To: Michael Sphar who wrote (1534 ) 4/4/1999 7:59:00 PM From: nuke44 Read Replies (3) | Respond to
I reenlisted for one last stint in September 1992. After 20 months under Clinton, not being able stand to see the firesale disassembly of the mightiest military in history and realizing that I couldn't do a damned thing to stop it, I retired as an E-9 with 28 years active duty. It took formal requests to my Senator (Sam Nunn) and Congressman (Newt Gingrich) to get the Air Force to allow me to retire early, but I only made the point that the DOD was booting military members out by the tens of thousand that wanted to stay in and that my departure would open up a slot for someone who wanted it. Since my retirement, I've kept in contact with many friends and comrades. Amazingly, quite a few of those have quit the military with only a short time left until retirement. They said they would rather sleep on the street than continue on under the current administration. I have no regrets about my time in service and can't imagine anything that I would rather have done. One of these days I would really like to sit down and start writing my "memoirs" for my son and his children to have. It was an amazing 28 years. Sometimes I feel a kinship with the character of the 'replicant', Roy, in the Movie Bladerunner. As he was expiring he gave a soliloquy about the amazing things he had seen in his short life. I may not have seen "Starships burning on the shoulder of Orion", but I was there the night they opened the Berlin Wall. I've met historical figures, both famous and infamous. I've watched the sun rise over Stonehenge and watched it set over Ayers Rock. I lived as permanent party in nine countries and served temporary duty in at least a dozen others. I learned to say I Love You and Kiss My Ass in at least a dozen languages. I've married several wonderful and beautiful women of various nationalities and hopefully will grow old with the the lady who is now my wife and I actually think that for a few brief instances over that 28 years, I actually made a difference in the world.
