Promotion Remarks

The promotion ceremony went well, posted below are my remarks (in full). I’ve been asked often (recently) how many CWO5’s are in the Marine Corps. As of July 2006, there were 81 Active Duty, 22 Reserve, and 3 Active Reserve CWO5s, for a total of 106.

“I’ve decided to read my remarks for the following reasons: First, I want to respect your time, and not waste it while I search for words or try to concoct my remarks as I go. Second, I’ll only get one shot at this—I may have an opportunity for some remarks when I retire, but as that date is potentially seventeen years away, I think I’ll go for it now.

Primarily, I want to thank the Triune God, who is my Lord, my Savior, and my Inspiration, for the following: my body health, my mind, my leaders and mentors, and my opportunities. None of these are factors over which I have choice, and I want to acknowledge God’s providence in each of these areas.

Twenty five years ago today, at the age of twenty, I enlisted in the Corps. I was never an athlete, never on a varsity team, but I have never missed a PFT, and never failed to achieve a 1^st class score. I’ve never fallen out of a run, dropped out of a hump, been unable to physically complete a mission. In all the training I’ve participated in, from Boot Camp to MSG school to the Airborne Paratrooper’s Course to SERE school, I’ve never sustained a debilitating illness or an injury. I have never paid a price for an aggressive decision while driving an automobile, for a reckless decision on a motorcycle, or been injured off-duty while skiing, hiking in the mountains, body surfing in a rip tide, or rappelling down a rock face. I thank God for His grace in this regard.

When I took the ASVAB at the AFEES Center (now called a MEPPS Center, I believe) a quarter of a century ago, I had no idea the impact it would have on my career. Time and again, throughout my career, I have had to rely on my mind, the ability to recall experiences, retain information, and apply knowledge with wisdom. I have never failed to qualify academically or to achieve some required test score to participate in any program that has presented itself, and have never fallen below the minimum standards for graduation in any course during my time in the Marine Corps. OK, the one exception was the Army Radio Code Examination, in which my failure was extremely fortuitous. My ability to adequately overcome tests of the mind applies to formal and MOS schools, MCI courses, college courses, extension courses, distance learning programs, and aptitude battery tests. Whether standing final inspection in Boot Camp, meritorious promotion boards, problem solving in the field as a platoon sergeant, conducting performance evaluation counseling for those Marines with whom I serve, I have relied on my mental capacity to pull me through, and I thank God that my mind has always been equal to the task.

The statement that “you cannot pick with whom you serve” has certainly been true during the whole of my career—I have had no choice over who my commander was, who my senior SNCO was, who my platoon Sgt. was, or who my associates were. Leaders and mentors such as former Marine John Tomlinson, who provided the initial desire to join the Corps; Pastor Rick Hawks; Drill Instructor Staff Sergeant Pare, Platoon 3109; the Reverend William Mangrum; Gunnery Sergeant Burns at Marine Security Guard School; SSgt. Doherty, now a Marine Gunner, one of my MSG Det Commanders; CWO5 Ed Moroney and Master Gunnery Sergeant George Noteman of Marine Counterintelligence; Colonel Burkhart, whom I’ve known since I was a warrant and he was a Captain; Colonel Rick Gittings; Colonel Irish Egan; and Colonel Devlin, the I MEF G2. The progression of professional and highly competent people that contributed positively to the formation of my own character is almost as endless as the number of lessons learned I’ve experienced—and unfortunately mostly forgotten—over the past decades. Equally important are the Marines who were and are my peers, hundreds of Marines who have contributed to my life and added something of value to who I am today. Every single personal award or decoration I am today authorized to wear on my uniform was, without exception, the result of a team effort. My rifle and pistol badges I received due to superb coaching on the range. Other decorations I’ve received for accomplishing some mission that would have not have been possible without many other dedicated Marines performing their assigned tasks day after day in a superlative manner. I thank God for placing each one of these individuals in my life.

I’ve been afforded so many opportunities in life that I must constantly guard against failing to recognize them as such or take them for granted. Being born in the United States, often called “the Land of opportunity,” has been without a doubt the most determining factor of my life. As opportunity relates to my Marine Corps career, I enlisted under an open contract, have never contacted my monitor, MOS OccField sponsor, or MOS Billet Manager. That being said, I have never received orders that I was inclined to reject, I’ve never been sent any place where I did not have a positive experience (and that includes Pohang, Korea, Camp Wilson at Twenty Nine Palms, or here at Camp Fallujah), and I’ve been sent places on orders where some of the most positive and memorable experiences in my life have taken place. Places like Camp Johnson at Camp LeJeune for Supply School, Iwakuni and Okinawa Japan in 1982, Camp Pendleton in 1983, Freetown Sierra Leone and Monrovia Liberia in 1985, Jakarta Indonesia, Bangkok Thailand and Dhaka Bangladesh in 1987, Quantico Virginia and Washington DC in 1988, Ft. Benning Georgia in 1991, and Miramar California in 1992. I am deeply grateful to God for each of these opportunities.

I’d like to thank my Mom and Dad and my sister and brothers. They formed my character, and were the major factors in how I developed, matured, and attained adulthood. I’d also like to thank my wife Sheryl. It takes a special kind of woman to marry, and stay married, to a Marine. I won’t expound upon my relational shortcomings, but suffice it to say that each is significant and there a many of them. I’m thankful for my son Joshua, 6 years old, who chooses to joyously love me, regardless.

All these things I am thankful for, they are the result of God’s grace and provision in my life. Of course, there are things in my life that, due to freedom (which is also a gift) I can control. I have made many choices in life, and these choices have also contributed to my promotion today. While standing on the yellow footprints at MCRD, I was told that the following three things would insure success as a Marine: perform every task to the best of my ability; complete every assignment as quickly as possible; and approach every mission with a positive attitude. Every day, to this day, I’m still trying to accomplish these Big Three things. I developed three additional goals for myself (while in Boot Camp): the first was to be meritoriously promoted, the second was to run a maximum score Physical Fitness Test, and the third was to achieve the rank of Sergeant of Marines. I chose to pursue these goals, and achieved all of them. In achieving them, however, I discovered very little fulfillment or accomplishment—not to mention recognition or acknowledgment from my peers—beyond that which I experienced in daily accomplishing the Big Three. Hence, I have done all that I have done for the last twenty years in the Corps with the same three simple goals I was charged with on my first night in the Marine Corps.

Often quoted along with the statement that “you cannot pick with whom you serve” are the lines “you cannot pick the mission which that you are assigned to accomplish” and “you cannot pick the location where you must serve.” All three of these statements have been argued by our Air Force brethren, but most Marines accept them as universally true. I am no exception. But having chosen to enlist in the Marine Corps, vice spend my life in any other profession, and having trusted God to direct my life as He will, the unknown factors contained in these three statements are no longer significant. I will be serving with Marines. I will be accomplishing a Marine Corps mission. I will be where the Marine Corps wants me to be. I wake up every day, frankly, pleasantly surprised that I’m a member of the most select and elite band of warriors the world has ever known. I count it a privilege, every day, to wear this uniform, and I know that in wearing it, I must assume certain responsibilities. I know that I must stand for honor, courage and commitment. I am proud to take my place beside all Marines, past and present, but am careful to guard against pride in myself, vanity in what I may have done, and expectations regarding entitlements that should be mine in the future.

I’ll end my remarks with a Biblical admonishment that has been foremost in my mind for the extent of my career. 2^nd Timothy 2 verses 1-4 say, “Be strong with the special favor God gives you in Christ Jesus. Your have heard me teach many things that have been confirmed by many reliable witnesses. Teach these great truths to trustworthy people who are able to pass them on to others. Endure suffering along with me, as a warrior of Christ Jesus. And as Christ’s warrior, do not let yourself become tied up in the affairs of this life, for then you cannot satisfy the One who has enlisted you in His service.””

Semper Fi, Jon G.

More Blessing

Tuesday I received a package from some folks I’ve never met, the Cook family of Ladera Ranch. Included was a card in which they expressed their support of Service personnel, a pre-paid phone card, some healthy snacks, and a magazine. They explained they had heard about me from the San Jan Seniors (who have ‘adopted’ our family as a means of supporting the military). It is such a blessing to be supported and prayed for by so many people from such a plethora of places, and it is very humbling to me to experience the richness of God’s providence.

Tomorrow (Friday) will be a long day for Sheryl and Joshua, as they travel by bus and train back from Yosemite. Please pray for them, that they would have strength and patience with each other (their day will likely start before 0700 and they will not get in at the San Jan station until almost midnight), that they would have a safe trip, that they would make all their connections, and arrive on time.

Semper Fi, Jon G.

Missing Email Addresses

Thanks to Lina, Aunt Lori, Joe, and younger bro Greg for Motomails that I received yesterday. All of you are family, and normally I could respond with emails, but due to the wiping of my hard drive (I still haven’t received ‘my’ computer back yet) upon return from R&R, I do not have your email addresses here. Sheryl will get them to me, but she will not have email access (she and Joshua are at Yosemite) until Friday. Anyway, I want to thank you for thinking of me, it is always VERY encouraging to receive mail.

For the next month, I’ll be assuming some additional responsibilities for another Marine who is taking his R&R. What comes around goes around, I guess—he accomplished a lot of work for me while I was gone, now it’s time for me to reciprocate. His job is fiscally related, and the FY ends September 30th, so this particular month is a crucial month for me to stand in for him… Fun, Fun, Fun. And I don’t even record checks in my personal check register without multiple promptings from Sheryl. This is another item for your JarHedJon prayer list. I am encouraged every day when I recall how I am loved, supported, encouraged, and prayed for.

Semper Fi, Jon G.

It Takes a While

Getting back into the thick of things over here does not happen overnight. I’m still getting re-acclimatized to the temperatures. I’m still working at getting ‘back in shape’ following my two weeks of relaxing R&R. I’m still getting out from under the back-log of work that piled up while I was gone.

On the plus side, I’m over the low-grade cold/flu crud I picked up when I got back. I’m almost fully recovered from ‘jet lag,’ my body clock has readjusted to my schedule here. And my new Freedom press Starbucks coffee cup is working out great (thanks so much, Steve, Sandi, Elena, Emma & Evan).

At my promotion ceremony on Friday, I’ll probably have the opportunity to make a few remarks. Pray for me as I prepare for this, that I could clearly and concisely give God the glory.

Semper Fi, Jon G.

Promotion

My promotion to CWO5 has been confirmed by MARADMIN for Friday, 01 September 2006. The ceremony will begin at 0830, and my rank will be conferred by the I MEF G2 (barring any schedule conflicts). I'm kind of getting a little excited about it. I've been a CWO4 for six years now, which is by far the longest period of time I've spent at any one rank (though it is expected to spend longer at each successive rank).

I'm struggling with a low-grade cold and flu symptoms, and probably some dust allergies (I've been sneezing a lot)--today was about 117 degrees and very dusty. Not windy, just fine particles of dust in the air, sort of similar to the marine (the only use of this word that is not capitalized) layer on the California coast, only silt instead of moisture. The slightly amber haze seems to trap in the heat, though that's probably more perception than fact. All that being true, I spend most of my day indoors, where I am slowly getting a handle on how much work has piled up while I've been gone...

Semper Fi, Jon G.

Back in the Groove

I've been back in country now a little over 24 hours, and jet lag has messed me up a little. However, I'm almost back in sync, only about 3 hours off the mark, which isn't bad considering the 11 hour time zone difference. I've managed to take care of over half of the business emails waiting for me, and need to start getting caught up on almost a month's worth of work. Additionally, while I was gone my NIPR (unclassified) email account was deleted, so it will take me some time to re-acquire email addresses, and of course all my saved messages are forever gone. I would have backed these files up to some shared location, but we simply don't have the space/capacity here for that, and knew there was a risk of this happenning.

It is hotter than I remembered, and my two weeks or so away from the heat has left me partially un-acclimatized--hopefully this will not be a factor for very long. I've got a "new" boss, and it does not appear that my job will be changing very much, though some of his direction will undoubtedly be different than his predecessor. We've got a very busy time (operationally) coming up, so I expect things will be pretty hectic for the next month or so. I'll try and keep you all informed as often as possible.

Semper Fi, Jon G.

I'm Back--Pray for Joshua

First, I should 're-open' my postings by assuring everyone that I had a great time at home. Sheryl has posted a few entries on her blog related to my R&R, if you want to follow the link to her blog under the 'links' section on the left.
I'm back, and about two days ealier than I expected. Travel to Theatre was about the minimum that could be expected, I left Orange County at 0730 on the 22nd, and arrived back on Post about 0230 on the 25th. I was able to call Sheryl twice on the way, connecting with her once, and leaving a messsage the 2nd time.
Sheryl informed me that Joshua is very angry at me for walking out of his life (again), and I can't blame him for that. However, please pray that Joshua will be able to process my leaving and continued absence in a way that is healthy, strengthens us as a family, and allows him to 'move on.' I find it very difficult to make sense of why I'm here sometimes--not operationally, of course, but based on my personal priorities. If it's confusing (and painful) for me sometimes, I know it must be signigicantly more so, and of greater impact, to Joshua and his perception of things. Thank for your support in this.

Semper Fi, Jon G.

Home at last

Almost home

Jon called Friday evening. He'll be headed for the US in the next 12 hours. Then he has about 5 hours in DFW being processed, etc. We are expecting him to arrive in Orange County mid-afternoon Sunday. Yeah!!!! It is good to finally have an idea of when he'll be getting here.

Joshua and I both have full days planned for Saturday and Sunday we'll have church before our airport run, so hopefully we won't go crazy waiting for his arrival. We also know that he won't be leaving until Tuesday morning, August 22. So we get 2 full weeks.

Next posting will probably be -- He's Home! :)

Sheryl

Headed Home for R&R

Jon sent this message to me this evening and so I thought I'd update y'all. Sheryl

Well, things are going according to schedule. The place where I am now (still in country) has an internet cafe, which is how I can send this message.
The travel is much the same as it was when I arrived, but the transient tents have improved somewhat in quality, and so have the services available to transients--and the facilities in which those services are performed. The chowhalls are nicer, better protected, the tents are being replaced with better tents (almost semi-permanent structures, really), the AC units are plentiful enough to allow sleep (most of the time, when there isn't a power outage or something), though sleep is always a drag with people coming and going all night, all day, crowded shower facilities, etc.. However, I'm not complaining--as I said, things are getting better, and lots of folks out here (including the majority of the citizens of this country) don't even have these basics.

Semper Fi,
Jon