|
OK, everyone. I've put this off long enough! My mini-autobiography (at least for the last 30 years):
SCHOOL: After graduation from CCHS, I attended East Carolina Univ. Graduated with a BA in Computer Science on an Air Force ROTC 4-year scholarship. I was commissioned a 2nd Lieutenant on May 5th, 1984, the same day I graduated.
WORK: After a very brief summer break (12 days?), I went to Keesler AFB, MS, for a 13-week Air Force Computer Officer Training course. In August, I arrived at my first assignment: Tinker AFB, Oklahoma. I worked there 5 years with the 552d Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS) Division. During that time, I spent 3 tours in Saudi Arabia at the ELF-ONE training mission in Riyhadh.
In 1989, I was moved to Langley AFB, VA, with the 1912th Computer Systems Group, under the Tactical Air Command. In 1992, the military began drawing down its numbers. Officers who were thinking of getting out of the services were "bribed" to separate with either a 15-20 year small annuity, or a sizable lump sum. I took the wad of cash and began working for a Defense contractor, Science Applications International Corp, or SAIC. About 7 months later, the company needed someone in Hawaii, and I volunteered. I've been in Hawaii now over 16 years! I still work for SAIC, although we have changed from an employee-owned company to a publicly traded one about 4 years ago.
My current job is the database engineer for the Joint Interagency Task Force West (JIATF West), stationed at the HQ Pacific Command, Camp Smith, HI. Our mission is to assist, train, equip, and support the anti-drug efforts of our Asian-Pacific partner nations. We are chartered under the Department of Homeland Security to stop the distribution of illegal narcotics from countries outside the U.S. by assisting those countries in disrupting the production, supplies, money, and transportation associated with primarily methamphetamine ("crystal meth", or "ice"). We work with representatives of the FBI, CIA, DEA, NSA, NCIS, ICE, and all military branches including the U.S. Coast Guard. We have a "sister" organization, JIATF South, in Key West, FL. They perform surveillance and interdiction operations on boats and aircraft coming out of Mexico, Central America, and South America. Their primary focus is the production and distribution of cocaine and marijuana.
PERSONAL: I married a girl in college my senior year, Carla, and we had 2 daughters, both born in Oklahoma. Sandy was born in 1986, and Shannon in 1989. In 2004, Carla and I divorced, and the girls chose to live with me. I guess I've been "Mr. Mom" since then!
Sandy is 99.9% finished with a computer degree (2-3 weeks left for her final class: Physics!). Shannon starts her 3rd year this month at Leeward Community College, and plans to major at the University of Hawaii in business.
I still have family in N.C. My mom, Martha, and sister, Missy (CCHS 1987), moved to Shelby together a couple years ago. My brother, David (CCHS 1977), lives in the Kings Mtn area.
I rarely get to come home much, but I bought my mom a PC almost 10 years ago. That has almost been a necessity, as Hawaii is 6 hours behind the East Coast time zone in the Summer.
Well, that's been me in a nutshell! If you have any questions for me, or just want to swap stories, post a reply!
|
