3-6 Aug: CALIFORNIA

After enjoying HI for a few days it was time to move on to Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, CA and start the administrative process. The Marines along with Ms. Perez made it a very easy process. The necessary paperwork was completed in an expedient manner and made for a smooth transition.

I had plenty of time off. I was only required to be in uniform the first day I arrived and checked in. After, I wore civilian attire. I guess it helped with the transition. It was liberating to be able to take my last set of desert utilities with boots and discard them. It felt sacrilegious to throw them away with the trash, so I bagged them up and left them near the trashcan. "Fair winds and following seas..."

With the time off, I took a trip up to 29 Palms, CA to relax some more and also to catch up with my sister, Haili, who lives in Desert Hot Springs. We stayed at the 29 Palms Inn and enjoyed a great dinner and conversation.

Ironically, 29 Palms was my first infantry duty station and it was strange to be back there after so many years. I was stationed with 1st Battalion, 7th Marines for almost 6 years and enjoyed several combat deployments with that unit; Operation Desert Shield/Storm, Saudi Arabia/Kuwait and Operation Restore Hope, Somalia.

After an evening of enjoying the desert, it was time to head back to CamPen for final separation procedures and the finalization of my DD214. This was all completed on 6 Aug (Thu) so I rented a car and drove to AZ to visit my brother, Christian, before my flight out of Phoenix to Sioux Falls, SD on 9 Aug (Sun).

Retirees keep reminding me of several things that accompany separation from the military.
1. It will be a difficult transition
2. You will miss the Marines

I am still waiting for either one of those to occur.