Did the Army for 20 years active duty, first (for one enlistment) as an Army Security Agency cook (big whoop - I had to be careful what I said around the eggs); and for the rest of my career as a euphonium player.
Well, I did other stuff during that time too. Operations (meaning working with requestors for band support and dealing with some pretty interesting people; preparing temp duty docs, flag orders (in Berlin) and all sorts of other stuff); drove a truck, helped out running sound, spent several years running a supply room (two property books), admin stuff, training stuff. Passed the Defense Language Institute exam in German, so I became an MOS linguist as well and while it's kinda rusty now, it wasn't that long ago when I was dreaming in German.
Played two bugle jobs (Taps) in my career. As a low brass player, that was difficult and I fired myself because I didn't do it well. Those guys and gals deserve better than me.
Saw the Berlin Wall come down and it wasn't too long after that when a lot of folks were saying to put the damn thing back up again. I spent almost half of my career in Berlin -- too long, perhaps.
Since retirement from the Army 18 years ago, I've worked in quality assurance in pharmaceuticals, automotive (yuck), and now medical devices where I manage a small group. It's a good way to make a living, but working with civilians SUCKS DONKEY BALLS most of the time.
