Upon graduation from boot
camp at MCRD San Diego and Basic Infantry Training at Camp Pendleton,
he was ordered to Naval Weather Schools at NAS Lakehurst N.J. and then
to the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing at El Toro California.
During 1968, he was temporarily assigned to an I & I
Staff in
Jackson
Mississippi and participated in
casualty calls and funeral details. After graduating from
the Navy’s
Weather
Forecaster
School in 1971, he spent a
year working with choppers at MCAS (H)
Tustin
before being ordered to West Pac in 1972. He was
ordered to the 1ST MAW MAG 15 in Nam Phong
“Rose Garden”
Thailand in support of
operations in
Vietnam,
Laos, and
Cambodia. He returned to
the States in 1973 briefly before going back to West Pac for a tour on
Okinawa 1974-1975.
Upon return, he was ordered to Instructor duty
at NAS Lakehurst and a second tour of Instructor duty at Chanute Air
Force Base Illinois. After teaching basic and advanced students, all
services, civilians, as well as foreign students,
he was given the designation as
Master
Instructor by the Air Force.
In 1979, he returned to the 1ST MAW at MCAS
Iwakuni
Japan,
participating in operations including Team Spirit in
Korea. After completing the
tour in
Japan, he
returned to the 3RD MAW at MCAS El
Toro. While with the 3RD MAW, he participated in exercises
at MCB Twentynine Palms as well as MAG 70
Rapid Deployment Force.
The last few years prior to retirement he served as the NCOIC of Weather
Service at MCAS El Toro and was retired as a Master Sgt after completing
over 20 years on January 1, 1987.
In February of 1991, he was
called back to active duty and ordered to MCAS Cherry Point North
Carolina in support of operations during Desert Storm.
He returned to retirement and home to
California in May of 1991.
Sgt Major
Baum has twice been awarded the Navy
and Marine Corps Achievement Medal, the Navy Unit Commendation, Marine
Corps Good Conduct Medal , National Defense
Service Medal, Armed Forces Expeditionary Service Medal, Vietnam Service
Medal, Navy Sea Service Deployment Ribbon, Vietnam Civil Actions Unit
Citation, and the
Republic of
Vietnam Campaign Medal.
Military schools include the Navy AG A and AG B Schools, Advanced
Meteorology, Weather Satellite, and Weather Radar Schools, Instructor
Schools (Navy & Air Force), and NCO and Staff NCO Leadership Schools.
After attending 6 Colleges at various duty stations, Sgt Major Baum
completed studies at
Chapman
College in
Orange,
CA.
Sgt Major
Baum is the senior enlisted and serves
as the National Command Sergeant Major for
the United States Volunteers/Joint Services Command.
