From: "Tom Wallis" <tjwallis
yahoo.com>
I'm 41, married (smartest thing I _ever_ did), Foreign Service Officer currently mobilized Army Reservist, with no kids and one adopted Jamaican rescue puppy named Samantha (but answers, when she feels like it, to "Sammie").
I was born in Landstuhl, Germany, when my father was stationed abroad with the 3rd ACR. I enlisted following a catastrophic freshman year at Virginia Tech (Go Hokies!) as a Combat Engineer (12B) and an Atomic Demolitions Specialist (12E: Nuke 'Em 'Til They Glow & Shoot 'Em In The Dark!) and was stationed in Germany 1982-83; my little bittie kaserne was at Herborn-Seelbach, not that far from Marburg, Wetzlar & Giessen.
Presently working at Camp Babylon, Iraq, I've been in theatre since late March, in Iraq since late May, was mobilized with 3-1/2 days notice last January. I was at the 11 month mark in a two year posting to U.S. Embassy Kingston, Jamaica, as vice consul. Was about to start a two month rotation as staff assistant to the ambassador (The Hon. Sue Cobb) after my two month stint in American Citizen Services (I handled the late Johnny Cash's passport renewal); I'd already done eight months on the visa line doing Non-Immigrant Visa interviews.
My lovely wife Monica and I are supposed to be posted to U.S. Consulate General Frankfurt if my interminable (extended twice already now) deployment should ever come to an end. We met in a bar.
My interests include reading (SF, thrillers, history), travel, biking, heraldry, Scottish/Celtic and renaissance festivals, and beer.
I found Starship Troopers in my elementary school library (4th? 5th grade?) and have been a sucker for SF ever since. My wife marvels at how many books I have.
I've never really been able to discern anything like a career pattern to my work history, why should you?
