 I started out being stationed with the 3rd Battalion and 3rd Marines on Okinawa back in 1958 and served there for at the time which was 13 months and then I also served with the 3rd Battalion 4th Marines in Vietnam during the war two of my platoon commanders were 2nd lieutenants and 2 of them were Staff Sergeant platoon commanders but I have to tell you I wouldn't trade those 4 platoon commanders for anybody that I served with throughout my entire career. They were so well trained not from the private all the way up to the lieutenants that I had and so they were they were an excellent company the previous commander did a good job in training that company and then of course the other thing is, the Marines are adaptable so they have to be smarter. The thing that's changed obviously is the technology the weapons are more sophisticated it looks like they're going to be changing here in the future sometime. As far as ability, I think I can't tell the difference. The fighting spirit of the Marines and sailors that came before us still exists among the formation today. Ten years from now I see 3rd Marine Division in the same relative position that it is today on the leading edge of our nation's national security the existence of combat-ready forces for deployed in the 1st Island chain sends a clear message first to our allies and partners that we stand shoulder to shoulder with them and additionally it sends a message to our nation's adversaries that we are ready to fight now if required and we'll do so as we build upon the legacy of this division the foundation laid by the men and women who came before us it's important for us as members of the 3rd Marine Division to understand its history understanding the things that the Marines and sailors of the division have done before us serves as a motivation and inspiration for us to uphold that legacy. The Marines are ready to fight and they're never gonna back down. This is what we need to be prepared for. This is what we're gonna do to complete the mission. You're a Marine and everybody that came before you what they did to pave the way for you. That you have honor in the fact that you're upholding their standard. All generations of Marines are very similar in the fact that we have a brotherhood and sisterhood together. Whoever's to my left and right I have their back and it doesn't matter who they are because you know they're thinking the same specifically within 3rd Marine Division I found a brotherhood and sisterhood like I've never seen before. There's a common thread through every Marine. Everybody is working towards that common goal. We all want to be better than the rest. We always say hey Marines are the first to fight. That mindset across the division is something that ties us all together. We're all cut from the same cloth because you can ask anybody and you say hey are you proud to be a Marine because I'm sure every Marines going before is and so are the ones that are gonna be coming into the future. There's always things that thicken our memory that we're never gonna forget. For example we always snap to attention at the opening notes of the Star Spangled Banner. We always stand when we play the Marine Corps Hymn. We know that a Marine's word is gone regardless of how long you spend in the Marine Corps. The Marine Corps as to what it is what it was and what it is and what it's going to be in the future is always going to be based on those who have served before those of you that are currently serving and those that are going to serve in the future.