I just read an email from a senior enlisted in my reserve unit. I'll say this first, if you are ex-active duty, or are about to become so, DO NOT file a copy of your DD-214 with your local county courthouse. For years, PSD has suggested doing so to servicemembers seperating from active duty. This makes it easy to get a certified copy later if you ever lose your original. Well, here is a clue. Don't lose your original. The story is scary, and goes like this. A retired E-9 was contacted by a large financial corporation. The reason they contacted him is because someone was trying to cash a large check written to a person with a "foreign sounding" name. It was almost $10,000, and upon further investigation, they determined that some address mismatches warranted stopping payment and contacting this person. He reported the details to law enforcement and they started an investigation. Eventually they arrested a lawyer and confiscated his laptop. On it were the names and SSN's of several thousand retired sevice members. Further research indicated that it would be very easy to get a replacement MILITARY ID CARD using nothing more than certified copy of your DD-214, obtainable at the county courthouse as a matter of public record. Guess what terrorists could do with a military ID card? Ok, don't. I am pretty sure that some things will change, especially at PSD when they are advising retiring and seperating military members. Identity theft sucks. It really, really sucks when the target is someone that spent between 3 and 30 years defending America.

Haven't had a chance to write anything here in some time. Thought I was going to be unemployed. I was wrong. Thought I was going to be deployed in support of the war on Terrorism, quite possibly wrong on that one too. Right now I am working mostly from home, going in to the client site when I need to. Isn't the internet a wonderful thing? Don't answer that. Some days I think the whole thing should be boarded up and shut down, but most days it is just what I do and I don't think about it. I have so many different things to do on the internet. Some of them I get paid to do, some I don't. Guess which ones I have been spending most of my time on? Here is a clue, I don't get paid to write blogs. Unless you want to send me some cash. If you do, you are nuts, but you can always email me here. dixbert@dixbert.com
I crack myself up sometimes.
My oldest just got home from school and shouted down to my office, "Hey Dad, I am going to go play with Brad, catch you later!"
He's 5.
Wow.