I'm the *other* Coastie on your boards here, still active duty but finishing up a two year graduate program at the University of Washington in Seattle in Marine Affairs, so essentially a little two year break from the uniform and general responsibility. I'm headed this summer to Charleston, S.C. to a Fisheries Enforcement Training Center that covers the mid-Atlantic region (and very happy, Charleston is a GREAT town). I'm at heart a marine biology/fisheries nerd, but it does occasionally pay off with cool adventures (tagging Salmon Sharks in Alaska and living on a pristine beach for two weeks in an Mexican reserve studying coral with 17 female co-ed grad students!)
Prior to that its been all ships, first a high-endurance cutter (similar to a frigate) out of Seattle doing alternating counter drug trips down near Columbia and Ecuador and fisheries patrols up in the Bering Sea. Then a patrol boat in Bahrain, doing critical infrastructure defense in Iraq and training IQ Navy/Marines, and counter piracy in Iraq and Horn of Africa. Then I was lucky enough to command a little patrol boat with a great crew in, of all places my hometown of Corpus Christi, TX.
I got into T2K recently and play with some of my fiancee's friends and a couple army buddies from high school. Enjoyed reading this thread and seeing the diversity of backgrounds. Thanks to everyone who served during our previous wars and highly uncertain times in our recent past.
- Brandon
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