Grandson in Okinawa

[GMG]

Last week my wife visited our grandson in Conn. where his parents live.

He went from Parris Isl. to Camp Johnson,and was on a short leave after graduating from Camp Johnson NC.

He is now stationed in Okinawa, last I heard he was kinda in a holding pattern.

From what I understand he made LCPL........Grandparents are very proud of him!

[themailman]

is he single? If so, oki is slightly enjoyable. Not much else to do but drink and screw if you work a tough schedule. Nice scenery though, good scuba. Coco's and soapy's lol.

[Sniper3142]

is he single? If so, oki is slightly enjoyable. Not much else to do but drink and screw if you work a tough schedule. Nice scenery though, good scuba. Coco's and soapy's lol.

Not True!!

There are LOTS of things to do on Okinawa other than drink.

There is PT.

And there is Reading.

And the there is PT.


Oh wait...

[GMG]

is he single? If so, oki is slightly enjoyable. Not much else to do but drink and screw if you work a tough schedule. Nice scenery though, good scuba. Coco's and soapy's lol.

He is single. I was there in 62' we dropped off a battalion and picked up another one , then headed south.

Yes I do remember the good times.

[Mike A]

Boredom is the worst enemy of young men and of young Marines in particular--actually kills more of them than the "enemy." Hope he is a PT nut and likes to read or cruise/use the internet a lot. My son was there for about 9 months and did MUCH better once he started getting out among the people. When he first got there he was restricted a lot by his security clearance but that eased up when he made E-5. Got so he actually LIKED the island and the people! Of course then he got posted to Crapghanistan..... He's about to go back there for the 3rd time. Wonderful.

[GMG]

From what he says he's into PT and runs a lot. He's really into regimentation. Has a lap top, talks to friends via SKYPE and surfs the net. Computer games. He'll be 19 at the end of July.

He's not a drinker but he does like girls.

[taladeganite]

I was only slightly bored during my year on Okinawa(90-91). I was a PT nut, rarely drank alcohol, and yes.. I went to church. I was a PFC with a new wife and twins (just turned 21)... I did lots of scuba for very little $ and bought a road bike and road all over the island. The typhoon parties were a bit boring being that I didnt drink but I hit the gym alot...its a good year to get some education done... I regret not learning the language.

[rooster85]

Alot of women and booze on the rock. He should enjoy himself....

[Mike A]

A lot depends on whether you have to live in barracks; most of the single EMs of lower rank (most of the young guys) do. If you can move around off base, there is lots to do, especially fishing and scuba both are excellent there.

Once my son learned enough Japanese to get around, he got away from the GI-town/"buy me drinkee" part of the island and into the native parts. Much better, and he really got into golfing, which he continues to love. Has some really funny stories about communications difficulties with Japanese, especially some of the weird stuff he started to buy in Japanese supermarkets thinking it was food. Other (Japanese) customers saved him from taking home (and eating) pet food, depilatory cream, etc. And how weird Japanese advertising is.

One thing he hated about Oki was how far the Marine small arms ranges are from the barracks. He always wondered how the getting up at 4am to drive for three hours in a 7-ton and wait hours for the ranges to be ready affected Marine marksmanship. (But he always shot Expert with his M4 and M9 anyway).

[The Soup Nazi]

Wow, he only had to wake up at 4AM to go to the range? I definitely had to wake up at like 0100-0200 so I could go to the armory, wait until 0300 to get on the 7 ton and go on that 40 minute ride to Hansen. I only had the luxury of waking up at 0400 when I was living on Schwab and was shooting Division matches.

Like the others said, it's a great place to get in good physical shape. (After PTing in infinity humidity for two years, running in Pendleton is pie). If your grandson hasn't already, he just needs to make it a point to regularly frequent CoCo Ichibanya. If he doesn't want the island to shrink on him, he needs to go learn some Japanese and not go to American Village or Gate 2 every weekend.

When I was stationed at Futenma, we'd always disappear into the heart of Naha, and go to some of the coolest bars, clubs, and meet some of the coolest Okinawans and Japanese people.

[6114DAVE]

is he single? If so, oki is slightly enjoyable. Not much else to do but drink and screw if you work a tough schedule. Nice scenery though, good scuba. Coco's and soapy's lol.

DUDE!! you gotta go to the COCO ICHIBANYA in torrance,ca! it's the real deal!! Chicken cutlet level 5 with extra meat, extra cheese and NAN bread! The exact same one from OKI!

[tacticalcity]

Last week my wife visited our grandson in Conn. where his parents live.

He went from Parris Isl. to Camp Johnson,and was on a short leave after graduating from Camp Johnson NC.

He is now stationed in Okinawa, last I heard he was kinda in a holding pattern.

From what I understand he made LCPL........Grandparents are very proud of him!

Good for him. Nice to see him following after his grandfather and serving his country.

Nice to see him getting overseas as well. I always wanted to see Japan. Instead I ended up on the other side of the globe. Mostly the Middle East, Africa, and Europe. Grateful for every minute of it. I'm sure he will be as well.