thedrifter
02-26-03, 06:06 AM
02/26/2003
This sergeant major carries a big stick
By PETER WILLIAMS
FREEDOM ENC
CAMP FOX, Kuwait — There are three sergeants major in the Marine Corps with the last name of Hawkins, but only one carries the big stick.
Sgt. Maj. Richard Hawkins and his mallet named “Rufus” are easy to spot.
He’s a mountain of a man, ramrod straight with huge shoulders and chest, and he looks how textbook Marines are supposed to appear.
And then there’s the mallet.
“I’ve had Rufus since 1994. I picked up Rufus down in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, when we were down there for Operation Sea Signal. It was part of the Air Force’s kit for their expandable air-conditioned tents and it was on the side of the road, and I decided if it was still there at (2 p.m.), it was meant to be mine Â… it was and it is.
Rufus has a 3-foot-long handle and a wooden head just smaller than a coffee can. Hawkins says it is designed to make an impression.
”It’s got a Kodak (picture) of the chaplain on one side, that way if somebody needs to see the chaplain, they don’t have to wait in line and it’s got an Eagle, Globe and Anchor on the other side in case the Marine Corps needs to make a lasting impression on somebody. I can take care of that, too.
Hawkins was born in Charleston, W.Va., and raised in Cincinnati, Ohio. He moved in October to Swansboro, where his wife and children remain while he does his duty in Kuwait.
“I will have been in the Marine Corps 25 years in July,” he said. “I’ve done six deployments with the infantry, so this is kind of a unique experience for me. It’s not bad. I think we all have a case of the Kuwait Crud. I think it’s a combination of the sand, the smallpox shots and the eight-hour lag traveling over here. You get kind of exhausted. Once you establish a routine, everything will be fine.”
Sempers,
Roger
This sergeant major carries a big stick
By PETER WILLIAMS
FREEDOM ENC
CAMP FOX, Kuwait — There are three sergeants major in the Marine Corps with the last name of Hawkins, but only one carries the big stick.
Sgt. Maj. Richard Hawkins and his mallet named “Rufus” are easy to spot.
He’s a mountain of a man, ramrod straight with huge shoulders and chest, and he looks how textbook Marines are supposed to appear.
And then there’s the mallet.
“I’ve had Rufus since 1994. I picked up Rufus down in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, when we were down there for Operation Sea Signal. It was part of the Air Force’s kit for their expandable air-conditioned tents and it was on the side of the road, and I decided if it was still there at (2 p.m.), it was meant to be mine Â… it was and it is.
Rufus has a 3-foot-long handle and a wooden head just smaller than a coffee can. Hawkins says it is designed to make an impression.
”It’s got a Kodak (picture) of the chaplain on one side, that way if somebody needs to see the chaplain, they don’t have to wait in line and it’s got an Eagle, Globe and Anchor on the other side in case the Marine Corps needs to make a lasting impression on somebody. I can take care of that, too.
Hawkins was born in Charleston, W.Va., and raised in Cincinnati, Ohio. He moved in October to Swansboro, where his wife and children remain while he does his duty in Kuwait.
“I will have been in the Marine Corps 25 years in July,” he said. “I’ve done six deployments with the infantry, so this is kind of a unique experience for me. It’s not bad. I think we all have a case of the Kuwait Crud. I think it’s a combination of the sand, the smallpox shots and the eight-hour lag traveling over here. You get kind of exhausted. Once you establish a routine, everything will be fine.”
Sempers,
Roger