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This is a photo of myself when I was a bit lighter.  This was from my year in Okinawa, Japan.  My aunt and I went over to this park on the island that has a reservoir on it.  Very nice and beautiful there. 

Thanks for reading!

Semper Fidelis,

Manuel Perez

In case you haven’t heard about the 8.9 magnitude earthquake that hit Japan last week, then this is your alert.  I have heard that the one Nuclear Power plant already has melted down and a second is on the verge of a meltdown.  They say that about 10,000 people could be dead and some experts say the island shifted east by 13 feet. 

So, what is the US doing to help?  According to this website link the III Marine Expeditionary Force are supporting government of Japan-led humanitarian aid/disaster relief operations.  This brings me back to when I was in Okinawa and we had a typhoon hit the island.  It was very bad and very wet.  I have never got to experience anything like it as we don’t usually have hurricanes or typhoons or tornadoes in California.  I was selected to assist with a typhoon safety team which went around the island and made sandbags and assisted with anything that people needed on the island like emergency material.  The building we were stationed in had three floors and a basement.  We were living in the basement but we had a lot of water leaking in from the floors above.  We went up to see why and noticed that the windows to the building had been blown out and water was coming in quickly.  We had to board up the windows. 

After the typhoon hit the island and left we went out the next day to view the damage.  It was incredible how much force was in this thing because it threw garbage trucks and semis over on to their side.  One big giant tree had gotten lifted up out of the ground with its roots and all.  It was a crazy experience for me and I am sure that the Marines are doing all they can to help out with anything going on on the island of Okinawa and in Japan’s main land as well.

Thanks for reading!

Semper Fidelis,

Manuel Perez

I don’t know about you but if you put me anywhere in California I am pretty sure to find my way around and get to where I need to be, but if you put me smack dab in the middle of Okinawa, Japan then I am pretty sure to get lost.

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My first exercise in Okinawa was to go with a large group of engineers to a location on the north end of the island.  My team’s job was to setup communication back to the main side of the island.  Once we were setup then we just sat back and played cards for about a week straight. 

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If you are ever deployed to another country or location it helps to know exactly who you might know or have as a resource. 

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Okinawa, Japan is one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen.  The weather is almost perfect and there is so much beautiful beaches.

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Here is a photo of the photo off my shirt from when I was in 1st Stinger Battery in Okinawa, Japan.

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This is a photo of a United States Marine manning the radio wearing full Mission Oriented Protective Posture Gear.  This was my last exercise in Okinawa, Japan before finishing my tour.  I was with 1st Stinger Battery from Camp Futenma.  This Marine and I were on Radio Watch when we got the siren to go to MOPP Level 4.  The command is Gas, Gas, Gas and it is nothing to ignore.  Manning the radio can be tough with all this gear on because you can barely hear anything through the mask.  I remember going through Nuclear Biological Chemical Warfare School and we had to play basketball with all this gear on.  Luckily it wasn’t too hot only about 80 something degrees. 

That’s all I have for today and thank you for reading!

Semper Fidelis,

Manuel Perez