY discovered music, and began to get interested in other genres...where I learned to play music...and where working on our family-run "Okinawa Newsletter" laid the path for my future now as a Art major in Image Design.

I even made a particular study of the Marine Corps in the Pacific theater of WWII, one of my favorite historical interests.

Godspeed and Safe home. Ooh rah!

--Matt (USMC brat)