"Everybody's stationed a long way away from home, and I get the privilege of
bringing them little pieces of home every once in awhile."
How does your job at MCCS directly affect those serving and living on base?
My job is entertainment. Everybody is stationed a long way away from home, and I get the privilege of bringing them little pieces of home every once in awhile That's what Special Events does, we organize something like a festival or a big concert
Tell us about the team you work with.
I've always had a great team. There's Misa Kinjo; she's the backbone of the operation. She takes care of the administrative work. Koji Takeuchi is our sound all-around warehouse and logistics guy. I also have Andre Young who's new to the team, but he's jumping in and started to control a lot of logistic issues.
Give us a brief history of your military service.
I spent 22 years in the Marine Corps. I retired as a Gunnery Sergeant in December of 2013, as a crash fire rescue man. I was basically a firefighter. I spent a few years in California, a few years in Texas, and the rest of my career was all overseas. I've spent about 12 of my 22 years overseas. Most of my overseas time was spent in lwakuni except for three years in Okinawa.
How do you think your service helped you prepare for working at MCCS?
I know a lot about the military community and MCAS lwakuni, especially since I spent so much time stationed here. Doing entertainment work is a bit like firefighting. There are no flames or heat, but there are always a lot of fires to put out.
What are your biggest accomplishments at MCCS and how did they impact the community?
I've been involved with Friendship Day along with the rest of the planning team for four years. It was basically turned off in 2014. Because of the construction on the installation, we weren't supposed to have a Friendship Day until 2020. However, we only ended up skipping one year. Friendship Day is the biggest accomplishment for me. It's one of the largest commercial events in Japan. It affects those of us on the installation as well as the community off station. I think it does impact the community mostly in a positive way.
Where's home for you back in the United States?
I am originally from Saint Joseph, Minnesota. It's just a small town of about 3,000 people, about 70 miles northwest of Minneapolis.
What do you miss most about being back home?
I haven't been to the states in awhile. Honestly, when I go back I realized why I left. lwakuni is my home now.