I'm sure there's a story there...best told over a beer sometime.
Not a long story.
Port visit in the USVI, me and my buddy were drunk and slowly stumbling in the general direction we thought the liberty boats were. A young Marine instantly recognized me from having to memorize my picture and stood outside the bar being entertained by our lack of coordination or coherent movement. He spotted a group of 4 locals waiting in the shadows for us to stumble into a darker, less public area to roll us. The Marine started shouting "Security Alert" and Marines seemed to materialize from everywhere. He pointed to me and a group of Marines instantly surround my buddy and I in a protective barrier. He pointed to the locals and another group charged them so they ran away.
Throughout my tour on TR as NWSO, Marines kept showing up at the most opportune times during my liberty drunkenness. I found out later the MARDET 1st Sergeant told the Marines that during liberty they needed to not only look out for each other but also for the MARDET CO, MARDET XO and the NWSO. "Think of them like the bombs" he said, "they are to be protected".
And if it wasn't the Marines watching over me, it was the Weps Dept. AOs (I was also the Asst. Weps Officer). AOs are another group that are very loyal to and protective of their officers - who except for me were all AO LDOs.
And since Weps ran the Beach Guard, I never received the same treatment the other drunks did.... Instead of being clam shelled I was always escorted back to the ship and tucked into my rank.
Of course both the Marines and AOs drank a whole shitload of beer I paid for.
