Did I need a baby sitter for myself at 36?

byLesWallerJr

1K followers

2 days ago

At around 36 years old I had another experience in the Marine Corps that made me a little upset.

I am a Chinese Mandarin linguist who spent a year at the Defense Language Institute in Monterey for basic Chinese. I spent a summer at UC Santa Cruz for intermediate Chinese and a summer at Beijing University in Beijing, China. All while on active duty as a Sergeant and prior to what I'm describing below.

On my last tour in Okinawa, Japan the opportunity came up to go with an infantry unit by ship to make a port visit to Qingdao, China. One thing they are famous for is their beer, which with the help of the Germans brought into existence.

We arrived at Qingdao and were given liberty off ship. However, you had to have a "battle" buddy go with you. As I, now a senior Staff Sergeant, was attached to the unit just for this visit as their "interpreter" I knew no one. So, at 36 years old having already spent 3 months in China by myself I was not allowed to leave the boat. Wow! I was fuming!

Of course, what you have to understand is that Marine infantry units have strict rules when visiting foreign countries because they tend to get out of hand when drinking. There is also the force protection aspect so it is better to go out with someone you know.

Anyway, I just thought I'd share another experience I had while in the Marine Corps.

Semper Fidelis!

Les