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This reminds of an officer I used to work for while on active duty in the Marines.

I was a Sergeant stationed at a Marine Corps Recruiting Station as an Operations Clerk/MEPS Liaison. The Operations Officer was a young First Lieutenant, about 6 years my junior (I was 30 at that time). Part of his job was to interview prospective recruits who required waivers to enter the military. There were different levels of waivers - RS CO, BUMED, District, Regional, CMC - for many different reasons. It was the OpsO's job to talk to the young man or woman and then write an appeal to the appropriate command to secure the waiver for enlistment.

My job, among many other things, was to transcribe his written notes into the official waiver package that would be forwarded up the chain of command for approval. What I received from him was the most horrendous example of grammatical and spelling errors I have ever seen to this day. Practically everything you can think of as far as misspelled words are concerned, he had done. The old "to, too, two" problem was a big one. I swear if you had to read his notes you would honestly think a first grader had written it and not a college-educated Marine Corps officer (no offense to first graders).

It was hard for me to do my job sometimes. Either I'd be laughing my a$$ off at his writing, or I'd be crying my eyes out wondering how in the hell did this guy ever get to become an officer in the Marine Corps. Of course, I would not type his work word for word. Heaven forbid I'd send that guy's original work up the chain of command. I could just imagine the Colonel's look on his face if I did. So I would correct every single misspelling, every grammar error, and in some cases, rewrite the entire waiver. I couldn't hang the guy out to dry.

Anyway, I left the Corps that next year when my enlistment expired. About two years later, I happened to be in town and dropped by to visit my relief and some old friends. I found out that the 1stLt had been promoted to Captain after my departure, and then soon after that he left the Corps himself to accept an appointment to the FBI Academy.

I kid you not. That guy is now an FBI agent.

I often wonder if he has an underling now that types up his reports.

Actually, your experience is not all that uncommon. I worked for many years as a temp. I am an administrative secretary with the education and training of the old school business world. In addition to basic skills, I was educated in office procedure, business etiquette, and ethics. There were no computer classes in my section of the business school, but I did learn two kinds of shorthand, which proved to be a very big bonus later on, as many of my temporary bosses loved to dictate letters. It was a big cachet for them to call the “gal” in to take a letter. I could always get a better assignment than my younger counterparts because of the old fashioned education I had received when I was their age.

There are many business people who are highly qualified to do their jobs, but don’t have even the most elementary grasp of Proper English. I always gave this a pass. If the people I worked for wanted to write a perfect letter instead of being a CEO, they probably would have gone to into the secretarial field themselves. In addition, they wouldn’t need to pay me for my time and expertise. I enjoyed my assignments for the most part, since I never felt tied down to an endless obligation and I could always simply walk out if it was a nightmare situation (more common than you know!). I had many wonderful assignments and worked with some of the nicest people, many of whom became close friends. The worst job I ever had, by far, was a three week temp for a retired USMC Colonel. I like to think that he was the reincarnation of Napoleon Bonaparte. I broke my own rule and stayed in the job to the completion date, even though I knew the score after the first meeting. Napoleon was a master of psychological torture and the job became nothing more than a test of wills. I won because I did not submit to his (in his own mind) incredible sexual aura, and because I was one step ahead in every aspect of the business end on the job. I was offered the position permanently at the completion and to my mind, that was the Gold Medal. If I hadn’t seen that job through, I would have never realized my own worth as a vital part of any business organization. Napoleon was good, but I was great! Perhaps you can look at your own experience as proof that you have the kind of skills that can make anyone look good. I don’t think your boss needs to be an English expert to be an FBI agent, but I do think he will always need a good support system. He probably remembers you very well, too.

My son is USMC and back home now after completing his third tour in Iraq. Mr. One Prep School Four Universities No Degree should have joined up right after high school, but his silly parents forced him into something he never wanted for himself, but he did have many fine party experiences and spring break festivities that have helped him in his career as a Marine! I cringe when I look at the spelling and grammatical errors in his letters and cards, but he is very good at what he does in the Corps and that is the best result.