As of November 22nd I am back in service at the fire house.  Its been almost 4 years since I left for Parris Island and was placed on Military Leave for Active Duty status.  I have now returned and plan to jump back into it with both feet forward.

As I have said before, a special thanks to everyone who helped me out or supported me in any way they could while I was gone.  It was a great time and I am really glad I did what I did, but a military career was not my 'cup of tea'.  I am happy to be back, and look forward to my future time here at Station 56.

It seems as though my plans are changing a little bit.  After conducting a final audit of my leave days available, I have discovered I can be home earlier then expected.  I will be moving back to Havertown on November 21st, and will be showing up 'fashionably late' to the Banquet this year.  With less then 30 days left here on base in North Carolina my main goal is to get all the proper paper work ready and filled out so that my seperation from the military can go as smoothly as possible.

See everyone from the fire house the night of the 21st!

It is starting to get to the point in my 4 year career as a Marine that I realize it is almost over.  I have reached the 50 day mark, making it less then 2 months untill I leave the Marine Corps.  Its been an amazing four years and I can not believe how fast it flew by.

For those who may be just "tuning in" to my page on the Manoa Fire Company site, I have been a Marine Infantryman for nearly four years now.  I enlisted in October of 2005 and left for Parris Island on January 10, 2006.  I graduated from the School of Infantry on July 1, 2006 and since then have been stationed with 2nd Battalion, 6th Marines.  I have done two deployments, the first one being a combat deployment to the city of Fallujah, Iraq from April till Oct 2007.  After that I deployed with the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit from August 2008 to March 2009.  Since then I have been to doing "odds and ends" work for the Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune Chaplains Department as a FAP (Fleet Assistance Program).  When a Marine Infantryman is getting ready to get out, the Corps sends us to random offices and jobs around base to work off our little remaining time on contract.  It sounds kinda pointless, but these FAP jobs are what keeps the base running smoothly.

I will be making my final road trip to Havertown on November 27th, the day after Thanksgiving.  I should say, as long as everything goes as planned.  Luckly I have the coolest mom in the world and she said we can do the turkey dinner on Saturday.  But with the placement of my getting out and the fire company banquet, I dont think I will be coming up for the annual banquet.  The idea of making the trip up there to PA and then 6 days later doing it for the last time just is not very appealing.  Its depressing because I would really like to go, but non-the-less I dont think I will make it.  Sorry guys.  Just remember that the following weekend I will be in the office to pick up my pager and not just using my dads for the weekend.

Semper Fi to both the Corps and to Station 56

A Happy Memorial Day to all.  This story is a little late due to pictures being uploaded and a lack of access to a computer.

I was lucky enough to be a part of Fleet Week 2009 NYC this year.  For Fleet Week a few hundred Marines jump on a few USNavy ships and head up to Manhattan NYC ports next to the U.S.S. Intrepid.  Once there we allow the general public to tour parts of the ships (such as the U.S.S. Iwo Jima) and check out some of the Marine and Navy equipment.  Everyday for a week we spent showing the people of NY and anyone who came to visit our weapons, gear, and some of our vehicles.  The Navy showed off some of their gear for the ship, and both services showed off some of the helicopter aircraft.  From the looks on people's faces, everyone had a good time.

Fleet Week is not just a time to have fun though.  The real purpose is to show what kind of sacrifice we as service members make to keep this country free.  During the week service men and women from all the branch's participated in a wreath laying ceremony at Ground Zero.

During my time I went and visited a few of the local house's in Manhattan.  I got a chance to go into Engine 74's house near 82nd and Amsterdamn.  Upon ringing the door bell, I was greeted by a Firefighter with "US MARINES" tattooed on his forearm and knew right away I came to the right house.  The guys on duty that night were great, offering up some of their dinner and coffee to myself and fellow Marine who is a FF at Blue Knob, Pennsylvania.  It was brought to my attention that one of their own was killed on 9/11.  That man was also a Marine before serving in the FDNY, so I consider him one of my brothers twice over.  I only hope that people see the sacrifices that everyone makes, whether its keeping this country free, or its keeping the people of their community safe.

After a long deployment overseas, we all deserved some time home with our families.  Well that is exactly what we all got.

A much needed 18 days at home was well spent.  A little bit of time at the firehouse, making a few fire calls, and even attending the SEPA Regional Task Force drill at Philly Fire Academy.  But of course time was well spent eating Mom's cooking and seeing close friends.

Now it's just a waiting game for another 7 months before its time to head home.  I can't wait to start running the firehouse year round.

The 26th MEU is now completely ConUS....or in the Continental United States.  The majority of the BLT arrived back on Onslow Beach last week, with the final members returning earlier this week.

The MEU finished it's deployment with very little problems.  With all the training we completed to go on this deployment, sometimes it can feel like a waste.  Much like the fire house and all the training that goes into that, we had to be prepaired for anything.

Were all happy to return to Camp LeJeune, where we can get some good food and home brew beer.  Homecoming went smoothly, with those friends and familys waiting for their Marines to come home, getting constant updates on when they would get off the bus.  All in all, everything went well, but we are all happy to be back.

As a personal update, this was my last deployment with 2nd Battalion, 6th Marines.  I will be ending my 4 years with the Marine Corps this winter, hoping to be home in Havertown for good before the holiday season.  Thanks for all the support, and I only hope the firehouse continues supporting fellow service men and women within Station 56.

We are down to the last 40 days of deployment and are really looking forward to heading home.  The entire MEU will be boarding back onto their ships over the next few days after a long 40 plus day training operation in Kuwait.  It proved to be one of our best training operations yet, which it should be seeing how long we have been working together.

The trip home is going to feel long.  As before, there isn't a whole lot to do on the ship, but we are all pretty sure they will find things for us to do.  We will do a final customs inspection somewhere in Europe before we finally set sail across the Atlantic, and then it's home free.

For many of us, this will be our last deployment.  Some of the guys I came in with will be reenlisting and moving on to other things, others will be extending to go on the next deployment with 2/6.  Most of the guys though will be doing the same thing I am, and thats getting out of the military.  With the war effort slowing down to a snails pace, most of us get the feeling that we wont be deploying much anymore.  Even though we complain sometimes and love those homecoming events, we all joined the military to deploy to foreign countries and defend our countries freedom.  A lot of us are getting nervous because we aren't sure what the economy is actually like back home because we aren't there right now.  All of us are determined to get jobs though, and many of us have solid plans.

Until I return, thanks to everyone as usually.  Next time the big bell hits, I hope to be home for it.  Looks like a great stop on Warrior Road guys.

With the holidays upon us, we have all realized that we are now at our halfway point, marking 3 and a half months away from home.  We have made multiple different stops, currently this one being our second trip to the country of Bahrain.  We have made 2 training stops with a third major one coming up very soon.  Our next stop will be about 6 weeks long, but at the end it will mark the end of our tour.  At that point we will set sail and start heading for the coast of North Carolina, which should take a few weeks to complete the trip.

Our 2 training points already completed were done with the Saudi Arabian Royal Navy and the UAE Marines, teaching them the basics of how to operate in urban terrain.

We all can't wait to see our families and friends in a few months.  Happy Holiday wishes to everyone, and a Happy New Year too.

After a short 30 plus days out to sea I have seen a lot that the world has to offer.  So far I have seen Haifa, Israel, the Suez Canal, and am now visiting the country of Bahrain.  I have also swam in the Indian Ocean and done many other things on the boat.  With all that has been going on, I still have been able to find time to write home via email and still go to the gym every night.  Though I cant mention what is up and coming, I can say they are keeping us busy.  I friend of mine did a basic Google search for the 26th MEU and found this exact page, which proves how I have to be careful what I write here.  Anyone can find anything as long as they know how to search for it.

Cant wait to see everyone this Spring.  Congrats to Chief Norman on the election, Asst. Chief Norman on the engagement.  Also a big congrats to the new Marine, Pvt Boran on his graduation.  I only wish I could have wrote him a letter in a more timely manner.  While on the subject, best of luck to future Pvt Mullen, USArmy.

Final day here in the states, as the 26th MEU gets ready to set sail tomorrow.  Though we have a few things to do before we leave, its my last day here in Camp LeJeune.  To make sure I enjoyed my last day here, Firefighters Ryan Dougherty and Tim Mullin drove the 8+ hours down here to see me off.  A special thanks to those two who took their weekend to come down and see me.

Cant wait to see everyone in a few months.  Good times should be had in a time to come.