William VanVeKoven:  

Move to Las Cruces: I was a very poor student while in the Las Cruces Public school system; because of that fact, I was very self conscious, shy, and quiet. Why was I such a poor student in Las Cruces? Stupid? No. My family moved from Elk Grove, California (I was an average student in Elk Grove, i.e. 50/50 B's/C's because I never bothered to study) to Las Cruces, one month after 8th grade began. Elk Grove's school system was a full year behind Las Cruces' School system. I never caught up. Move to Lawton, OK; joining the US Navy; Vietnam; discharge from Navy; back to Las Cruces; back to Lawton: During my second Semester Junior year at LCHS my Dad moved us to Lawton, OK. My GPA rose from 1.8 in Las Cruces to 3.5 in Lawton, but I hated Lawton. When I had enough of Lawton, an Army town, I quit school at 17, and joined the Navy. Immediately after Boot camp and after my 18th birthday, I was shipped to Vietnam; Recon Attack Sqd 6, for 11 months. I passed my GED, was Honorably discharged from the Navy at 21 years of age; returned to Las Cruces, started college & began applying for jobs with the Federal Government. Although qualified at the GS-7 level, I couldn't find a job higher than a GS-2, guess where? Lawton, Oklahoma. Lawton, OK; back to Las Cruces; career development: I worked at Fort Sill and attended Cameron University at night in Lawton until I managed to obtain a promotion & transfer to WSMR. While working at WSMR I attended NMSU at night. I was hired into a Management Intern Program while at WSMR. After graduating from the Intern program, I worked as an Equipment Management Specialist, WSMR; Supply Management Officer, Red River Army Depot, Texas; Logistics Management Officer, fielding Electronic communications equipment, weapons systems & developing training plans for V Corps, 3rd Support Command in Frankfurt & Wiesbaden Germany; I researched, wrote, and published Equipment Mgmt, Equipment disposal, and Supply Mgmt, Plans, Policy, Procedures & Regs as a Logistics Management Officer, Corps of Engineers wide, working from COE HQ, Washington DC; I was promoted to Supply Management Division Chief, Harry Diamond Labs, Adelphi, MD; Quality Assurance Officer, McAlester Army Ammunition Plant; I retired as Director of Logistics from McAlester Army Ammunition Plant, McAlester, OK as a GM-13 where I supervised 125 employees, 9 Subordinate supervisors, managed my Directorate's Budget, as well as Installation wide Equipment upgrade, replacement and disposal Budget; Maintenance Ops; Rail Ops; Transportion Ops; Supply Ops; Warehouse Ops; Equipment Utilization Management. Had I stayed one more year I would have been promoted to GM-14, but I had had enough of Civil Service. I rose from a GS-2 Supply Clerk at 23 years of age to a GM-13 Director of Logistics at 33 years of age. After accumulating enough time in Civil Service, I retired. Not bad for a "D" average flunky student according to the Las Cruces School system. Bragging? Yes, I'm bragging. I worked very hard to earn my success. I moved to locations and accepted jobs that most people refused to apply for because they were afraid to move away from "home". Vietnam wasn't a safe palce to be, obviously; however, I didnt expect to be a target as a Civilian while working in Europe. As I was walking to the Army PX, on a Saturday in Frankfurt, GE, I walked into a Car Bomb an Arab enemy set off at the PX Gas Station. I received cuts on my face, glass in my hair and clothing. A few weeks later, the same group killed a family of five as they exited the Autobahn onto an off ramp entering Rhein-Main Air Base. Reagan Bombed Libya ending the attacks on Americans in Germany. After retirement; fulfilling a promise: I promised my parents I would obtain at least a ...Expand for more