Garry Bleeker:  

Life Hi All, after graduating I joined the U.S. Army. I had a small break in the service to come back to Florida and get married. I retired from the Army as a Sergeant First Class. I came in initially as a Helicopter Crew Chief but quickly decided I liked mud better than air and reenlisted as a Reconnaissance Scout. I qualified expert on the M16A2, had additional training as a TOW Gunner, Nuclear Biological and Chemical Warfare Specialist, Combat Lifesaver, a Master Gunner, a Recruiter (I hated that job), a Air and Ground Deployment Specialist, A Scout Reconnaissance Platoon Sergeant, and finally as a Assistant Inspector General to a 3-Star General. During my service I was all over the southern U.S., went to Germany twice (yes I'm a beer snob now), Korea twice and had one Combat tour in Kosovo (my amateur combat photography was published in Armor magazine, an Army publication). I liked Texas the best but ended up in North Carolina. After I retired I went back to Florida and briefly worked as a post man. However my wife's father developed lung cancer so we moved to NC to help him. I quickly got a job as a manager of Paramedics and became an Emergency Medical Technician. I did this job for about three years before I realized the company was slowly sliding into the red. I started looking for another job and got hired as a Correctional Officer in the North Carolina Department of Corrections. Two weeks after I left the Ambulance Company declared bankruptcy. I've been working as a Correctional Officer for about four years now. As a Correctional Officer I have qualified expert in pistol competition (both revolver and semiautomatic), passed the Sergeant's Exam, work as a Mentor to new Officers and I'm lucky to be one of the few officers...Expand for more