James Koogler:  

Let me start by saying that... if you happen to leave me a message on Classmates, I won't be able to read it or to respond. Classmates wants MONEY for me to read or respond to your comments. Sorry, Classmates... it's just not worth paying for. However, anyone interested can also find me on Facebook... where it costs NOTHING to communicate. So visit me on Facebook and we can go from there Life I couldn't afford to go to college after high school graduation. I knew I'd be "1A" in the draft, so I joined the Navy. I thought "if the government is going to send me to Viet Nam, I'd rather go on MY terms". Plus... for some strange reason, the idea of traveling underwater in a glorified sewer pipe fascinated me. I guess it came from all of the WWII submarine movies I watched on TV. I spent 6 years in the Navy... the first year and a half in "schools", then 2 1/2 years (01/68-06/70) on the USS Alexander Hamilton SSBN-617... a Fleet Ballistic Missile submarine. I earned my dolphins (qualified in submarines) in Nov '68 and did 5 deterrent patrols as a member of the "Blue" crew. I was granted an "early out" in June '70 to start school, so I spent 2 years in the reserves. '70-'72 worked as Asst Credit Mgr for a consumer finance company, a job I hated... and because I hated it, I decided it was time to change jobs... and go back to school (again). I went to school part-time and worked full time for most of 1972 through 1980. Never did get a degree, but that's not why I went. I always believed that the knowledge and experience was more important than the sheepskin. Probably sounds like a cop-out, but it's the truth. I worked in Information Technology for Nationwide Insurance for 36 years, 3 months, and 28 days. The first 30 years were FUN! I really loved my job. But the ...Expand for more