Welcome

 

WELCOME TO MY WEBSITE

 

          When I retired (for the third time in 2016), I pulled out the Rubbermaid boxes and went to work, sorting pictures, letters, keepsakes, and precious memorabilia. There was so much I had forgotten. I looked back at my life and realized I have many ‘books’ in me (we all do), and I felt the need to get my stories down in print, to leave a legacy for my grandchildren since I never knew my grandparents. I decided to start writing about my career, both active duty (Jan 1974 to July 1981) and reserve (Aug 1981-Nov 2003), attending drill weekends and two weeks of ADT (Active Duty for Training) each year. I had the opportunity to spend extended periods on active duty, including two full-years after 9-11. I must write about both the active duty and reserve components I served. Besides being active duty and reserve Marine, I was also married to and, after nineteen years, divorced from a Marine. I was a Marine mother, step-mother, and later a disabled Marine.

            I was never deployed to the ‘sandbox’ as my current sister Marines have in recent years. YOU ARE BRAVE WOMEN WARRIORS – THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE! You are experiencing things I never could.

          That doesn’t mean I don’t have stories to tell. In thirty years, military women made more progress becoming equal to their male counterparts than at any other time in history. I didn’t go to the battlefield, but I experienced significant challenges, both rewarding and heartbreaking, throughout my career. In 1974, we ran a 600 yard PFT, carried a little red-red lipstick tube, had etiquette makeup classes, and bought wigs to help keep our hair looking perfect. During my thirty years, that all changed. In the end, I qualified on the range, ran the three-mile PFT, and wore ‘pants’ right alongside the men.
I am amazed in thirty short years by the transformation we went through. I met the challenge to the top and was promoted to Master Gunnery Sergeant (E-9). The experiences I had shaped my life and future endeavors giving me opportunities beyond my wildest dreams. Besides the Military Occupational Specialities I held, I became a deputy sheriff on patrol, crime prevention officer, worked ten years for the FBI in Las Vegas as the Community Outreach Specialist, and was an FBI ERT (Evidence Response Team) member.

          I won’t be writing about those jobs. This book (which is now turning into a trilogy) will mainly focus on being a United States Marine.

          But with the good, there was bad. I was raped at gunpoint by a stranger in a hotel when I was on recruiting duty; I was later a victim of a domestic assault by my husband, a retired Marine who tried to kill me, and ultimately ended up in a nightmare divorce. (If you’re a reservist and look forward to retirement, you had better learn everything you can about reserve retirement points!)

 

          I hope this blog and my forthcoming memoirs will teach what I did right and what I did wrong. Throughout my career, ‘I improvised, adapted and overcame.’
Now I’d like to share my stories. I look forward to your comments and hope you will share similar experiences and stories with me.

 

Thank you for taking the time to read this.

SEMBER FIDELIS