Sniper Alley

NEWS STORY: Helmetless Boardless Dad Helping Son Fined by OPD Cop, Found Guilty

This news article only appears to be the workings of "one crazy cop" to those who do not know Officer Gary Truscott. For those of us who have ever crossed paths with him this is nothing out of the ordinary.

Camp Horno. I arrive at 1st Marine Regiment, which appeared to be a rest stop between Las Pulgas and School of Infantry, a ghost town. It was early 2000. I had just re-enlisted 'cause wasn't shit going on in Orangeburg, and I was trying to get back to someone. Okinawa was not available so I selected California. The horror stories coming out of Lejuene were enough for me to stay away from there. Too fat to fit into my Alpha's, I came to the unit in civvies and had to check in in cammies. Yes, I know, it was a sign of wonderful things 'a comin' in the future.


As with arriving to any new location the vets tend to school the rookies on the "rules of engaments", the "laws of the land" and so forth. The Postal Exchange, or PX was located behind the 1st Marine Regiment CP (Command Post) and in front of the armory. The Regimental Sergeant Major's office sat on the second floor of the CP and overlooked the PX parking lot. The Regimental Sergeant Major (abbreviated SgtMaj) at this time was SgtMaj Gary Truscott. SgtMaj Truscott was HARD. His name struck fear into the hearts and minds of enlisted and officers alike. From his perch on the second floor SgtMaj Truscott would scan the parking lot, looking for Marines and sailors in violation of anything and then shout down to them to make the appropriate correction. This corridor between the PX and the CP became know as "Sniper Alley". If you parked your POV (car) there you would look to see if his gaze was upon you prior to exiting your vehicle. I remember the SgtMaj's white Lexus parked out front of the Regiment CP, like it was his own house! If you were on foot... then God rest your soul if you had something out of place. There would be no place to run or hide, and you'd be stuck there in the middle of a parking lot yelling "aye, sir!", "yes sir!", "no sir!'. Sadly enough, it would not be something out of the ordinary, and others would seize on the opportunity to make their escapes. If singled out in a group, that Marine would become the "sacrifice", drawing fire from the SgtMaj allowing the others to make it to the safety of the PX. Those Marines would then look on with a level of helplessness similar to that of Joker, Cowboy, and Animal Mother as they watched Doc Jay and Eightball receive potshots from that ill-fated sniper.

1st Marine Regiment CP. To the far left you can make out the word "EXCHANGE" on the PX . "Sniper Alley" is the parking lot between these two buildings. SgtMaj Truscott would sometimes have his car parked in front like so.

My tenure as Color Sergeant of 1st Marine Regiment began as bearer of the Marine Corps Colors. That flag was HEAVY. I was glad to move up to carrying the National Ensign once the previous Color Sergeant PCS'd outta there. In charge, lighter colors, center of attention...nice. One day during practice for one of many ceremonies (retirement, change of command, etc.) SgtMaj says to the his staff, "Why is the Color Sergeant and corporal? The faces of these people, my superiors, was priceless. "Do you have your MCI's done?" was a common question up until that second day in June/July when I was begrudgingly promoted to Sergeant in the Company Gunny's office devoid any ceremony or public recognition. As I type this it dawns on me it would have been no different had they tossed me the chevrons and spit on my boots. Me being naive and oblivious was just happy to move up to E-5 and get my own room in the Sgt Barracks.

I believe that every SgtMaj has this story, or at least is waiting for the day this happens: The SgtMaj was outside of the HQ engaged in some conversation with some other enlisted Marines. Just then a 2nd lieutenant comes up on his way to the HQ. The Marines all pop to attention and render salutes, the SgtMaj carries on. The 2nd lieutenant says "Don't I get a salute SgtMaj?" To which the SgtMaj replies "How about you climb these rockers and find your salute." I'm sure that there are some majors, colonels, and generals who have encountered this and now understand and respect the importance of saltiness over rank.

True Story: A non-NCO greets the SgtMaj by saying "Sergeant Major", as you would greet someone by just saying their name. A few seconds pass and the SgtMaj says "WHAT!" (As if there were more to follow the greeting).

True Story: While practicing for a retirement ceremony there was this loud Gunnery Sergeant that I'm pretty sure if the guy was not "in the closet" he must have been raised in a household of strong black women, because that's the image he portrayed. He was a former D.I., yet there was enough "mincing" to his walk to make you wonder. Although, understand, this did not impact on his ability to be or lead Marines, he was still a hard-charger. This is not about him though, it is about him screaming and yelling at everyone during this ceremony practice. I had a tendancy, until I learned otherwise, to slightly bob my head with the music to get the beat to call my commands in time with the music. The music starts, my head nods ever so slightly with the music, the GySgt starts screaming "STOP MOVING YOUR HEAD!" It seemed as though he had some type of vendetta against the color guard. SgtMaj Truscott shows up to oversee how things are going and the GySgt is going off on us again. The SgtMaj then suddenly shouts "HEY! YOU DON'T YELL AT MY COLOR GUARD, THAT'S MY JOB!" We may have been saved from the wrath of the GySgt, but it made us look like the kid at school whose "mommy" and to come and save them from the playground bully.

Now when the SgtMaj did yell at the color guard it hardly phased us. This was the SgtMaj, and he yelled at everyone. It got to the point sometimes that the SgtMaj yelling at you became somewhat comical. That was until he came up into your face. He looked like a SemperToons character or one of those big guys in the old Bugs Bunny cartoons that was fed up with Bugs' hijinks. At that point there was no more humor, only fear. That T-Rex staring into the Jurassic Park suv window type of fear. When we would screw up on something the SgtMaj would say this line that I will always remember as one of the funniest quote ever: "The color guard's on ecstacy!"

When SgtMaj Truscott retired, SgtMaj Leal took over. There's a funny story in there involving SgtMaj Leal and the color guard that I'm not going to share until I'm on my deathbed, that way I'm sure there won't be any repercussions. Just thinking about it gets me chuckling. Word got around that SgtMaj Truscott would be joining the police force in Oceanside. We Marines new that we would  never be safe from his watchful eye. I started hearing about sightings of "Officer" Truscott. I even caught one of those investigative journalism crime shows about some guy that killed someone, and since the guy was old friends with SgtMaj Truscott he called him up to ask for help/advice on what to do. They played the actual recording on the show. The killer should have known that he was screwed, cause the SgtMaj was not about to cover for his ass.

Now this, Officer Truscott writing a ticket to a father who was not wearing a helmet while holding the hand of his son, whom was the one learning how to skate in a skate park. I understand how the rule for wearing helmets in the skate park can be taken as being applicable for anyone in the park, but come on! Does this apply towards the city workers that have to come in and do litter abatement, or any other entity that happens across this hallowed ground? When taken to court, the judge sided with Officer Truscott (strikes fear, remember?), but suspended the ticket, which was by the way $275. This was the judges way of saying to the violator "You're right, but there's now way in HELL I'm telling him that he's wrong!"

Officer Gary Truscott, Oceanside Police Department

Ooh Rah Sergeant Major  Truscott! Semper Fi!