Betty Arenson Connection
My friend, Betty, tipped me off to her grandson’s friend, Saugus resident and fellow Marine Shane Alphie, who proudly served in Afghanistan.

After receiving Shane’s discharge document (DD214) and photographs via e-mail, we recently met for breakfast and conducted his interview.

As our conversation ensued, I found Shane to be an intelligent and charming fellow. Though a considerable generational gap exists between us, regarding military service and veteran issues, we are very much like-minded.

World Traveler
Shane J. Alphie was born September 1, 1982 in Jerla, India. His parents traveled the world, but lived in Jerla one year following Shane’s birth before moving to other countries over the next nine years. Shane’s parents’ home country is India, where they currently reside.

Shane J. Alphie’s USMC bootcamp portrait.

Educated in a number of foreign schools, Shane became skilled at adapting and handling diverse cultures, which proved quite educational.

After graduating in December 2000 from Santa Cruz International High School, a private school in Santa Cruz, Bolivia, his family made their way to Lincoln, Nebraska. Along the way, Shane became fluent in Spanish.

Shane attended the University of Nebraska for two and a half years, but he grew weary of college life, yearning for military service.

Since a number of family members had served, but none in the Marine Corps, that is exactly where Shane headed. He desired something different; thus he found infantry duty appealing – go figure.

Infantry Grunt to Mortar Man
On April 20, 2009, Shane enlisted in the United States Marine Corps and immediately took boot camp in San Diego and then the School of Infantry at Camp Pendleton.

Upon completion, he received his prized Military Occupation Specialty (MOS) code 0311 Infantryman and was promptly assigned to the USMC’s legendary 1^st Marine Division, 2^nd Battalion.

Shane J. Alphie’s 1st Marine Division patch.

Shane’s hard work and dedication landed him right where he wanted. But alas, they were recruiting men for the USMC’s Silent Drill Team.

After selecting several mortar men, for backfilling Shane’s MOS was abruptly changed to 0341 Mortar Man, sending him to the 1st Marine Division’s weapon company.

Now a mortar man and serving in a six-man team, Shane learned everything possible about firing 81 MM mortars. Shane found his new assignment highly irritating, but clearly he had no choice.

Base Camp May
As a rookie marine in his new unit, Shane was treated like the lowest form of scum – that’s how the Marines roll: get tough or get lost.

In November 2010, Shane and his new unit deployed to Helmand Province, Afghanistan for seven months, replacing the 3^rd Battalion, 5^th Marine Division, whereby seeing Marines missing arms and legs was more than disconcerting.

Daniel Schimweg, Andrew Lowery, Shane Alphie & Chris Trefry in Helmand Province.

Shane’s six-man team set up and operated out of a small temporary base camp near the Pakistan border, and it proved strenuous and hazardous. It was bare bones and desolate.

Their primary mission was clearing IED’s (Improvised Explosive Devices) and winning the hearts and minds of the local villagers.

Shane said, “It was a very strange environment. What seemed perfectly normal to those Afghans I found completely bizarre. Poppy field farming and men routinely carrying AK47’s about their daily lives was rather unnerving.”

Shane J. Alphie’s Presidential Unit Citation.

One of their prime objectives was disarming Afghans, which proved difficult. At Camp May, Shane and his fellow Marines blew up over 200 IEDs, which earned his company the Presidential Unit Citation.

They were fortunate that not one Marine was ever injured; however Shane personally witnessed children tripping buried IEDs and being blown to smithereens, which he cannot ever forget.

Honorable Discharge
In June 2011, Shane departed Afghanistan and was back to Camp Pendleton for eight months before his second deployment for five months aboard a U.S. Navy ship, having stops in Hawaii, Philippines, etc.

Shane J. Alphie checking an IED.

Shane said, “It was like a military cruise and I hated it.”

Finally, Shane’s service concluded and he received his honorable discharge at Camp Pendleton on April 19, 2013.

Next, Shane promptly landed a job with Stumbaugh Construction Company, where he diligently advanced during the next year to become a construction project manager.

Meanwhile, he and several Marine buddies applied with the Los Angeles Police Department, but upon considering wages, Shane made a financial decision and stayed at Stumbaugh.

In April 2014, he landed a lucrative position with PCL Construction Company as project estimator, working on billion-dollar projects such as Banc of California Stadium and a new LAX airline terminal.

Three years later, Shane joined MAS Construction Company as a construction manager, where he currently performs feasibility studies of potential projects such as urban development.

L.A. Coliseum’s $200 million renovation project, one of Shane’s construction projects.

American Dream Pursuit
Since January 2019, Shane has enjoyed teaching night classes in California Building Codes and Construction Management at College of the Canyons.

Shane possesses three degrees in marketing and construction, and expects to earn his Master’s by 2022. For a long time, Shane lived as a minimalist without even owning a bed, but he had a nice television and a microwave oven he used for heating frozen meals. In 2017 he purchased his home in Saugus.

Meanwhile, Shane’s luck meeting the right woman wasn’t going well, but after joining an online dating service, he met Danica Adams, who lived in Orange County. They soon met for lunch on D-Day 2015.

Shane said, “That lunch date morphed into the longest date I ever had. I was blown away with her beauty and personality, and our chemistry was perfectly matched. Danica is the nicest person I’ve ever known.”

Shane & Danica’s wedding.

On D-Day 2017, Shane dropped to his knee, fumbling with her engagement ring box, and asked for her hand in marriage.

Before finishing his sentence, Danica abruptly said yes; thus they tied the knot on December 20, 2017 at San Francisco’s City Hall, which resembles a majestic palace.

In closing, I am impressed with Shane’s strong sense of patriotism and that he recognizes there are veterans with healthcare needs that are not always well-served by the Veterans Administration.

I believe Shane agrees with my assessment that all veterans should be mindful of the VA’s shortcomings when considering benefit requests.

Thank you Shane, for your honorable service and your commitment to our patriotic community.

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