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Author Info - After High School I was desperate to get out of dull Michigan and travel the world. I also wanted to be a professional photographer. So, I joined the U.S. Marine Corps for an initial 6-year tour. For this they would guarantee me a job as a photographer and to be stationed overseas. I did my recruit training at MCRD San Diego, California and then went on to Lowry AFB Denver, Colorado to do a military photographer's course. I passed with flying colors. From here I was whisked straight off to my first real posting - Okinawa, Japan. It was great place with a tropical climate all year around . I saw a lot of the island while I was stationed there. It is only 60 miles long but for the 9 months that I had a car, I put nearly 5,000 miles on it, seeing nearly every inch of the island. After Okinawa, I was sent to Marine Corps Base Quantico, Virginia. Quantico is a large training base near Washington, D.C. and the whole area is very interesting. I enjoyed my time there, all three years of it. Quantico has the U.S. Marines' best equipped photo department and I did a lot of interesting photographic work, but after a while it got stagnant and I needed to travel... This is when I volunteered for 'Special Duty.' The particular variation of special duty I volunteered for was embassy duty with the State Department. This is a very strict job, much more restrictive than being a 'normal' Marine and they didn't just take anyone or did everyone pass the difficult course to get in. Luckily, the training school and HQ for MSG's (embassy guards) was right there on Quantico. I applied and they accepted. Luckily, I passed the course. In May 1988, which was the last time I lived in the USA, they shipped me off to my first post - The American Embassy in Kampala, Uganda. This was a very interesting place, constant sunshine again and plenty of safaris to go on... The house our small detachment of Marines lived in was possibly the nicest / largest house I've ever lived in (nice contrast to the barracks!). We had servants out the ying-yang too - (gardener, cook, cleaner, security guard, driver).... all of this at the expense of the U.S. Government! After Kampala, I was sent to the American Embassy in Oslo, Norway. Talk about one extreme to the next! Anyway, Oslo is a sleepy little capital city, but I enjoyed my time there also. Norway is a beautiful country. While there I went on vacation to, of all places, Egypt. Egypt is somewhere I had always wanted to visit, and since the U.S. Government paid for my flight, I went! I took a semi-organized tour that cruised the Nile River on traditional boats called feluccas.
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