Question and Answers for Col. Bill Symolon US Marine Corps.Ret

Bill, You were selected, as a Captain to command a company of Royal Marines, {United Kingdon) after serving 2 tours in Viet Nam.as a Platoon Leader and Company Commander. Tell us about that experience.

Hey Bobby,  That was a definite highlight of my career.  The Royal Marines and U.S. Marines pick one ground officer every 18 months to "exchange."   The Brit goes to 2ndMar Div in Camp Lejeune and the Yank goes to the R.M Commando Training Course in UK.  After completing that training he goes to Arctic Warfare training in Northern Norway following which he is transferred to a regular Commando Unit.  I was lucky enough to get that duty and ended up commanding a company of Brits in 41 Commando Group in Malta.  We conducted training exercies in Canada, the Med, and the Far East (Singapore) at their Jungle Warfare Training Center.  It was an incredible journey and I had a ball.  My wife was along for the ride and she was with me in the UK and Malta where we lived in a small apt. one block from the Med seashore, which we could see from our 2nd floor balcony.  For two newly weds it was an extended honeymoon...except for the deployments, but they were worth it.  The Royal Marines are a great outfit.  Highly professional, physically fit, and hard core to the bone.  While there I learned to snow ski, scuba dive, and free fall parachute.   It was one of the best tours of my time as a Marine.                                                   Semper Fi,                                                                                                                                               Billy

As an artillerty man, trained  at Ft. Sill I am interested in the following question. The last time we were together the conversation turned to "adjusting fire". I remember you saying "you got quite good at it". Please relay your thought process and acuracy,

Since Bill was a "grunt" and I was an Artilleryman, I assume you're asking me.  There wasn't much of a thought process.  I was able to read maps well and had a good sense of distances.  I usually only took 2 adjustments to be on target, no more than 3.  This was carried over to my carrier in Logistics and Supply Chain, despite my degree in English and American Lit.  Balancing forecast, production and inventory along with supply and distribution timing seemed to come naturally.  It wasn't just a mathmatical exercise, I could actually see it in my mind before I did any calculations.  It was more an avocation than a vocation to me.  Loved it, didn't really want to retire.                                                                  Clark