‘Dirty Jobs’ ... with a depot Devil Dog Chevron correspondent takes an exclusive journey into the dark and dirty unknown

24 Aug 2007 | Lance Cpl. Charlie Chavez Marine Corps Recruiting Command

It has been a particularly hot summer here at the depot, and while many of us complain about getting sweaty and sticky behind our desks, there are a lot of workers here who work outside and really get down and dirty.

Like Mike Rowe on his television program “Dirty Jobs,” I’m here to tell you about these people and what they do. My first tale is about the depot’s communications department. I tagged along with James R. Squires, a technician with the Communications Support Division. He needed to move telephone and computer cables under a depot building.

The work didn’t sound too difficult and I thought it would be relatively easy. I was wrong.

To prepare we both pulled on coveralls, helmets, masks and gloves. We approached the building heading toward a small opening underneath which we would use as an entry. Once inside, the limited headroom forced us to slowly crawl through dirt to reach our objective.

Pipes, rocks and other debris littered the black, cramped space slowing our progress even more. Once at the general area of the problem, Squires radioed his co-worker in the building above who banged on the floor so we could pinpoint where we needed to be.

The method seemed primitive with as many technological advances as there are today, but it worked really well. When we were there, his partner fed a leash down the hole and Squires wrapped the cables around it with electrical tape, and his partner pulled them up.

We faced puddles of water, mud, spiders and their webs, and other critters stirring in the dark because of our intrusion.

"The best part about my job is not knowing whether or not I’m going to get dirty that particular day,"said Squires. "I usually end up doing something different almost every day and that makes it fun."

Looking around under the more than 50 year-old building, I realized how many times people like Squires have been there fixing problems, re-routing cables and doing general maintenance. The work they do is typically unnoticed until problems arise.

"The depot couldn’t run without us,"said Cletis O. Henderson, supervisor. "All the computers, phones and public announcements function with our help."

A sense of accomplishment and different scenery seems to be what keeps most of these technicians happy at work. After taking on their work for a day, I can say that it is a welcomed break from a desk job and they certainly do get dirty.


Marine Corps Recruiting Command