Behind the Rack, Episode 03 – Firman Sakir, USMC, 1993–2001

[0:00] Apertura del episodio — el primer invitado fuera de la Fuerza Aérea

Brian Lathrop: [0:00] Behind the rack episode 3 honoring those who serve my guest today is my friend and United States Marine Corps veteran furman saker furman served in the Marine Corps between 1993 and 2001 I hope you enjoy this wide-ranging conversation on service leadership and the importance of taking care of each other please welcome to the show u.s marine furman sacred all right and so we're rolling uh furman welcome to behind the rack thank you Brian thank you for bringing me out I like to always start off by asking where were you born and raised.

[0:47] Dover, Ohio — familia, hermanos, y un padrastro que hablaba bien de los Marines

Brian Lathrop: [0:47] And what did your parents do for a um I was born in Dover Ohio and then I was raised in a little community south of dover was like where the closest hospital was and it's raised in a little community called uh denison ohio and yorkshire ohio two little towns right next to each other um the phone number is 922. They say you want help you call 911. You want trouble you call 922. Um so it's it's just a small poor town community between the two little towns there's maybe 11.

Firman Sakir: [1:18] 000 people I just was there a few weeks ago enjoyed it uh don't want to live in the back there but I do enjoy it when I go back did you have any brothers and sisters so um yeah I have a two brothers I grew up with and then I had later in life had an older sister before I was born my mother had another child she gave up for adoption and I always knew about it my middle brother always knew about it and then about five years ago.

Firman Sakir: [1:46] Our sister found us so now I have a technicality an older sister which I always know but I did tell her hey yes you're the older sister but I'm still in charge so yes I was I was the oldest of three boys and I have an older sister you know my parents my mom was a single mother until she met my stepdad they got married when I was about three and a half four years old um and those that's the father of my two younger brothers.

Firman Sakir: [2:13] And my mom was a stay-at-home mom my dad worked all kinds of jobs he never really stayed steady there a lot of that is um my parents did drugs I mean my dad was a was a drug addict he spent some time in um never really could keep jobs you know right great guy he's some of the reasons I joined the Marine Corps he tried his best I mean I've had some long conversations with him now as a grown adult you know he's in his 60s.

Firman Sakir: [2:45] We've had some good bonding relationship things and you know um he just got caught up in he had a troubled childhood and he got caught up in that troubled childhood got caught up in drugs and just didn't always make the best decisions in the world I don't blame him for a lot of things um if anything I thank him thank him what not to be like you know um stay out of trouble or this is the way your life is going to be you know he didn't you know he.

Firman Sakir: [3:17] He made an attempt at being the marines um he went off to Parris Island uh third battalion don't know much more details that he was medically discharged out of boot camp but he always spoke highly of the Marine Corps right now um so that's where kind of my thought process of the Marine Corps was I always heard good things about the Marine Corps I didn't have any close immediate family members that were in the military um had some uncles that had been in the military.

[3:44] Clase de inglés del último año: '¿Quieres unirte al Cuerpo de Marines?' Diez segundos después, ya lo habían hecho

Firman Sakir: [3:44] When they were younger like an uncle I was in United States Army and that kind of stuff um but no one who I saw on a daily basis or I've never seen anyone active duty I just saw photos of them so really your stepdad talking highly yeah and then I never really thought about any other service I mean I really didn't I didn't even think about the Marine Corps until senior year in high school in english um my buddy craig birch he turns in 8th period english class our senior year.

Firman Sakir: [4:16] And he says hey you want to join the Marine Corps I thought about it for about 10 seconds and I said sure we skipped ninth period study hall went to the recruiter's office signed up that way I mean I literally had that day we walked in the recruiter's office we were recruiter's dream we walked in we both said hey we want to be marines and the recruiter's like thank you here's right here um our recruiter his name was Sergeant creaky yeah never forget him he had birth control glasses.

Firman Sakir: [4:45] On wore those birth control glasses with pride and he um yeah I just really didn't think uh too much stuff about like I said five ten seconds that's it first we both signed up to be reservists this was in 92. Somewhere through there we both decided to go active duty and we went back to the recruiter and that was February of 93 and we signed up hey we want to change from reserves duty to active duty and the recruiter was like okay he had no problems with us changing.

[5:14] Parris Island, 11 de julio de 1993 — campamento, el quarterdeck, y el polígono de tiro

Firman Sakir: [5:14] Yeah uh we shipped out we graduated June of shipped out July together shipped out to paris that's good um our first duty our first day of service at paris island July 11th and I'll always remember that day because um later in my Marine Corps career my roommate bill hessler we had same time in grade same he had me on one day time in service because when he went to par he went to sorry he went to San Diego he was July 10th we graduated the same day but he was July.

Firman Sakir: [5:50] 10th right at San Diego I was July 11th at parris island so he'd always pull rank on me because he was it would always go time and grade time and service he always had me a day and time in service and then he says if I didn't have any time and service I'd have t.o.e time on earth he was 20 days before me so bill always had me so he always outranked me because of that craig and I uh were in between 2089 we were across the squad bay from each other.

Firman Sakir: [6:19] Saker was mine birch was his so we he was on one side I was on the other side but we were pretty much right across from each other uh the Drill instructor found out we were friends and a lot of times we got thrashed together if one of us screwed up the other one just got called up to the quarter deck and I know craig will he'll he'll deny this every day but I spent more time on the quarter deck because of him that I did for myself.

Firman Sakir: [6:41] Um he got he got shafted through boot camp a little bit um and that his um rack rackmate got and craig didn't have a rackmate then from then on out so when it was time to make the rackets in the morning he was always behind because he never had anyone to help him and he'd get thrashed six o'clock in the morning on the quarter deck sicker get up there with him so I started helping him like I'd hear him get my rack done and then go over and help him get his done.

Firman Sakir: [7:10] Because I was tired of being on the quarter deck for him now he got sent to the quarter deck because of me too but you know journal instructors knew we were friends uh we got through boot camp together uh it was a very honorable day for us uh October 8th 93 we graduated paris island uh platoon 2089 fox company second battalion and um I went off to for like a month and he immediately went off to school um and so we didn't our plus our career paths were different at that point he.

Firman Sakir: [7:40] A radio calm guy I was a data a data com specialist and nobody at boot camp knew what that was right now the drill instructors knew um the company gunny was like oh wait a minute wait the company he's some kind of data calm guy but you're not going to go talk to the captain back to career field just figure it out yourself you know everybody at boot camp got to talk about to try to talk the journal starts with at the end of.

Firman Sakir: [8:09] Boot camp and tell us hey you're a calm guy you're a radio guy you're an infantry you know just yeah I didn't have anybody because the only one in the entire company was the commanding officer and I was a recruit I wouldn't go talk to him about it um but boot camp was uh interesting it was that you know you always see in the they get off that bus and they stand on those yellow footprints that's a wake-up moment that's a oh this [ __ ] just got real moment.

Firman Sakir: [8:35] You get off that bus and you're like wow and I even said to craig oh what did we do what did we do and I wasn't scared oh yeah you recruits only come in at night they never come in a day they always they always roll them in at night um your head's down the curtains are drawn on the bus and you don't get to see anything and I spent 13 weeks at paris island and when my parents came to pick me up when I graduated.

Firman Sakir: [9:01] I just get me off this island because I don't know how to get off the island I really didn't we spent 13 weeks trying to figure out watching traffic flow of cars which way was off the island but we didn't know we could never figure it out we knew the main road but we didn't know if that was coming or going and um my dad's like what do you mean you don't know dad I don't know how to get off this island I yeah I've been.

Firman Sakir: [9:22] Here for three months but I don't know which way's off uh of course he did because he'd been at paris island when he was younger and plus he drove on that day but um it was um it was an eye-opening experience parasana was um you know before I went there of course people made fun of me oh you're not going to make it you're not going to make it you're not going to make it oh that's hard you know why'd you choose the marines and very interesting.

Firman Sakir: [9:47] A guy named jason lambeth and chad williamson sat in front of me senior year in um government class both of them on a daily basis made fun of me for joining the marines and I just constant um fast forward a couple years later both of them are marines and I found out and I just I they were junior to me but I was in a print shop and I saw the Marine Corps roster that had every marine in the Marine Corps actively in reserve.

Firman Sakir: [10:21] I was slipping through it and I saw one of their names I was like what the hell I reached out to him and I found out both of them had joined the Marine Corps um lambeth he is deceased now uh chad is in California uh you know we grew up you know we grew up together our same little graduating school you claim up mustangs and both were marines that's a lot of marines from a small oh yeah oh especially the three of us were in the same class.

Firman Sakir: [10:47] Yeah and um oh I gave I still give them [ __ ] well I can only chad because he's still alive but I still give him like dude for every day you guys both gave me crap and you both joined the Marine Corps after like after well after like a year and a half after I did still stay like I said before lambeth's death still stayed in contact with him we always talked um but yeah paris island unique experience I had some different say different experiences than other people.

[11:20] El giro en el polígono: punto de mira frontal, ocho en el negro, y rehusarse a fallar

Firman Sakir: [11:20] In that after the rifle range one I didn't shoot well on the rifle range um I struggled I really struggled at it um that I figured it took me years to figure out why and then when I figured out why I became a great shooter I wasn't focusing on the front sight post like I'm supposed to be and when you're at 200 yard line 500 yard line you're gonna struggle um well I struggled at the 200 yard line a little bit 300 yard line and then when I went back.

Firman Sakir: [11:51] To the 500 yard line I had to get eight in the black to qualify you only have 10 shots from 500 yards I had to get eight in the just to just so I wouldn't be based on your performance because I sucked at the 200-yard line and I yeah okay at the 300-yard line and all the rifle range coaches and the drill instructors were watching me because they were like this guy is not going to qualify he's going to hunk and it was just like the.

Firman Sakir: [12:23] Um oh you're not going to make it when I before I joined the Marine Corps oh that your stupid idea I was like I'm not leaving this rifle range unqualified I'm not getting my ass thrashed I'm not I'm not going to be one of those one I'm not going to fail I'm not going to fail that was the whole thing at bootcamp was I the best marine or best recruit no um did I fail no all right but I because I wasn't going to fail well.

Firman Sakir: [12:55] I went to the 500 yard line needing eight in black I got nine I only dropped one round from 500 yards out and everyone even the rifle coaches and the drill instructors are coming like holy [ __ ] you're going to make it you're going to make it and they started backing off a little bit they weren't stressing me out they were really focused on because they're like black like he's catching up he's not dropping black because I knew I could only miss if I missed two.

Firman Sakir: [13:30] I was done wow so focusing on the and just the front side post because that's what they teach you don't look at the target look at the front side post you only need you can be blind as a bat all you need to do is see the front side post put the front's a clear front side post in the blurry silhouette and you'll hit the black every time and I couldn't also I've have trouble even to this day um dominant shooting with my eye I forced myself to shoot with my right eye.

Firman Sakir: [13:58] Knowing damn well my left eye is my dominant eye but I'm right-handed and so other you have to choose other people have told me dude you know you need to start learning to shoot with your left right your left hand instead of your right hand because your left eye is your dominant eye no I just force myself to shoot right-eyed right-handed because I'm right-hand dominant I've thought about you know I have shot sometimes with pistol left-handed and it's more comfortable with my eye but it's not comfortable with my.

Firman Sakir: [14:31] So but yeah I went to boot camp you know I qualified I didn't there was so many there was a couple guys that honked and they had to go to remedial shooting you know and I was like I'm not me I didn't again I didn't want to drop I didn't want to fail I was not leaving parris one of the recruiters told me said before I left this is the um best the quickest way to get off the is to graduate because if you fail at something you get dropped.

Firman Sakir: [14:59] And then you're longer there you're there yeah and you're you know there was we had a couple people that we picked up through there one guy he uh he got dropped right after first phase twice we were his third platoon he'd been at paris island for like nine months can you imagine you know he had hit an injury and then he'd been recycled and yeah he graduated with us but he'd been there for nine months he better graduate he'd been through this a couple times but.

Firman Sakir: [15:26] Uh do it do it like you're supposed to do it quick did I screw around yes did I have sometimes bad attitudes yes there was even one time the drill instructor Sergeant cabral he had a little green book and he didn't get you during the day he just writes your name in his book and um I was in his book all the time and then when he would have duty he would thrive he'd get out the book and he'd thrash you all night well he come walking.

Firman Sakir: [15:56] By I'll stand online and he come walking by and I looked over his shoulder to see if my name was his book yeah it wasn't until he noticed that I was looking in his book oh you went in the book okay there you go the one day I wasn't in his I volunteered myself to be in the book um but I got through boot camp um great day there's a couple things that can never take away from me I'm a dad can never take that away.

Firman Sakir: [16:20] From me my son is an Eagle Scout you can't ever take it out away from me and I'm a us marine you can never take that away from me um those are permanent you can do everything but I will for the rest of the day after October 8th 1993 I became a u.s marine technically you became a marine a couple days before um because that's when they actually awarded you the Eagle Globe Anchor what was your next training um so no at that point all male marines.

[16:47] MCT en Camp Geiger: la cámara de gas, y un emprendedor de papel higiénico en el campo

Firman Sakir: [16:47] It's different now it's all marines but that time it was all male marines um go off to Marine Combat Training mct at Camp Geiger which is Camp Lejeune in Jacksonville North Carolina it's for a month long and you because all marines are riflemen regardless your most so you go and learn basic combat skills go to the Gas Chamber you know weapons that kind of stuff let me learn some of that at boot camp and this is a twisted part of me I love the gas chamber.

Firman Sakir: [17:11] I like to go in the gas chamber without my mask what I mean I had to even end friends that were in nbc that would say dude I'm in nbc and I don't go into the gas chamber without my does it affect you oh it apparently does um yes I mean every pore in your entire burns but for you why do you like oh it's just a rush it's a rush it's it's it's like I'm going to do my required stuff and then I would ask hey can I go in again.

Firman Sakir: [17:40] What yeah can I come in with I'm going to ask yeah whatever floats your boat you know and I just I loved it I just I had so much fun going on the gas chamber a lot of this because I'm a computer guy I don't get to do the combat stuff all the time I only get to do it once a year but yeah mct was all male marines uh for a month females went directly to their school and then anyone that was inf at that time anyone also.

Firman Sakir: [18:06] Almost like all members and then infantry guys would go to another six more weeks and then we would go after our school and um then after that month and I saw guys do stupid stuff and they told us over and over again these are the stupid things you're going to do don't do them or you will get in trouble and I didn't but I see other guys do stupid stuff like on the weekends yes we had weekends off we go drinking or whatever nope I stayed in a squad bay.

Firman Sakir: [18:31] No drinking but I also look I've always been a kind of an entrepreneur thing and I saw an effort to make some while I was in the field first week we were in the field nobody had toilet nobody had toilet paper and everybody was feeding toilet paper so the next week I went to the PX on the weekend and bought two giant things of toilet paper in ziploc and I'd spend ten bucks on like a thirty pack of toilet paper and like two or three bucks on some zippers.

Firman Sakir: [19:02] And I would go to the field like 20 or 30 bags and I would sell roll toilet paper in its own waterproof for five dollars a roll oh and people mad they would be mad you're ripping those oil if you're ripping us off no dude I have toilet paper in a waterproof case you need do you want it that's good marketing and waterproof and there'll be times they'd be mad at me and I would sleep it with in my sleeping bag too so people wouldn't try to steal it out of my pack.

Firman Sakir: [19:34] Guy woke me up in the middle of the night hey dude I need some toilet paper here's five bucks there you go you know people are so mad but at the end of the week I'd sell you know 10 20 rolls however I took with me at five bucks I triple quadrupled my I didn't want to get too greedy but I would trade it for like extra chow or just different things and I also took care of like uh between and squad leaders and stuff like that maybe sell some for two dollars.

Firman Sakir: [20:03] Because I didn't um I even had a staff uh one of the sergeants who was our instructor he's like hey dude give me a roll toilet paper I ain't gonna pay you five bucks that's sure that's fine but he remembered that and I didn't get crap details you know you know because I gave him one I was smart about that but then after um worst Greyhound experience and only greyhound experience I've ever had in my put me on a bus from jacksonville north carolina to Quantico.

[20:34] Quantico, Virginia: comunicaciones de datos, la escuela al lado, y amistades de por vida

Firman Sakir: [20:34] Virginia emma service alphas which is the green unit for those who don't know that's the green uniform and um it's not supposed to take 14 hours to go from north carolina to Virginia but when you're on a greyhound bus it does drop me off at quantico Virginia out in the little town right outside the gate one o'clock in the morning at the bus station where there's nobody um there's a 7-eleven next door so I went to the 7-eleven uh little dude work center he knew exactly what I was.

Firman Sakir: [21:06] You know I was a brain I was a boot and um he called he's like hold on I'll call the staff duty officer staff duty officer came out there and got me that was um a couple days before thanksgiving so I spent thanksgiving to 93. Um checked in but I wasn't couldn't do anything because it was the holiday weekend so I was just stuck in the barracks but yeah and I was at my first duty station they didn't send me to school right away because the school house was.

Firman Sakir: [21:32] So they sent me to my first duty station which just happens to be where the school house is so I was at newland hall worked in the computer mainframe department you know the section at the g6 you know like in United States Air Force they called the a6 Marine Corps g6 I worked on the job training in my career field uh schoolhouse was on the second floor same building yeah so I didn't I didn't go to school right away and then when I eventually did go to computer.

Firman Sakir: [21:58] Science school I didn't have to live in the computer science school barracks because I was permanent personnel so I got to go to the I got to drive to school because I owned a car at that time plus it wasn't the same bill I worked at but yeah quantico met some of the best friends of my life um to this day I would give my life to a lot of them like scott gallagher bill hessler jimmy burkholder all these guys you know I would just give my chris torino.

Firman Sakir: [22:30] I would like I'd give my life up for them um we did a lot of stuff we were all young privates pfcs lance corporals together we all lived in barracks we did everything together some of them were married we did you know this is what we did I mean we were day in day out each other's lives we go fishing now together you know we go do things together if we're in some town like jimmy lives out in kansas city but there's a couple other marines like.

Firman Sakir: [22:56] Travis marlow and those and womack they all live near each other and they'll hang out they'll meet up once a month you know or something like that every so often they'll meet up with you um those were those were the best times of my life preparing for this I started thinking things in my career I made a it's a silly mistake but I was a lance e3 sitting in the chow hall getting ready to go on leave and I wanted to eat to use my meal card.

[23:28] Almuerzo con el Comandante: '¿Cuándo estás listo para ser cabo?'

Firman Sakir: [23:28] Before I went on leave so I ran to the chow hall got lunch before I go to the battalion headquarters to turn to my meal card for and I sold a Sergeant major in the Marine Corps walking out like holy cow I didn't see the Commandant walking before him you know yeah I'm not just an e3 but I was like wow this hard major's on deck and I'm looking out for him because I'm I'm scared he's you know three up four you open acre in the middle you know he's our major.

Firman Sakir: [23:57] And then some marine goes hey there devil dog can I sit with you and eat and I look up and I see four stars it's commandant general Monday and I'm trying to swallow my food because you talk to an officer with food in your mouth you don't talk to an officer sitting on your ass I'm trying to stand up I'm in civilian attire he doesn't know that I'm just some landscape I just thought I'm a he says whoa calm down don't choke and I'm just shaking my head yes and he's um.

Firman Sakir: [24:27] Um he sits down and I had nowhere to be there at that point it didn't matter where I was supposed to be right I'm sitting with the commandant on the Marine Corps got a little nervous a little scared we're shooting [ __ ] talking about stuff and he had asked me this is professionally in the Marine Corps probably my biggest mistake I was honest with him because you just you just you just don't lie you have integrity but it was probably my biggest career mistake he says hey there lance corporal.

Firman Sakir: [24:54] When are you ready to be a corporal when are you ready to be a leader of marines and I told him I said well sir I'm in a shop of 22 other lands corporals I don't get a lot of opportunities to um show any leadership because there's so many of us and the corporals just take charge and they do their thing he's oh so you're call me or send me an email when you're ready to be a corporal I said well sir not exactly but I'm today I'm not ready to be a corporal.

Firman Sakir: [25:23] I was honest with him right biggest mistake in my life because I found out he probably would have promoted me right there if I was showed leadership and effort and everything got so excited went back to my shop after I went got my leave papers then went back to work hey I met the comment on the Marine Corps first thing Sergeant chadwick says you didn't say anything stupid did you know the battalion commander and the company commander ain't gonna come down here looking for us because you told the commandant.

Firman Sakir: [25:50] Something stupid are you no I told him what happened well he thrashed me for an hour because I was so stupid telling the commandant I wasn't ready to be promoted it was another 14 months before I got if I would have got promoted that day I would have been I would have outranked my roommate hustler I would outrank everybody because I'd only been a corporal I mean at last corporal for only a couple months I would have outranked them all and it fast forward my career.

Firman Sakir: [26:19] I probably would have made Sergeant much quicker Staff Sergeant much quicker I would have made I was never stasher but I got we'll talk about later but I would have got promoted and I probably would have had a different career path completely if I would have just told the comment on that day General Mundy hey I'm ready to remember a corporal today because later in my career I saw marines do that talk to the com general crew like a Sergeant was like hey you know.

Firman Sakir: [26:46] Um I'm never gonna get promoted because my career field's closed and I'm going to be forced out of the Marine Corps because I'm coming up on higher tenure you know I've got great remarks everything I'm I'm ready to be promoted but the Marine Corps won't promote me because they've closed our field down uh commandant promoted him right there that day and then that would be that who made him and an east e6 a Staff Sergeant which then was allowing him to finish out his up to 20 years.

Firman Sakir: [27:10] Right before he could you know get past you know senior time and I was like oh that happened to me but I turned it down you know an honest mistake yeah and can't look back I can't regret it but that's the one professional career I was I screwed up I screwed up because and I didn't realize I screwed up until I was Sergeant chadwick had me pushing and I was sweating I was on leave I kept I'm starting to have I need to get on the road he goes I don't care.

Firman Sakir: [27:37] You're gonna you're gonna understand the mistake you made today and I was sweating and so I had to go back to my room take a shower before I got on the road to ohio for a leave you know and I never forgot I never um somewhere in that time period I developed some confidence yeah I was a but I was still shy still lacked confidence with people with women just anything somewhere while I was in quantico I developed this oh I'm the best looking thing in the room.

Firman Sakir: [28:07] Am I no but I had that attitude and ever since then I've had a very strong sense of confidence some people May say arrogance um maybe I've had some relationships where women are like a little too cocky a little too arrogant and I would tell them would you want me to be the other way oh no not really not really you know you're right but just dial it back a little bit um after the ears I decided to get out I was having some troubles in the marriage.

[28:40] Matrimonio y Cherry Point: tres semanas hasta el compromiso, dieciocho años de matrimonio

Firman Sakir: [28:40] Uh wife did not want to go to Japan she nervous she'd never been away from home and I did something crazy you know young marine I knew her three weeks after to marry me we were married three months later we were married for 18 years wow um yeah it didn't um we're best friends now even though we're divorced we're best friends now you know we're really good friends um friends with her husband you know we're good friends but yeah she meets submarine knows him three weeks.

Firman Sakir: [29:07] Three months later she gets married and then I move her out of Georgia to north carolina and she told me years later decades maybe even two decades later she was terrified for like six months in our marriage because she didn't know who I was I married her mm-hmm we had a baby and she's living in another state she didn't know anybody but me and that's that quantico no a weird Cherry Point that yeah I'm moving from quantico then my first second duty station was cherry point and that's.

Firman Sakir: [29:37] When I transitioned from one base to the other I got married and re-enlisted all in the same month okay and moved um but yeah so she was nervous and scared I wasn't the best husband um had regrets I made mistakes uh but I was 24 23 you know let's see we got married I was 22 when I got married so I'm in the mid-20s and I didn't know what I was doing so I decided to get out because I didn't want to lose her and lose my son.

[30:08] La decisión de salir: la familia primero, y un ascenso que llegó después

Firman Sakir: [30:08] Plus I had an opportunity growing up knowing my grew knowing my family my ex-wife knew her family I wanted my son to know his family so I got I chose to get out so that my son could grow up around his family um miss it every day I no lie I miss the Marine Corps every day um but I don't regret getting out because my son his best friend was his grandma and when his ground when he was 16 years old and his grandma passed he was it was.

Firman Sakir: [30:41] Pretty hard on him it was hard on him because he had a relationship with his girlfriend yeah um even so much now that with my grandchildren my son doesn't want to take his sons away from me and his mom wait we tell him take your family where you need to go you need to move take your family where you need to go well I don't want the boys to be away from their grandparents oh we'll come find them but he does it because he had that night it's.

Firman Sakir: [31:07] You know something like okay but yeah that's kind of I and I also knew at eight years if I re-enlisted it's gonna take me over 10 I'm over 10 I'm less than halfway right miles will stay in 20 at that point um I didn't put in a package for I was eligible for promotion to Staff Sergeant which is a big deal that's a staff non-commissioned office that's a big promotion and it was September August September I didn't put on my package because I knew I was.

Firman Sakir: [31:33] Getting I didn't want to steal a seat from somebody else well they looked at 86 of us in my career field promoted 79. I got selected for promotion and didn't put a package in and when I got out of our Marine Corps well actually while I was on terminal leave I saw the message and I was like oh I got and I didn't put a package in so I thought what about those other seven how bad of dirt bags were they didn't get promoted.

Firman Sakir: [32:08] I didn't put a package and got promoted um I almost thought about going back in when I was on terminal leave because that was a big promotion right um I couldn't find a job I was struggling find a job two and a half months of terminal leave it was struggling just the it industry was falling apart this was in the late 90s you know the bubble was starting to burst right I really thought about it then I got the job I got with network data services.

[32:32] 11 de septiembre de 2001: un año fuera, trabajando en Robins, y el impulso de volver

Firman Sakir: [32:32] And had a good time and then 2001 September 11th happened and at that point now my ex my wife she when she saw the happen the first thing in her mind was I'm going back in the Marine Corps she knew I was I was leaving I was going back into my car actually we were I think we were separated maybe divorced at that time yeah when September 11th happened because I knew I was unemployed and I just started um on September 10th 2001. September 10th and 11th.

Firman Sakir: [33:14] Was easy to get at rock get on base at Robin's September 12th took me four and a half and that was because of what happened the day before um she knew right away I was going back and I really thought about it I'd only been out for less than a year um I didn't because again was my son I didn't want him I didn't want to take I didn't want to be away from him I want to be a good father for him you know so.

Firman Sakir: [33:36] Um that's this you know I said never did anything real special other than just did my job did what I was supposed to do I always wondered why do they put me in charge why do they put me in charge I'm just some 22 year old guy you know what was that like when they first put you in charge as a 20 year old oh I was like oh someone's stupid I was like they don't know what they're doing I still think that some ways.

Firman Sakir: [34:04] I some days think who put me in charge don't they know um but there's a reason they put me in charge you know I was in charge of marine some of it was just because I was a senior rank maybe I didn't wasn't qualified to be a leader but I had the senior rank so they have to put me in by default and so you have to sometimes you have to leadership by fire because you're in when I got out of the Marine Corps active duty.

[34:25] Reservas en NAS Atlanta: el incidente del 'bird-bird' y la bendición de un Sargento Mayor

Firman Sakir: [34:25] I joined the reserves just because I wanted to stay somewhat in the in the Marine Corps I didn't sign a contract with him it was kind of a month-to-month thing I didn't need the points because I'd just come off active duty I had plenty of points and I joined the Marine Corps I May join the reserves a unit in Marietta and Naval Air Station Atlanta and these first serge no Sergeant major he has a Sergeant major no I mean first time I don't know let's just say first Sergeant.

Firman Sakir: [34:57] Calls me in his office nope I know he wasn't he was a Sergeant major he calls me in his office and he goes I see did you who spent some time in corpus course and sargent's course and you've coming off eight years of active duty and I see your boots are shined and your uniform is pressed he says you're gonna be soon Sergeant I'll say okay all right and the very next that was Friday night the very next morning was my first Saturday I don't know anyone my platoon.

Firman Sakir: [35:25] He just pointed them out that's your there's the compliton right there like 50 guys and he goes I expect you at some point this weekend have a uniform so I said why not do it first I walked out there called everyone to attention opened ranks did a uniform inspection then introduced myself they're like what the hell you could even people were like dude what the what are you doing what are you doing like some of the other stars dude what are you doing we're having a uniform inspection shut your mouth.

Firman Sakir: [35:53] And uh because our major just told me you better have uniform inspection reserves was good I enjoyed my time I had some bumps in the road because I didn't always agree with some of the leadership above me I had a Staff Sergeant who outrank of course outrank me never spent a day of active duty didn't know what the court was about he'd been a reservist for like eight years and um it was a drill weekend everyone was tired it was Sunday afternoon four or five o'clock.

Firman Sakir: [36:23] And we had a fire team who didn't clean up their hummer and the motor pool wouldn't clear their hummer until it was clean so those guys went back to clean it well the staff started was like hey everybody's staying until their hummer's clean I was like come on stop it's four o'clock five o'clock whatever time it was let everyone go home we got some of us got three four five hour drives to get let everyone go home you shut your mouth Sergeant you know what you're talking about I'm in charge here.

Firman Sakir: [36:51] One of those career bumps in the road maybe I call my damn [ __ ] bird in front of I says you are effing [ __ ] bird and do another one of the other staff songs like excuse me yeah he's a damn [ __ ] bird he should let everyone go home both those star staff sergeants jumped in my case took me into the room started yelling and screaming I mean I'm like maybe I got a little trouble here um the next month when my check in on Friday there's a note on the check-in.

Firman Sakir: [37:24] Sheet at the guy at the hotel he's like hey um Sergeant major wants to see you first thing in his office tomorrow morning zero seven hmm my [ __ ] had something to do with last month I did I walked in here at seven o'clock and he's like hey there shaker shut the door and so I shut the door and that Staff Sergeant who I called a [ __ ] bird was sitting in the corner and I was like oh dear and uh he says saka you know what you did I said yeah he goes.

Firman Sakir: [37:51] You yelled and disrespected the senior a staff NCO he goes I could easily write you up um blah he kind of gave me the riot act and I was like oh I'm gonna get in trouble and then he goes and he took a breath he goes but he is a [ __ ] bird he is the biggest piece of [ __ ] that I've ever seen in my life he goes if you want any of this stuff so he's just right there and I'm like oh dear.

Firman Sakir: [38:14] And he goes if you want to call him a [ __ ] bird you got a problem with anything he does you come see me I'll call him in my office we'll shut the door and you call him [ __ ] bird all day long you tell him he's a bag of crap because he is but don't do it in front of the marines don't do it in front of the troops because that's where you where you screwed up he goes you screwed up so I started getting bad tastes to my mouth about the unit.

Firman Sakir: [38:36] And um it's just like okay I want to get out because and then the career planner was like hey you know you're going to get promoted in July yeah I don't know if I can stomach the bad taste I'm starting to develop on my mouth about this reserve unit um before July he goes we'll find another unit because our unit was actually shutting down too so we had to go find other units and you just stick it out and I didn't I didn't um I don't regret it um.

Firman Sakir: [39:02] Yeah it would have been a promotion but I said no I was fine I was fine where I was at I was a Sergeant of eight years you know they don't regret any anything other than like I said other than the time that the comedone asked me that was probably the one time um I mean I had some special details things like I was in charge we had a hurricane coming and I had um I was in charge of an augmented security force and again I don't know who put me in george.

[39:30] El servicio durante el huracán: una rotación de seis horas y el costo de decir sí

Firman Sakir: [39:30] But there was a lieutenant in front of me above me who was prior enlisted thought he just everything because he was brightness so marines you know we call them mustangs if you're prior enlisted you become an officer well um some of them are the best officers you ever deal with and then the other half are the worst officers you ever deal with and he was one of the worst and we had to stay on duty for 24 hours a day during why the hurricane was coming so we had to leave our families.

Firman Sakir: [39:59] And now this was probably my fifth or sixth yeah my wife she was okay she understood but I was still concerned and uh I says you know hey sir won't you cause we had a hundred marines under us and I said won't you let half of us go for six hours and we'll do a six hour rotation unless something happens if something happens then we all immediately come back you know what you're talking about Sergeant I'm in charge I'm the tune this time I remember.

Firman Sakir: [40:28] You know I was like okay be careful be careful be careful you know don't don't do anything stupid and of course I didn't remember that years later in the reserves but I was like just don't say anything I went to the office talked to lieutenant in his office and I said hey come on let's let's go and he finally said all right it's on you it's completely on you if we get called in by security forces to augment security issues and they're not here within 15.

Firman Sakir: [40:56] Minutes it's all on you it's not it's on him he's looked in it but I understood where he was coming from someone out there and I says all right I told all the sergeants the corporals we're gonna break them up we had a formation and I did it simple how we pick people count off one two one two one two all right once you go home come back in six hours two as you stay and some sergeants are like boy that's a complicated way of figuring out who's going home.

Firman Sakir: [41:24] I'm not making this complicated but I got people home you know it was just it was stupid you know um to keep us all there because we're just sitting in a office you know conference room with our you know um like I said I didn't have any real special you know duties other than kind of stupid stuff like that I've enjoyed my time as a datacom guy started off mainframe stuff keyboards that clicked green screens orange screens dazdis tapes um just horrible old equipment then got.

[41:56] Primeros días de comunicación de datos: pantallas verdes, Banyan Vines, y 'send mail to people'

Firman Sakir: [41:56] Into Banyan VINES and moved us into small systems because the mainframes were going away and the only thing I knew about banyan vines was the Air Force had it and the Marine Corps had it that's it and then when internet mail what we would call SMTP you know what everybody now is just what people say email came and we're like wow we can email people outside of the Marine Corps and I was there's just a little crazy I.t story I couldn't remember what smtp stood for.

Firman Sakir: [42:26] Simple mail transfer protocol and some lady in the admin office I was trying to explain to her how to send to an internet address you know you know his email um I said you put it smtp and then you put it in the brackets and you put the address and then you close the bracket and then banyan vines would route it out internet connected routers she goes well what's that stand for I said um send mail to people smtp I didn't know what it really meant.

Firman Sakir: [42:54] I just said mail two people she's like oh that's an easy way to remember it and ever since then smtp is to me send mail to people um I've had some I had a I had a gunnery Sergeant I was just a private dreamy to no end because he was an e7 and I was a private maybe I was a pfc too something I had emailed he didn't and he's like well how do you rate to have it I said gunny everybody in the office has emailed.

Firman Sakir: [43:26] What I've been trying to get email for seven rawr that keeps getting turned down he's yelling and screaming I'm scared I'm a private uh this gunner starts yelling at me for no reason of mine I said well gunny um when I get back to the office I can make you an email account who gives you that authority I said well gunny every day at 1600 I have to make all the accounts that come in that's part of my job at the end of the day 1600.

Firman Sakir: [43:51] I have to be back to shop every day 1600 make all the accounts until 16 30. What damn private yeah gunny just write your name down on the paper and I'll make your account I'll be back tomorrow with your user id and your password also anytime I ever needed anything in the admin office I just walked in there I a couple months later I needed my record book and the corporal wouldn't give me my record book he's oh come back later I'm busy I said hey.

Firman Sakir: [44:14] Gunny gonzales in or whatever his name was I think it was gunny gonzales he said yeah what do you need well he had a problem with his computer I need to also work on his computer hey gunny um corporal out there won't give me my record book next you know my record books in my hand you know because I hooked him up you know so yeah just never burn bridges with people um help people out do bring people coffee bring people donuts you know remember the kids names.

Firman Sakir: [44:46] Remember some activities that they do here and there remember what kind of car they're those are all very important things I've learned over my military career that help me with my leadership stuff you know don't um don't just assume you can get something because you ask somebody don't just walk don't ask him for it walk in hey uh bob how's the boat start talking to them about the things that they're passionate about and then at the end of the conversation oh hey um can you I need this.

Firman Sakir: [45:14] Oh sure here go ahead take it you know it's not always about what you need or what you got build the relationships up with people you know that kind of stuff up like I said don't burn bridges I am a Staff Sergeant pavlick I hated that guy for years um he had transferred in from uh another career field into our field it's when I first got to cherry point I'd had lots of years of experience but I was a corporal he was a Staff Sergeant and.

Firman Sakir: [45:45] He didn't know what he was talking about now granted the man is way smarter than I am the man I don't know if he still works at cisco but he's he's a he was kind of a big shot caller at cisco because years later we ran the Marine Corps Marathon together but I hated him at the time and I told him when we were in Maryland his name john pavlick I said dude I hated you when I was a corporal I really hated you were.

Firman Sakir: [46:08] I couldn't stand working at all because I knew you were my boss are you I really want to get out of the Marine Corps because you because he was he had his way of doing things he didn't understand some things because he was new to the career field and I was just this arrogant cocky who's trying to tell him what to do instead of respecting his rank and um but I never burned any bridges with him and we're friends on facebook now we ran the Marine Corps marathon.

Firman Sakir: [46:36] Together we have also a mutual friend that he was stationed with when they were in the that guy transferred into a career field and then worked with me years so we marine course small so we kept and we all of us ran the Marine Corps marathon together um which if you've never ran a marathon before I highly recommend it that's an amazing marathon to run um it's 26 miles of just people supporting you I mean there's people cheering you on it's a great thing.

[47:04] El Maratón del Cuerpo de Marines y hacer las paces con viejos rivales

Firman Sakir: [47:04] Um I had to voluntold work it in 94 95 and 96 because I was a marine in northern Virginia and I always said I was going to run it before I was 40. I ran it two months before my 40th birthday so oh that eagle globe and anchor metal that I got as a finishes medal yeah was almost as hard as earning the real eagle global anchor because I got a I got a leg cramp um about mile marker 14. And my calf was cramped up I could I struggled.

Firman Sakir: [47:34] Walking let alone running that's a long way to go and I um I knew I wanted to get past mile marker 21 because once you get past my if you have you have six hours to get past mile marker 21 if you don't they cut you off and you can't finish the race because they have to open the 14th street bridge back up there in dc and I got past it I had several hours but I was getting past that bridge and at that point if you get past that bridge.

Firman Sakir: [47:55] Yeah you could take 10 hours to get to the but you got to get past that bridge and I was I don't know I was going to get past that bridge um it wasn't it oh and then just like the Marine Corps um they're not always gonna they're not gonna make it easy for you when I ran that marathon the final hundred yards was a sharp hard right turn up a hill you had to you had to run up a steep hill to the finish line.

Firman Sakir: [48:22] I was like you're gonna make your word earnest um but I did it I did it I um you know it's um a lot of it just looks at the confidence that I developed when I was in the military while I was in the Marine Corps has helped you know leadership since I've been out I've developed this mindset and attitude that I hope I've instilled on my son and I instilled other kids that are in my life when there's not official leadership I'm in charge and people like what if you're not in charge.

[49:00] Filosofía de liderazgo: 'Cuando no hay un líder presente, yo estoy al mando'

Firman Sakir: [49:00] I am in charge if there's a crowd of people I'm in charge until the actual person who's in charge shows up they May never show up but you'll have a group of 100 people out there some of them May be leaders of some particular but they're not they're not stepping up I'll step up there I don't use a megaphone don't use a pa speaker I just speak louder that was one of the things that the Marine Corps destroyed with me I can't whisper I just can't whisper.

Firman Sakir: [49:29] I can't whisper um I could speak loudly I mean I can get louder and louder and louder without I just can't whisper um but that's my mindset with a lot of things is um I'm if there's no official leadership present I'm in charge I take the responsibility if something goes wrong too I'm yeah okay I don't blame it on somebody for you like I said there's a thousand in the yard all right hey we need to move away from the yard or hey we need to go over here we need to do I'll.

Firman Sakir: [50:00] Figure out what needs done and then when the person shows up whoever and it could be a corporate conference room it could be um a crowd of people cubs kids you know Cub Scouts kids just um anybody and that's I've learned that my time in the Marine Corps my time my that I have developed over the years and some people you know like dude why do you always have to do that why do you always have to be in someone has to be um some marine.

Firman Sakir: [50:30] Don't know who told me probably a Sergeant or corporal I worked for when you're walking in the park and somebody's behind you're the leader when you're walking through the park and nobody's behind you're just walking through the park so if there's someone behind you're always the leader um in the Marine Corps from the day you walk in the recruiter's office they put you in a rank structure if someone joined the day before me they outrank me yeah we're both police but they outrank.

Firman Sakir: [51:03] Me you never when you're with your buddies all your buddies are all drinking someone's in charge you know if there's you know one of the things we used to waste to work um part-time job in northern Virginia to call office movers guy chris trevino he was a little he outranked me by a couple months but there were guys that outranked us two three four ranks well trevino at the office movers job on the weekends he was the senior guy he'd been there the longest and we all would go work with him.

Firman Sakir: [51:39] He had a team he was a lance corporal he was a corporal but he had sergeants Staff Sergeant gunnery sergeants who he worked for Monday through Friday on Saturday and Sunday they worked for him they respected him because in that position he was in charge um and now he'd always call them by their rank and sir and whatever but they're like trevino what do we do what do you what do you need me to do they respected his rank at that job because he was the.

Firman Sakir: [52:07] Leader there they didn't try to pull that rank even when now a bunch of us maybe go you know we haven't met up in decades we all know who that ranks who we all know who we all it's all based on the rank that we were in the Marine Corps you know uh we all know who we all know who we don't ask we don't hey I'm in charge here we just naturally gravitate to we know who's in because someone's always in charge someone at all times so you got your.

Firman Sakir: [52:37] Time and rank time and service time on that's how you break up who's in charge you know and now if someone's putting on an event a fishing trip yeah they're in charge they're the ones who organized it you know but it's that mindset I had a guy you know in brett wilson brett wilson came to me and a guy named derrell we were both marines we worked in uh worked for the Air Force reserve command um as contractors and he come in and says hey florent.

Firman Sakir: [53:10] Say here come here he goes hey this Air Force we can't figure this you got to do your marine thing go figure it out we didn't give a lot of details from him but the problem was fixed by lunchtime and he goes that's why I came up to you guys you guys did your marine thing I guess not always can the Air Force figure it out that's why we have the other services and we did exactly he knew he knew in his and he was very.

Firman Sakir: [53:39] Good at that he always knew who had what skill um he May not have the skill which I don't think was really an accurate portrayal I think he knew everything about everything the man was sharp but he knew who was the expert and he would go to that person say hey do your magic you know that was a good leadership he was yeah he wasn't the marines but he was a good leader that I you know looked up on um I've enjoyed my time working for the Air Force it's um.

Firman Sakir: [54:09] It's like so I lost the camaraderie with my buddies at quantico my buddies at cherry point you know I had some of the closest friends where I was my second duty station was cherry point some great marines that worked there great times of course as a veteran you lose that when you leave right but you don't lose it if you're working on a military base yeah I work for the Air Force um it's not the marines but it's not civilian world I am I work for the civ in the civilian.

Firman Sakir: [54:37] World for seven months now when I when that was my first job out of the Marine Corps um now my boss he was the hr director and the I.t director at this company called network data services he was marine he hired me and my buddy robert aldridge skinny um aldridge robert aldridge uh he was United States Navy we were both at cherry point and we became friends because he was he was transitioning off his supply career field into I.t and so he got to know the I.t guys.

Firman Sakir: [55:06] On purpose because he wanted to learn this stuff um now he's some big security I.t director at a company in atlanta we got out of them I got the Marine Corps a month later he got in Navy and network data services hired us on condition that we come on as a team because we were friends and they wanted us together so there was some little bit of military um but it definitely was not the military environment that was the only job I've ever had that wasn't.

Firman Sakir: [55:37] Attached to the department of defense where it was the Marine Corps I worked as a contractor in the Air Force contractor in the Army and I just always I like that environment I would take less pay to work that in that environment because there's some camaraderie you know at the reserve command where I'm at you know there's there's a bond there we always joke around hey once you leave the reserve command you'll be back you'll be back and a lot of people do they come back it's it's a great.

Firman Sakir: [56:04] Magic com to work for um I enjoy my working in that environment I think it's because of the brotherhood that I had with the marines where they say uh all the services we make fun of each until you cross one of us and then we're all right it's like you beat up on your cousins but let the kid down the street jump your cousins right you don't care yeah you were just punching your cousin 10 minutes earlier but now someone's punching your cousin you're going to punch that person.

Firman Sakir: [56:32] And that's kind of how it is you know we see it as veterans you know yeah we give each other crap but let one let some nasty civilian cross any of us and we're best you know we're right there with each other you know some of the things you know preparing for this who um who are my mentors was there any particular leader that stood out no um I had Sergeant bartlett I had Tim chadwick or Sergeant chadwick I had even a guy just all.

Firman Sakir: [57:05] The marines I worked with burke what actually berkeley trevino just those guys um they oh I learned something from all of them all along my way there was um ed rohn like I said this guy I'm friends with gunnyron learned some things from him and now you know um we're still friends send him some messages today about some woodworking projects he was working on um everybody I learned something from everybody along the way and I tried to use either the good things I learned from.

Firman Sakir: [57:35] The bad things I learned from them to try to improve because I'm I have to improve every day the day you stop improving is the day you die um and I don't know just it's this I wouldn't change it for the world I wouldn't change what I do maybe change how I did things a little bit but what I do no I'm not gonna change it um it goes like that listen a little while ago that there's no official leadership present I'm in somebody needs to be in charge someone.

Firman Sakir: [58:08] Needs to be responsible someone needs to take look at the situation and take care of it I don't know if I could ever be a follower but a good leader does follow um I'm just always going to walk into the boss's office hey um maybe we should um do it this way um some current position I had I was like yeah I'm gonna I wonder how long I'm gonna be in this position before I get in trouble someone told me well don't get in trouble no.

Firman Sakir: [58:46] They put me in this position because I'm gonna do things to get the job done might not do it always the right way initiative and um when I hire people that's actually when you said initiative that's one thing when I hire people I ask them about their initiative and tell me a time when you saw something that needed done and you took the initiative but you got in trouble for doing it because your leadership said ah great initiative bad judgment I hear that my entire life.

Firman Sakir: [59:20] Great initiative bad judgment because I always don't make the greatest judgment um and if they usually can come up with a good answer you know sometime that they took some initiative I like that twist on the question yeah and make um tell me about the time that you got in trouble for it and then when someone comes well I did this but I never got in trouble before I well maybe you didn't in my mind maybe you didn't do a good enough job.

Firman Sakir: [59:47] Because you didn't push the boundaries far enough right that was kind of an easy move yeah it was like yeah so I always question that ability now not everyone I don't look I don't want a whole team of misfits because god I make my job harder but I want some under me that work for me and people that work above me to understand we've got to get the job and do what you need to do um some of the mindset in the Marine Corps that's different from the other services.

[1:00:18] Asume la culpa públicamente, da el crédito públicamente — corrige en privado

Firman Sakir: [1:00:18] Mission accomplishment is the single most important thing in the Marine Corps then troop welfare is way down below and that's what they say if the Marine Corps wanted you to have a family that issued to you at supply you know because troop welfare is not the most important thing mission accomplishment but now as my leadership skills have changed over the um just go back and take care of the go back and take care of some people um for me I try not to take credit for what our team has done.

Firman Sakir: [1:00:54] If it's something good you guys did it you guys did a great job great job you guys did it you guys did all the hard now there's been times I've given the credit to the people on the team no one they screwed it up and I had to fix it I still don't take the credit for it and they know that I did it um but I'm like hey great job guys the customer was pleased with what you guys did good job and on the back end.

Firman Sakir: [1:01:21] They'll send me a private message you know I didn't do it I screwed it up you're the one that fixed it no we as a team fixed it but as soon as something goes wrong I screwed it up I don't blame any of my guys privately I will pull them aside privately hey dude don't don't don't screw that up again publicly I take the blame privately I'll talk to them publicly I give them the credit I don't ever take the credit because then these guys will go.

Firman Sakir: [1:01:54] To our military Marine Corps term these guys will go to war with you if you if you give them the praise or they need you counsel them on their mistakes when it's time to head to the front line whatever that front line is okay let's go to war let's let's let's let's go to war I don't know what the hell your tate where are you taking us but I'm going with you and I had marines that I did that they would have just said.

Firman Sakir: [1:02:27] Hey let's jump off the ship okay let's go I'm going to jump off the ship because I trust their leadership that's what to do so I kind of still my thought process around that is give the credit where credits do take the blame for your team you know and then they'll know the guys who screwed up they know they're like oh hey thanks dude thanks for not backing me under the bus you know now you burned me too many times I'm not gonna scold you publicly.

Firman Sakir: [1:02:58] But I ain't gonna give you no more you know you know don't don't burn me too many times because then I'll move on to somebody else that is the one thing that I remember from the marines for me it was so different in the air as an e4 and e5 um I started interacting with the marines and to see that at e4 level they are leading marines yes we are big because e4s are the first they're ncos the other services or ncos are not you voice because like in the Army.

[1:03:31] No es tu trabajo, es tu responsabilidad — la distinción del Gunny

Firman Sakir: [1:03:31] You're gonna have a corporate and you can have a specialist specialists are in the nc the corporals are all marine e4 are our leaders so when you have uh five six buddies or all lance corporals and that one guy goes and gets promoted dude you can't hang around us anymore why dude you're corporal now you know or in the same way um you know or even like for me for me this was a silly story on this I was in an advanced course I was the junior person.

Firman Sakir: [1:04:04] In the we had a captain a gun a couple staff starring sergeants um no other corporals but so it was a lance corporal some Sergeant Staff Sergeant and gunning a captain I got promoted while I was there to corporal oh I'm still the junior guy but my job as the last corporate was to take the trash out every day and turn the lights off in the classroom every day in the morning turn the lights so I had to be first one there turn lights on last.

Firman Sakir: [1:04:31] One there to turn the lights off and take the trash out at the end of the day that was my job I understood I was the last score poster junior guy got promoted the gunny goes hey congratulations our corporal sacre um I understand your responsibilities are going to slightly change you no longer have to take the trash out and turn the lights off but you're responsible to make sure it gets done connie I'm still the junior person I'm still taking the trash out and turning the lights off.

Firman Sakir: [1:05:00] Right correct but it's not your job it's your responsibility hey but I got nobody under me to go and do he goes well then I guess you're still doing it you're just responsible for it now I like that distinction it's not your job and yeah I was like oh yeah that's that was a and that because that was the difference between a lance corporal the corporal is responsible for it now if there would have been a bunch of lance corporals in the in the in the.

Firman Sakir: [1:05:28] And we were all rotating through um taking the trash out every day and I became a corporal I'm probably not going to take the trash but I better make sure all the other guys do you know now as a kind of a halfway new I probably would have said okay I'm going to take it out once every two I'll take the trash out and I'll let you guys go break uh some of the things they always say in the Marine Corps if you're a corporal you want to get our Sergeant.

Firman Sakir: [1:05:57] And you want to get something done ask a bunch of lance corporals tell them I used to do this go find a couple lanes corporals you got a four hour job but you only got three hours to the end of the day to get it done you go up to the lance corpus hey this and this needs done you guys can go home early if you get it done they could have done an hour and a because I just told them you're good to go home.

Firman Sakir: [1:06:23] You go home and they would get it done they would just they would get the job done um yeah corporals are the first line of leadership in the Marine Corps they are non-commissioned officers or sometimes we call them insta-pricks because you dude you're a dick well I have to be I'm in charge because you know you and your buddies are all living in the barracks you're all lance corporals you all go out drinking on Friday nights but now you get promoted corporate you're still gonna go drink with your.

Firman Sakir: [1:06:51] Let something go wrong while you're out drinking with your buddies you're in you're in trouble now if you all were out there you're all in scorpios you're all kind of fairly in trouble right but when you're that corporal oh you're in trouble now you're in trouble and then the guy who did whatever stupid thing he's in yeah so sometimes you're like ah I can't hang around with you guys anymore love you all we'll drink a little bit and as you May move your way up the food chain you.

Firman Sakir: [1:07:21] Have more and more like that but yeah corporals like you notice corporals are they're they're the backbone of the Marine Corps sergeants are backed by the Marine Corps those first those entry level first lines e4's and e5's they run the Marine Corps you know that's just this just was how it is I mean it's you know officers would come hey there corporal tell me what I need to do yeah I know I'm a lieutenant colonel I know I'm a major tell me what I'm supposed to do.

Firman Sakir: [1:07:51] It was a t-shirt I saw once it was at a Sergeant's course leadership course I think was in quantico it had um had uh the road went in off into the and there was a bunch of bones along the road and it said around the picture it said these roads are bleached by the bones of the dead who didn't listen to their sergeants you know those that corporal those sergeants those staff sergeants they've been in the Marine Corps eight ten years something like that.

Firman Sakir: [1:08:26] Lieutenant two years maybe he needs to make sure he understands his yeah they're junior to him but they're more experienced so as a leader know your know your know who on your team has certain um use them for their strengths use those strengths um I have guys on my team they have some better strengths than me I don't hold them back let them go let them go do their thing hey you go you do you do your magic and people like the folks that have um.

[1:09:03] Mentores y los marines de los que aprendes algo

Firman Sakir: [1:09:03] Wanted me in charge that are a senior to me hey you go do your furman thing your marine thing you know sometimes hey give me a call give me a call hey we need to talk about what happened to this day I don't care how good I've been or professional I am doesn't matter where I'm at a part-time job somewhere or anywhere when the boss hey can you stop by my sometime today I start thinking okay what did I do what did I do.

Firman Sakir: [1:09:37] All right did I not do something did I mess something up and it's been a long time since I've been called into the office for something backed but I still like oh what do they do you know even my hey um we gotta talk when you get home oh crap I don't want to do it'll be nothing bad it'd be like maybe something our son did like don't start the conversation off or like uh you know I get text messages from a girlfriend hey um.

Firman Sakir: [1:10:05] Can we talk no this is probably bad sometimes it's not but it's just it's my mindset of take that initiative do what it needs to get it done and sometimes it might not the right way another kind of another thing that I've learned with some people maybe junior to me or maybe not my position of leadership there's more than one way to skin the and I used to butt heads with a scout leader um we're great friends now she's very type a personality.

Firman Sakir: [1:10:46] So am I and we butted heads and butted heads and butted heads and then I sat back and I'm gonna continue to fight with her or just let her do her thing and I always said look I need the cat skinned she's gonna skin it her way I'm gonna skin it my way it doesn't matter how it gets done the cat the cat got skinned so I take that into consideration when I'm leading people they're gonna what's the end goal what's did they get the mission.

Firman Sakir: [1:11:24] Accomplished no it's not the way you did it but it got done and then everybody's happy so I try to always take the evaluations with my subordinates you know again that's years I've been in the Marine Corps years of being in department of defense um just leadership scouts you know that kind of stuff you know so um also maybe some of it is because I was doing a child you know I said um I joke around I don't know how true this is my aunt.

Firman Sakir: [1:11:54] My mom's older sister is in charge of that generation and I'm the first grandchild and I always say well I'm in charge of this generation I don't know if I am or not but I think I am you know like yeah this I'm the oldest one there's something like 30 years between me and the cousin you know I'm the oldest one and she's the youngest one and I my brothers they don't get a choice hey come here come here you go do this you go do this.

Firman Sakir: [1:12:26] Um it gives that hey when there's no official leadership present I'm in charge um it's just you gotta know your place know people's don't be afraid to do things to get the mission and I can't turn it off I can't turn it off it's not there's not like um walk into a room and I think a lot of veterans are this way I really do I think a lot of veterans are this way regardless of your service you can't turn that leadership off.

Firman Sakir: [1:13:02] You look at it and you get things done all the services get to accomplish differently like the Air Force maybe do things a little smarter marines there's two types of marines smart marines and strong marines because there's no dumb marines even though they think we're all dumb uh I was the before the crayon generation I was never the crayon so but I understand where it's coming from um I tried to be a smart marine but sometimes I was the strong marine which is a.

Firman Sakir: [1:13:34] Code word for dumb you know try to get through the wall some submarines will climb over the wall some marines will go around the wall strong marines will bang their head off the wall until there's a hole in it either way you got through the wall just you know and they're all smart they're just some are smarter than the others the Air Force and the Navy and the Army we all had those type of people I think just the marines have a little we have a lot more strong marines.

Firman Sakir: [1:14:04] Um but we have a mission you know um it was a challenge it was a little getting out because I used to think it's my way or the highway it's not always that way and that's why I said my leadership things have changed over time over years I still question my leadership ability every day but I think a good leader does that stands out in front of the crowd does everything right in the back of their mind they're scared out their mind oh I don't know what I'm doing.

Firman Sakir: [1:14:40] Um lead them leave them I mean um sheep need shepherd you know shepherd might not know any land navigation skills but he's gonna he needs to lead the sheep so do you have any kind of awards or decorations some that meant anything to me um I had a few letters of appreciation that were a big to be a big deal to me it's it's not a big Marine Corps award Navy achievement medal um it's decent I mean it's a it's a metal I was awarded it because.

[1:15:14] El portal de Cherry Point: una Medalla de Logro Naval por una idea web de principios de los 2000

Firman Sakir: [1:15:14] I changed how the Marine Corps did business with the web introducing to the web um to now to this day everybody's got a everybody you got the Air Force board you click on a website you it's your portal to the world I went to the um g6 commander lieutenant colonel brady we talking about this you know and I threw the idea why don't we have a portal I didn't use portal I think I just had a website where everybody can go there instead of trying to remember a million.

Firman Sakir: [1:15:49] Different and uh come up the stupidest name and that's I think it's the I really think it's still active to this day 20 years later cherry points kind of ford ledger designation was chpt cherry point the website was chpt online dot mil and I think it's still a working portal at cherry um it May maybe slightly change but it was a portal a kind of one-stop shop and I am I was the first person like he designated me now the web guy that's what.

Firman Sakir: [1:16:27] I was the web guy I got pulled out of my uh I got my own office I have no graphics artistic ability none um there's another story for another time on why I don't but I appreciate art I appreciate good I can't design and develop it I could write the code on the back end but I knew I was in trouble when I was yellow letters on a black background for a professional website um so the colonel got some lady I think her name was diane.

Firman Sakir: [1:17:09] Diane hastings I think that's what her name she definitely an artistic type person not um definitely you know the other side of the brain little spacey kind of person great woman enjoyed working brother she could look at my webpages no that font's wrong that color's wrong she would she would tell me where to put stuff and then I would design it um but we made a portal it was a one-stop shopping place you could check your email you could put in a go to the help desk and it's like.

Firman Sakir: [1:17:43] It's normal for us to think of these portals today because it's everyone's lives 20 some years ago over yeah over 20 years ago it wasn't really a big thing I'm not saying I invented the wheel or anything but I kind of had that idea and I started the idea and I got a Navy accommodation metal out of it yeah some people say oh anyone can get a name blah blah um but I did I got it I mean I got it.

Firman Sakir: [1:18:10] It was it was a pretty good to me it was a big deal because I started something some leadership that was a great idea the execution wasn't great like I said I was putting wrong colors and I'd have lightning backgrounds and flashy stuff and um I don't do that kind of stuff anymore but um yeah that was the kind of the one I didn't get a whole lot I mean like I wasn't combat marine I didn't deploy overseas I didn't do anything flash he only got a couple medals and ribbons.

[1:18:39] Los 22 al día: revisa a tus compañeros

Firman Sakir: [1:18:39] But that's the one that was kind of means the most to me because I did something I think I impacted the marine or at least my base in a position absolutely something I do want to talk about that's this kind of personal me I haven't been directly impacted by it as a veteran but I have friends that have I have some real close people in my life that have been impacted by suicide um my heart every day worries about the Veteran suicide in the United States that died today.

Firman Sakir: [1:19:16] The 22 that are gonna die tomorrow every day 22 every stinking day from suicide go check your buddies you know I have some friends that certain times of the year I know are troublesome for them send them a text hey dude you don't I know they're fine I just I still buddy check them I have one friend who's um I know he suffers from some PTSD um he was in Fallujah um he um he's seen him he's seen some tough um fourth of July is not good for him.

Firman Sakir: [1:19:59] He struggles with it he struggles with the now he's the biggest gun fanatic there is he's got some nice guns and he but those are those are controlled environments when he takes when he goes to range he's controlling it when he's at his house and there's people in the neighborhood lighting off fireworks he's not controlling that and it bothers it bothers him so usually around July 4th I'll send him a text hey dude if you want to come over or just hey you doing all right or.

Firman Sakir: [1:20:26] Just look I'm checking on you and a lot of times um he leaves town him and his wife will leave town they'll go somewhere where there's not as much fireworks but you gotta check on your buddies but one of the things with suicide you walk up to some person hey I walk up to you we met we talked earlier today I don't know what the battles are going on in your head you might look nice on the outside got your crap figured out but what demons.

Firman Sakir: [1:20:59] Are building up inside is it finances is your family is it your job is it is it um memories from war is it memories from your childhood you don't know what battles people are battling on the inside suicide is a serious scary thing as veterans we're losing too many of them every day too many of them every day that's the kind of you know the thing that I would say to any fellow veteran check on your buddies um send them a text it's too easy.

Firman Sakir: [1:21:35] To not get a hold of them call them up you know even if you're sending them a text message at two o'clock in the morning because you just want to be funny hey dude I thought about you all and then they'll send you a text message dude you woke me up when they send it back okay he's good he's good or hey man or they'll just hey thinking about you know I've been through some rough times and I've had some buddies reach out to me.

Firman Sakir: [1:22:00] You know um was I suicidal no maybe a little depression yeah a little bit and this people check on me you know they're like hey you all right yeah I'm good won't you come over sure because I knew I didn't want to say just no because I was fine sure I might need this some things you for kids today go join you don't have to be in the infantry you don't have to be a pilot you don't have to look I fixed people's email I was a computer.

[1:22:34] Bill Hessler y Scott Gallagher: las amistades que perduran

Firman Sakir: [1:22:34] I don't regret it I knew I didn't want to be infantry and but I wanted to serve and plus I wanted to be marine that's it I mean that's when people ask me why I just wanted to be a marine I think every kid should go and it doesn't matter how old you are you could be a 29 year old kid I've had friends after September 11th hey I'm 29 years old I didn't do nothing with my life they went off join the Marine Corps.

Firman Sakir: [1:23:02] 29 they're proud of it you know um go do some go spend some time in um my son at one time wanted to be a Coast Guard rescue swimmer and his mom was freaking out over that and I looked at her and I says don't be she goes but they so many of them die they have a high rate high more high mortality rate I says would you rather your son die because he was rescuing somebody or died because he was not doing something.

Firman Sakir: [1:23:39] For his country or his for or saving someone else's life and she thought about it she goes oh okay yeah I said oh we would be both be devastated but he did something meaningful nancy reagan no I don't no Ronald Reagan sorry not nancy reagan ronald reagan said um people go paraphrasing this I don't have exactly words people go their entire life not knowing if they've impacted the world uh marines don't have that problem there's a lot of people I like to reconnect with um some.

Firman Sakir: [1:24:16] Of them May not even be alive I don't know now my closest to that I'd always want to stay in contact with bill hessler and scott gallagher they're my first two roommates bill has recently moved back to indiana he lived in washington state and he moved back to indiana where he was from and scott actually had to talk to scott a week and a half ago scott um after he left moved out of our he went to Marine Security Guard duty embassy duty and then from there he went off.

Firman Sakir: [1:24:46] Got a commissioning acceptance and became a navigator in a Prowler and his career went through as our navigator went through the clouds um he is now he's a financial advisor I think he's in Arizona yeah he's Arizona I'm just talking to him the other day you know we still stay in contact those I'm always gonna stay in contact with those two guys they're um when scott retired a few years ago he was a major and he worked at The Citadel, The Military College of South Carolina he was an officer out there at the citadel.

Firman Sakir: [1:25:18] And um I was the only person in the room that knew him before he was an officer and he was yeah he's got some stories that I hope he doesn't share you know um yeah those scott and bill probably my because they're my first roommates there we did a lot of stuff um I could go on days with stories with those guys so those I'd always want to stay connected to them so is there anyone you'd like to dedicate the podcast to I want to dedicate.

[1:25:44] Dedicatoria: a la próxima generación, los seis niños en su vida

Firman Sakir: [1:25:44] The next generation of anything that I constantly think about every day or these kids that are in my life there's tyler noah Phoenix james madison and nicholas these are all six kids that are in my life every day I think about those kids every day everything I do and my good father to these kids um yes tyler is my biological child um he is he looks and acts like his father um but um god has put me in a position for these other five children's.

Firman Sakir: [1:26:22] Lives to impactful so I dedicate everything to those six kids they're they're my guiding force you there are reasons I get up in the morning thank you I always like to end with from one vet to another thanks for serving and thanks for coming on the podcast well I enjoyed it Brian and thank you as well for your time in the Air Force you know it's I know we both believe and support veterans and everything out there and if there's anything I could do for you or for anybody else out there.

[1:26:57] Cierre: el Juramento de los Veteranos de Behind the Rack

Brian Lathrop: [1:26:57] You know reach out hey everyone thank you so much for listening I want to leave you with the behind the rack veterans pledge if you know someone in your life that needs to hear it please pass it on I believe as a veteran I am part of an exclusive community and the best exclusive communities are the ones you had to do something to be a part of not pay to get in I believe as a veteran my military experience brings value to the civilian I realize.

Brian Lathrop: [1:27:30] The parts of my service that May seem ordinary to me seem extraordinary to others and I believe as a veteran I am on a hero's journey and the things I've learned during service can bring value purpose and meaning to my life after service.