David Cranfield:  

andle blood collections for the Charleston area to include mobile operations and 3 "Fixed Sites" along with ancillary staff working in a 4th site to ensure resources are available. It is an interesting job with a very diverse group of staff. With luck I will retire from here in another 10 years and travel around the country with Carol seeing all the things we didnt see during our cross country drives with the kids while I was in the Navy. Military I grew up in San Diego and also went to boot camp there. It was surprisingly easy. By today's standards, a dream. We could smoke, had pop machines, snack machines, got to play "boom boxes" during down time while washing out white-hats etc, and also got to play frisby and touch football. Only in California apparently, but it was 1983 and a different time. After boot camp went to Corps school in San Diego and like most things for me was easy. I finished 3rd in my class, like in HS. Once that was almost over they told me I could either go to FMSS with the rest of my class, or go to a "C" school. My choices were Lab and X-ray. I didnt want to die of cancer and also didnt think dealing with patients with broken bones would be fun so went for lab school. I was told it would also decrease my chances of being sent with the Marines and ships. That was essentially true but they left out that it also would decrease my chances of ever making rank. I actually loved being a lab tech, got to be in a position of saving lives from the side lines and not having to actually deal with patients, but after 12 years decided if I was going to advance would have to do something different, so went with bad advice and went to IDC school. Even though I had no actual clinic experience at all, I made it through. Surprisingly being sent to FMSS at age 35 as a Plt Cmdr, and loved it. I then went to Camp LeJeune and again loved it. Had I known earlier what a great group of people Marines were I would have opted for FMSS out of Corps School or joined the Marines vs. Navy to start with. Due to circumstances though I was never deployed and thus left my only "Sea" billet without leaving the continental US. Next stop Marine Boot Camp to be the IDC at a BAS. I again loved it. Dealing with patients who were really sick and needed your assistance and had simple illnesses for the most part. Best 4 years of my career. Unfortunately that put me at 20 years in the Navy and at 43 didnt want to stay in longer so I retired and moved to Charleston to work for Red Cross Blood Services, essentially doing what I did at the Naval Hospital in Charleston in the early 90's.