WEBVTT 00:04.740 --> 00:06.796 where are you from originally in the 00:06.796 --> 00:08.907 world ? You know , I grew up early in 00:08.907 --> 00:10.907 my life in Miami florida , but then 00:10.907 --> 00:13.018 lived out of state and a couple other 00:13.018 --> 00:14.740 places up the eastern seaboard 00:14.740 --> 00:14.240 including north Carolina , which is 00:14.240 --> 00:16.462 where I enlisted from . So where do you 00:16.462 --> 00:18.573 call home ? Uh , definitely call home 00:18.573 --> 00:20.740 san Diego California . Uh , I've spent 00:20.740 --> 00:23.170 about about 10 of the last 15 years out 00:23.170 --> 00:25.360 in uh , southern California and I love 00:25.360 --> 00:27.027 San Diego County . So this is 00:27.027 --> 00:29.230 definitely home for me now . Okay , so 00:29.240 --> 00:32.570 basically you enlisted in what year ? I 00:32.570 --> 00:34.737 enlisted in 1988 and went to boot camp 00:34.737 --> 00:36.860 that year . And it was kind of a 00:36.860 --> 00:40.210 derivative of finding people who I 00:40.210 --> 00:42.650 thought that I wanted to be most like . 00:42.660 --> 00:44.790 And when I narrowed it down , it came 00:44.790 --> 00:46.679 pretty easy that everybody that I 00:46.679 --> 00:48.679 really had the most respect for had 00:48.679 --> 00:50.846 been in the Marine Corps or had been a 00:50.846 --> 00:53.068 marine . Now . Were you living in north 00:53.068 --> 00:55.012 Carolina ? You said listen , north 00:55.012 --> 00:57.068 Carolina . Where you living close to 00:57.068 --> 00:58.901 camp Lejeune or any Marine Corps 00:58.901 --> 01:01.123 solution ? No , not at all . No . I was 01:01.123 --> 01:01.020 living in a western part of north 01:01.020 --> 01:02.909 Carolina . Really didn't have any 01:02.909 --> 01:04.798 affiliation with the Marine Corps 01:04.798 --> 01:06.742 whatsoever . But I knew a bunch of 01:06.742 --> 01:08.964 people who had been marines . And after 01:08.964 --> 01:08.860 a short conversation with a good friend 01:08.860 --> 01:10.971 of mine , we just couldn't figure out 01:10.971 --> 01:13.030 anybody else that we truly found one 01:13.030 --> 01:16.830 common bond with and what , what was , 01:16.840 --> 01:19.530 what was your original Emma was ? I 01:19.530 --> 01:21.641 came in the Marine Corps to be an air 01:21.641 --> 01:24.350 traffic controller . Uh , should I say 01:24.350 --> 01:26.294 I came in the Marine Corps to be a 01:26.294 --> 01:28.239 marine , but I really wanted a job 01:28.239 --> 01:30.294 where I could do something after the 01:30.294 --> 01:32.670 core . So my intention was to kind of 01:32.670 --> 01:35.810 do one hitch and get out and take that 01:35.810 --> 01:39.190 skill and do something with it . So it 01:39.200 --> 01:41.422 just so happens that I couldn't find my 01:41.422 --> 01:43.644 way out because I liked it so much . So 01:43.644 --> 01:45.644 aircraft control was that job and I 01:45.644 --> 01:48.020 really enjoyed it and it's not been to 01:48.030 --> 01:51.490 say your Mls is anything except 03 for 01:51.490 --> 01:53.490 the last 10 years or so since we've 01:53.490 --> 01:55.601 been at war . But I'll tell you , I'm 01:55.601 --> 01:55.280 really proud of my original M . O . S 01:55.280 --> 01:57.558 and I'm proud of the people that do it . 01:57.640 --> 01:59.251 So when did you come here to 01:59.251 --> 02:01.670 headquarters ? Vaginal in person . I 02:01.670 --> 02:03.559 came to a head quarter Italian in 02:03.559 --> 02:06.640 December of 2009 after the decision was 02:06.640 --> 02:08.862 made to turn the forward deployment and 02:08.862 --> 02:11.420 surge in Afghanistan into a marine 02:11.420 --> 02:13.587 expeditionary force forward . And that 02:13.587 --> 02:15.809 took Sergeant Major Barrett who was the 02:15.809 --> 02:17.976 first Marine Division , Sergeant Major 02:17.976 --> 02:20.198 Forward as the mef Sergeant Major there 02:20.198 --> 02:22.309 in combat and Sergeant Major facility 02:22.309 --> 02:24.476 who was here at headquarters battalion 02:24.476 --> 02:26.476 with them as the division forward , 02:26.476 --> 02:28.476 Sergeant Major . And allowed me the 02:28.476 --> 02:30.476 opportunity to come in here and not 02:30.476 --> 02:29.460 only served as the headquarters 02:29.460 --> 02:31.571 battalion , Sergeant Major , but also 02:31.571 --> 02:33.682 as the Sergeant Major of first Marine 02:33.682 --> 02:36.190 Division Main or rear , whatever was 02:36.190 --> 02:38.079 left here , which is about 20,000 02:38.079 --> 02:40.530 marines . Oh , How is that experience 02:40.530 --> 02:42.197 for you ? That experience was 02:42.197 --> 02:45.860 ridiculous . 1st out of the frying pan 02:45.860 --> 02:48.130 and into the fire directly from coming 02:48.130 --> 02:51.390 to a unit that had about 2200 marines 02:51.390 --> 02:53.501 and headquarters battalion . And then 02:53.501 --> 02:55.612 being told shortly after that , let's 02:55.612 --> 02:57.834 multiply that by 10 . And why don't you 02:57.834 --> 03:00.057 serve here in the division where you're 03:00.057 --> 03:02.390 advising and taking care of commanders 03:02.390 --> 03:04.223 and sergeant majors in different 03:04.223 --> 03:06.334 capacities to help them prepare their 03:06.334 --> 03:08.446 marines and their units to go forward 03:08.446 --> 03:10.557 and deploy while still taking care of 03:10.557 --> 03:12.834 headquarters behind as best as I could . 03:12.834 --> 03:15.057 Uh It was a big undertaking . It was it 03:15.057 --> 03:14.980 was definitely a challenge and it was 03:14.980 --> 03:18.130 tough and I'm happy that I was able to 03:18.130 --> 03:20.820 go through it and I was able to help as 03:20.820 --> 03:22.820 many people as I could and serve in 03:22.820 --> 03:26.770 that capacity . Now , how many you've 03:26.780 --> 03:29.113 been to Iraq ? Iraq ? I've been to both . 03:29.113 --> 03:31.260 Both . How has those tours for you ? 03:31.270 --> 03:33.200 And what capacity ? Those as air 03:33.200 --> 03:35.367 trapped in your air traffic controller 03:35.367 --> 03:37.478 capacity or as a first are conserving 03:37.478 --> 03:39.490 Great question . Um as a gunnery 03:39.490 --> 03:42.100 sergeant preparing for combat in 03:42.100 --> 03:44.200 Afghanistan immediately after 2001 03:44.200 --> 03:47.310 attacks uh in New York and Pennsylvania 03:47.310 --> 03:50.220 and the Pentagon , it allowed me to 03:50.220 --> 03:52.660 prepare and train to deploy in that 03:52.660 --> 03:55.990 respect . And then shortly after I 03:56.000 --> 03:58.167 received a promotion of first sergeant 03:58.167 --> 04:00.000 and it sent me directly into the 04:00.000 --> 04:02.222 infantry at the third marines in Hawaii 04:02.222 --> 04:05.460 and then later on into Afghanistan 04:05.460 --> 04:07.516 before probably going to Afghanistan 04:07.516 --> 04:11.000 was uh a very popular thing with the 04:11.000 --> 04:13.530 Marine court . It became quite the 04:13.530 --> 04:15.530 challenge . We were in Northeastern 04:15.530 --> 04:17.900 Afghanistan working with the army and 04:17.910 --> 04:20.680 as our higher headquarters and we felt 04:20.680 --> 04:22.847 like we really have done a lot to kind 04:22.847 --> 04:24.902 of change the situation in northeast 04:24.902 --> 04:27.260 Afghanistan . So serving there in the 04:27.260 --> 04:29.038 capacity of an infantry . First 04:29.038 --> 04:31.149 Sergeant definitely was an eye opener 04:31.149 --> 04:33.371 for me having come from an aviation and 04:33.371 --> 04:35.590 a technical type of background , but I 04:35.600 --> 04:37.656 relished the opportunity . It really 04:37.656 --> 04:39.767 had a great time with it . And thanks 04:39.767 --> 04:42.160 to some , some trust from my commanders , 04:42.170 --> 04:44.337 got an opportunity to own a good piece 04:44.337 --> 04:46.448 of battle space with my marines where 04:46.448 --> 04:48.559 we were able to make some changes and 04:48.559 --> 04:50.503 do some good things . What kind of 04:50.503 --> 04:50.390 lessons did you learn as a First 04:50.390 --> 04:53.660 Sergeant Trea that you , that you 04:53.660 --> 04:55.549 brought with you when you came to 04:55.549 --> 04:57.716 division . Well , interesting question 04:57.716 --> 05:01.130 because I think that what I learned was 05:01.280 --> 05:03.113 that you're not too old to learn 05:03.113 --> 05:06.130 something new and I went into the 05:06.130 --> 05:08.297 infantry very proud of the idea that I 05:08.297 --> 05:10.880 just got promoted . I'm a first 05:10.880 --> 05:13.950 Sergeant . Now I get to have the 05:13.950 --> 05:16.460 responsibility and authority to work 05:16.460 --> 05:19.950 with uh 150 to 200 marines and a rifle 05:19.950 --> 05:22.172 company and you learn very quickly that 05:22.172 --> 05:24.250 it's that that job is much more 05:24.250 --> 05:26.583 technical than people in technical jobs . 05:26.583 --> 05:28.960 Give credit to . So it's very humbling 05:28.960 --> 05:32.290 and you wind up kind of kind of 05:32.290 --> 05:34.179 watching , taking a step back and 05:34.179 --> 05:36.401 seeing where you can be helpful and the 05:36.401 --> 05:38.457 best way you can be is seeing how it 05:38.457 --> 05:40.568 operates and conforming to that while 05:40.568 --> 05:42.568 bringing in some new ideas that may 05:42.568 --> 05:44.623 offer some unconventional thinking , 05:44.623 --> 05:46.734 how to get jobs done . Um so that was 05:46.734 --> 05:49.340 important , taking that with me as I 05:49.340 --> 05:52.040 left and came back and served in an 05:52.050 --> 05:53.960 infantry battalion . Uh 05:57.540 --> 05:59.810 And then as a squadron sergeant major 06:00.420 --> 06:02.930 in F18 squadrons , it brought with me 06:02.930 --> 06:04.986 the ability to understand that , you 06:04.986 --> 06:07.880 know , even though one unit is all 06:07.880 --> 06:09.824 going the same direction , there's 06:09.824 --> 06:11.880 different ideas on how to get how to 06:11.880 --> 06:14.047 get to that direction and listening to 06:14.047 --> 06:15.991 those ideas and taking care of the 06:15.991 --> 06:17.824 people who offer those ideas and 06:17.824 --> 06:20.102 seeking those ideas from those members . 06:20.102 --> 06:22.324 Sure goes a long way . And I think that 06:22.324 --> 06:22.040 that's something you , once you learn 06:22.040 --> 06:24.040 it , you bring it to every position 06:24.040 --> 06:26.040 that you have so learned it there , 06:26.040 --> 06:28.262 brought it with me to every unit that I 06:28.262 --> 06:30.484 was able to serve with after that . And 06:30.484 --> 06:30.250 Headquarters Battalion , it sure was 06:30.250 --> 06:32.740 fantastic because although Headquarters 06:32.740 --> 06:35.600 Battalion isn't a very idea that all 06:35.600 --> 06:37.711 these different mos of cooks , bakers 06:37.711 --> 06:39.489 and candlestick makers and real 06:39.489 --> 06:42.480 technical guys who do radio recon type 06:42.480 --> 06:44.710 of stuff and in high intel and then 06:44.710 --> 06:47.700 you've got folks who also are doing 06:47.700 --> 06:49.550 some basic motor transportation 06:49.640 --> 06:51.860 responsibilities , but basic as basic 06:51.860 --> 06:53.916 as basic anymore when you're talking 06:53.916 --> 06:55.971 about the type of tactics techniques 06:55.971 --> 06:58.027 and procedures that are used against 06:58.027 --> 07:00.082 our our vehicles on the road and our 07:00.082 --> 07:02.249 transportation of goods and services . 07:02.249 --> 07:04.360 So uh when you look at that there's a 07:04.360 --> 07:06.471 lot of people going in many different 07:06.471 --> 07:06.350 directions in headquarters battalion . 07:06.350 --> 07:08.517 They have almost every type of M . O . 07:08.517 --> 07:10.406 S . That you can serve within the 07:10.406 --> 07:12.572 infantry but also within uh within the 07:12.572 --> 07:14.794 M . L . G . Or within other elements of 07:14.794 --> 07:17.017 the mag taff . So you take those guys , 07:17.017 --> 07:18.906 they're all going in 10 different 07:18.906 --> 07:21.017 directions and to be able to ask them 07:21.017 --> 07:23.560 to understand how those directions are 07:23.560 --> 07:25.770 still moving forward under one big fat 07:25.770 --> 07:28.170 blue arrow that's important . And if 07:28.170 --> 07:30.226 you're able to do that and make them 07:30.226 --> 07:32.226 work together as a team , it goes a 07:32.226 --> 07:34.337 long way and make them have the sense 07:34.337 --> 07:36.614 of pride belonging to something bigger , 07:36.614 --> 07:38.760 not just the core but their own 07:38.760 --> 07:40.816 organization and their own their own 07:40.816 --> 07:43.520 unit goes a long way . How good is the 07:43.520 --> 07:45.450 marines over the years has been 07:45.450 --> 07:47.506 fantastic training to be an aircraft 07:47.506 --> 07:49.172 controller , gave me the self 07:49.172 --> 07:51.339 confidence and the opportunities to do 07:51.339 --> 07:53.672 things that I never would have imagined . 07:53.672 --> 07:57.620 Um later on showed me a new life um and 07:57.620 --> 08:00.130 gave me a chance to break out from what 08:00.130 --> 08:02.352 I thought I was really good at and like 08:02.352 --> 08:04.408 I said before kind of humbled me and 08:04.408 --> 08:06.630 make me learn something new that wasn't 08:06.630 --> 08:08.852 necessarily as technical but definitely 08:08.852 --> 08:10.908 required just as much attention . So 08:10.940 --> 08:12.496 when I look back on all the 08:12.496 --> 08:14.718 opportunities that I've had to serve in 08:14.718 --> 08:16.773 just about every capacity possible , 08:16.773 --> 08:18.940 Almost live two different lives in the 08:18.940 --> 08:21.051 Marine Corps , you know , in aviation 08:21.051 --> 08:23.273 community and then coming back to serve 08:23.273 --> 08:25.384 as a Sergeant Major in any capacity , 08:25.384 --> 08:27.329 especially within the first Marine 08:27.329 --> 08:29.551 Division . And for a while as the first 08:29.551 --> 08:29.510 Marine Division Sergeant Major . It 08:29.510 --> 08:31.560 sure goes a long way to saying , I 08:31.560 --> 08:33.160 think my glasses full . 08:36.640 --> 08:40.460 So you've been in for 20 , 24 years now . 08:40.840 --> 08:43.173 So tomorrow you're having a post relief . 08:43.173 --> 08:46.160 It's the laws who lost her wrong . Um 08:47.340 --> 08:49.970 It's A two part question . What kind of 08:49.970 --> 08:52.660 advice do you have ? You get a lot of 08:52.660 --> 08:54.716 branding marines that come in . Oh , 08:55.040 --> 08:57.096 fresh out of school . There are pipe 08:57.096 --> 09:00.360 liners now that you're moving on , 09:00.360 --> 09:02.416 you're gonna be doing other things , 09:02.416 --> 09:04.527 you're retiring . What kind of what's 09:04.527 --> 09:06.471 never one piece of advice that you 09:06.471 --> 09:08.720 would give brand new marine arriving in 09:08.720 --> 09:11.910 the fleet . I think it would be , it's 09:11.910 --> 09:13.966 not a short piece of advice . But uh 09:13.966 --> 09:15.688 let's see if I can encapsulate 09:15.688 --> 09:18.620 everything in one spot . They came in 09:18.620 --> 09:21.260 the Marine Corps , just like me and you 09:21.640 --> 09:23.640 because they wanted to do something 09:23.640 --> 09:25.584 more important than everybody else 09:25.584 --> 09:27.584 around them was doing and they knew 09:27.584 --> 09:29.751 that this was important . There were a 09:29.751 --> 09:29.310 lot of opportunities that they were 09:29.320 --> 09:32.160 probably gonna receive by being able to 09:32.160 --> 09:34.438 do this . But that's not why they came , 09:34.438 --> 09:36.438 they came because they wanted to do 09:36.438 --> 09:38.549 something different and they have And 09:38.549 --> 09:40.716 it may be tough to understand that you 09:40.716 --> 09:42.882 are special as a marine when you're on 09:42.882 --> 09:44.993 a Marine Corps base with 50,000 other 09:44.993 --> 09:47.080 marines . But if you take a look at 09:47.090 --> 09:49.090 less at the idea that less than one 09:49.090 --> 09:51.920 half of 1% of our population in the 09:51.920 --> 09:53.870 United States can call themselves 09:53.870 --> 09:57.100 marines man . Are you special ? I would 09:57.100 --> 09:59.156 ask them to remember that , why they 09:59.156 --> 10:01.156 chose to do it . And if they really 10:01.156 --> 10:03.960 think about on a weekly basis , why 10:03.960 --> 10:06.160 they decided to become a marine and 10:06.160 --> 10:08.104 whether they're really going after 10:08.104 --> 10:10.160 everything that the Marine Corps can 10:10.160 --> 10:12.382 give them , I think that each week they 10:12.382 --> 10:14.493 could rededicate themselves to coming 10:14.493 --> 10:16.604 back in tying up their boots a little 10:16.604 --> 10:18.660 tighter and walking a little prouder 10:20.240 --> 10:23.670 wondered your obviously tomorrow is a 10:23.670 --> 10:25.892 kind of a big day is the culmination of 10:26.140 --> 10:28.750 20 plus years career . Um , 10:30.240 --> 10:32.462 where are you at emotionally about it ? 10:32.540 --> 10:34.540 I'm in a really good place about my 10:34.540 --> 10:36.651 retirement right now . I'll be honest 10:36.651 --> 10:38.873 with you . There was still a lot of gas 10:38.873 --> 10:40.984 in the tank and I had a lot of things 10:40.984 --> 10:40.190 that I thought that I was still going 10:40.190 --> 10:42.420 to do in the Marine Corps , but I 10:42.420 --> 10:45.200 looked at this year as a , an 10:45.200 --> 10:48.390 opportunity to make a decision 10:48.400 --> 10:51.300 about whether I stay in the core and 10:51.300 --> 10:54.280 allow my life to kind of be directed in 10:54.280 --> 10:56.560 locality to kind of be directed by the 10:56.560 --> 10:58.560 shaping of the things to come , you 10:58.560 --> 11:00.580 know , in our nation's interests , 11:00.590 --> 11:03.060 especially in our defense interest and 11:03.060 --> 11:05.227 whether opportunities there are within 11:05.227 --> 11:08.310 the core to go after compared to 11:08.540 --> 11:10.596 whether it was the right time to say 11:10.596 --> 11:12.596 things are probably settling down a 11:12.596 --> 11:14.790 little bit . Uh , and America could 11:14.790 --> 11:17.330 kind of get back to some business that 11:17.340 --> 11:19.396 you know , is more focused on home . 11:19.396 --> 11:21.340 And I thought that this would be a 11:21.340 --> 11:23.396 great opportunity for me to focus on 11:23.396 --> 11:25.700 home as well . So I looked at my family 11:25.700 --> 11:27.890 and I said , I've got a wife who's 11:27.900 --> 11:31.000 supportive and , and fantastic and been 11:31.000 --> 11:32.889 there with me for a while and and 11:32.889 --> 11:35.000 taking care of everything in the home 11:35.000 --> 11:37.111 and allowed me to pursue things and I 11:37.111 --> 11:39.222 have a son that's 12 years old and he 11:39.222 --> 11:41.333 is loving life and I really wanted to 11:41.333 --> 11:43.389 start really living it with him . So 11:43.430 --> 11:45.541 made it pretty easy for me to do . So 11:45.541 --> 11:47.652 I'm in a great place . I'm gonna miss 11:47.652 --> 11:49.874 the Marine Corps a lot , but I'll watch 11:49.874 --> 11:51.930 it very closely . I'll be living not 11:51.930 --> 11:53.986 far away and it's still , you know , 11:53.986 --> 11:56.097 it's all I've done since I'm an adult 11:56.097 --> 11:58.208 and many people would question that . 11:58.208 --> 12:00.208 But when I look at it , I say , and 12:00.208 --> 12:02.374 it's just been a fantastic , fantastic 12:02.374 --> 12:04.541 journey and I get an opportunity to go 12:04.541 --> 12:07.010 do something else now at a relatively 12:07.010 --> 12:09.570 capable age to go out and and take the 12:09.570 --> 12:11.570 talent and the skills of the Marine 12:11.570 --> 12:13.681 corps has given me and the patriotism 12:13.681 --> 12:15.737 and confidence that it's built in me 12:15.737 --> 12:19.330 and express that in a new arena . 2 , 2 12:19.330 --> 12:22.040 last questions . Best Day You've had in 12:22.040 --> 12:25.390 the Marine Corps , you've had probably 12:25.400 --> 12:27.511 had some pretty , you've had a lot of 12:27.511 --> 12:29.678 good days . Can I have a second , have 12:29.678 --> 12:31.844 a second again all the time you want . 12:31.844 --> 12:34.011 Um , but what would be if you had to , 12:34.011 --> 12:36.178 if you have to answer your best day of 12:36.178 --> 12:38.511 the Marine Corps , your best event ? Uh , 12:38.511 --> 12:40.740 the time you felt the best don't be 12:40.750 --> 12:42.917 felt really proud or whatever the case 12:42.917 --> 12:45.780 may be . What , what would be your top 12:45.790 --> 12:46.790 three ? 12:50.740 --> 12:53.090 Three ? Well , I mean if you have more 12:53.090 --> 12:56.600 than one , okay . Up to three . Okay . 12:56.880 --> 12:59.213 I'm not trying to put any pressure here . 12:59.213 --> 13:01.324 I had a drill instructor in boot camp 13:01.840 --> 13:05.170 who understood what compassionate 13:05.170 --> 13:07.660 leadership was that 13:09.940 --> 13:12.390 although their requirements are to be 13:12.400 --> 13:15.310 very , very firm and strict adherence 13:15.310 --> 13:18.250 to Marine Corps policy for new 13:18.840 --> 13:21.480 marines , which doesn't allow a lot of 13:21.480 --> 13:24.670 latitude . Well , this drill instructor 13:24.900 --> 13:28.260 taught me through my own 13:29.340 --> 13:32.060 personal challenges that 13:33.540 --> 13:37.250 you can punish someone and not take 13:37.250 --> 13:40.610 everything away . And he's still a 13:40.620 --> 13:42.787 personal friend of mine and has been a 13:42.787 --> 13:44.953 mentor to me for many years and he's a 13:44.953 --> 13:47.009 Sergeant Major as well . And the day 13:47.009 --> 13:49.064 that he showed me that was the night 13:49.064 --> 13:51.350 before graduation for boot camp and I 13:51.350 --> 13:53.550 wasn't quite sure that I had made the 13:53.550 --> 13:55.217 right choice and he helped me 13:55.217 --> 13:57.383 understand that I did . That was a big 13:57.383 --> 13:59.494 day and I was a day I'll never forget 13:59.640 --> 14:01.862 other important days in the recorders . 14:01.862 --> 14:04.960 uh , my return from Afghanistan in 2005 , 14:05.340 --> 14:07.460 getting stepping off the plane in 14:07.460 --> 14:09.960 Hawaii and being greeted by my family 14:10.340 --> 14:13.470 whom I hadn't seen in nine months and 14:13.480 --> 14:15.313 whom I had wondered , you know , 14:15.313 --> 14:17.313 whether we never get together again 14:17.313 --> 14:19.536 obviously during that deployment . Um , 14:19.840 --> 14:22.760 fantastic . It was absolutely fantastic 14:22.760 --> 14:26.720 and for my son to , to embrace me in 14:26.720 --> 14:29.550 my return at his young age of five and 14:29.550 --> 14:32.400 and not not be scared of who is this 14:32.400 --> 14:34.940 person ? I hadn't seen him so long a 14:34.940 --> 14:38.240 second . The top three , Yeah , 14:39.040 --> 14:41.096 achievements or good feelings in the 14:41.096 --> 14:43.318 marine corps . And I think the third is 14:43.318 --> 14:45.596 going to happen tomorrow . I really do . 14:45.596 --> 14:48.840 I think that you know , the opportunity 14:48.850 --> 14:52.690 to have served and to end it to 14:52.700 --> 14:56.400 end my active service , surrounded 14:56.400 --> 14:58.620 by so many people that I care about 14:58.620 --> 15:00.787 that . I love that I understand that I 15:00.787 --> 15:03.980 think , understand me that can , I can 15:03.980 --> 15:07.830 feel proud to know that I've , I've 15:07.830 --> 15:09.997 worked with , I've helped , I've tried 15:09.997 --> 15:12.320 my very , very best to uh provide 15:12.320 --> 15:14.670 everything for while still always 15:14.670 --> 15:17.470 getting the job done for our unit and 15:17.470 --> 15:19.581 for those deployed forward and as are 15:19.581 --> 15:21.803 we were going forward . So I think that 15:21.803 --> 15:23.970 tomorrow will be number three , if not 15:23.970 --> 15:26.760 number one . No , but I will say about 15:26.760 --> 15:29.090 the drill instructor . Um his name is 15:29.090 --> 15:31.146 Sergeant Major Mills and he works at 15:31.146 --> 15:33.201 first Marine expeditionary force and 15:33.201 --> 15:35.312 he'll be retiring this year as well . 15:35.312 --> 15:39.030 Start Major Mills has been a , a part 15:39.030 --> 15:41.086 of my life for many , many years off 15:41.086 --> 15:43.670 and on we go three years without seeing 15:43.670 --> 15:45.726 each other . We bump into each other 15:45.726 --> 15:47.726 again and it's been fantastic . And 15:47.726 --> 15:50.960 what he did to help me understand that 15:51.640 --> 15:55.250 leaders care , they understand , and 15:55.260 --> 15:58.040 even when you have to be super hard and 15:58.040 --> 15:59.984 super tough , you can still have a 15:59.984 --> 16:02.260 moment to listen and to understand . 16:02.840 --> 16:05.460 And I think I've taken that with me 16:05.460 --> 16:08.550 since that night in 1988 . 16:09.540 --> 16:12.610 Any parting words , well , have fun . 16:12.800 --> 16:13.750 It's been a blast .