Mr. Polite

Blog readers meet Mr. Polite. Mr. Polite is a hulking African-American male who served in the United States Army for over 20 years. He rose to the rank of First Sergeant earning him the nickname of "top". This is what Soldiers in the Army call individuals who make it to this rank in the Army. Coincidentally, First Sergeant Conklin who is our Company's First Sergeant is affectionately called "top" by all of the Sailors and the members of the cadre. Mr. Polite's demeanor reflects his namesake. But as you can see from his picture you would not want to see Mr. Polite in an impolite mood because he can put a hurt on you!

Mr. Polite grew up on St. Helena Island in South Carolina which is an Island in South Carolina located directly East of Beaufort. His mother still lives on Joe Polite road. Small world as of course my parents live in Beaufort, South Carolina.

Mr. Polite is charged with training the Sailors how to use an M-16 and an M-9 pistol. His communication skills are excellent so much so that I suggested to him that he could be a disk jockey or a sports announcer. But Mr. Polite likes what he does though, and he is good at his job. Those other occupations hold no interest to Mr. Polite.

Of course when I first showed up to Camp McCrady, I had never shot an M-16 before, and it showed. Mr. Polite took me under his wing, though, and showed me the basics of marksmanship. When I first attempted to hit a target 200 yard down range, I could not do it. Mr. Polite trained me though, and by the end of the training I was killing targets which was blowing my hair back.