In the film The Great Santini, Robert Duvall plays Lt. Col. “Bull” Meechum — the hard-driving Marine aviator every jarhead recognizes. At the Marine Corps Birthday Ball, coinciding with Santini’s retirement party, Santini tells his “hogs” to “go out to the bar, they are about to witness a “floor show” that will make Marine Corps … Read more
A story of betrayal and brotherhood as fake as the Navy SEAL impostors Don Shipley loves to expose. Prologue: The Calm Before the Betrayal February 2022. The world was limping out of COVID exile, and I felt lucky: a wife I loved, a cat to amuse me, a blog, and a hobby shop where I … Read more
Some guys are influenced by rock stars. Some by coaches. Me? I was influenced by a Marine — my uncle Jack Rice. Jack wasn’t just any Marine. He was a WWII combat correspondent, a writer, and a man connected to the higher-ups in the Corps. But more than that, he was like a father to … Read more
In 2010 at the ripe old age of 60 I hung up my regular gig as a golf packager at a golf resort in Scottsdale, Arizona (official title: PVP – Personal Vacation Planner) and semi-retired, relocated from “the Valley of the Sun” and moved up to Payson, Arizona — White Mountains, tall pines, high country … Read more
Stand By to Stand By: The Fine Art of Sleeping at Attention In the Marine Corps, “Stand by to stand by” isn’t just a phrase — it’s a lifestyle. We learned to master the art of sleeping while standing, nodding off mid-hurry-up-and-wait, and running full speed into the next delay. Orders came down like weather … Read more