Massapequa resident Christopher Pascale recently received a promotion from the Marine Corps. A Marine with the rank of sergeant and a veteran of the Iraq War, he updated The Massapequan Observer on his new round of duties.

"I have recently moved from Bravo Co. to H&S Co. (still in 8th Engineer Support Battalion) where I am serving as the battalion's safety manager," he said. "I am the duty expert assisting staff NCOs and officers as I inspect their companies. There's a lot to know and a lot to do, but I was instructed well on how to take over the position from the sergeant who held the billet before, and have several Marines who are above and beyond what their duties require of them to assist me where I may fall short.

"It's a far cry from the missions I was involved with in Iraq, but not unwelcome," Pascale continued. "This, as a sergeant in my office told me, is what the concept of the total Marine is all about. We are as much experts on the battlefield as we are off, and everyone eventually has their time off.

"My duties include inspecting the sections of every company to include their work areas, tools, equipment, and weapons to ensure that they are working in a healthful environment, and investigate accidents that occur on and off duty from a broken wrist playing football to events that may occur during live fire and demolition exercises," Pascale concluded.

The author of a novel, Manson, Pascale added that he is still writing. He has completed the first draft of a novel entitled Mission 10, which as he describes it, was initially reflective of events during the Korean War, but ended up as a tribute to the work and style of Kurt Vonnegut.

"Before the end of the year I am going to blitz literary agents as I did when I came home from Iraq," he said.