Yea, so I have been trying to get around to writing to Shipmate for the longest, but after I saw last month's issue with Dan Griffin, Scott Long, and Skip Crockett's face in the pages, I was left with no choice.  Right now I am in the middle of the Indonesian seas conducting Humanitarian Aid operations for the victims of last December's Tsunami.  Come February I will have been stationed in Japan for one year (time flies), with one year left before my shore tour.  Me and James ‘Buck' Baynard ('01) were making things happen out here for a minute until he was deployed to Iraq.  As of late, I just came back from 10 days of Christmas leave in the United States, most of which were spent in Miami for New Years and Dave Zane and Cari (now Pearlmutter's) wedding ('02).  Considering I had already missed Kyle Barker's wedding in August due to being underway, I didn't want to miss another chance to get back to the states and see all the fellas.  And just about everyone was down in the MIA, and on their worst behavior as usual.  Reggie Skipworth ('01), Quintrell McCreary, Nate Jennings, Michawn Yuvienco, Tajuddin Sabree, Jason Harris, and Sherman Williams were all down on South Beach makin' big things happen.  I have to say, it was a classic.  The wedding was done up to almost Diddy's standards.  From hoppin' out of the stretch Escalade, to going to sleep at 11:30 the next day; the seven days I spent in Miami was something every man needs to do at least one time in his life (the body may not be able to go that hard more than once).  Anyway, Reggie was up to his old tricks, Yuvi was a monster as usual, Sherman was THAT GUY, and Q and Nate are now OFFICIALLY brothers.  OH CANADA!!!!!!  Exactly.  Daaaah well, luckily I was there to keep everyone out of trouble and doing the right thing, you know somebody had to be the responsible one.  Anyway, it was good to see all the fellas and do some things, so you already know we gotta do it again.  As always NTF will hold it down for 2005, and make big things happen.  Keep up the entries in Shipmate; cause sometimes when a man is underway that's the only entertainment...exaclty.    E