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Thank you for visiting this section of the site to dig deeper in trying to figure out what makes me tick. My name is Darek Fischer, I am Marine Corps veteran having served as an infantry assault-man from October of 1998 to October of 2002 with 1st Battalion, 4th Marines, Weapons Company, Dragons Platoon and 1st Battalion, 4th Marines, Charlie Company, Weapons Platoon.

 

While with Dragons 1/4, my platoon earned the "trailer platoon" mission where we detached from regular infantry training and linked up with Marine Force Recon and the US Navy SEALS for an entire training cycle. We trained how to do VBSS missions, G.O. Plat. raids, advanced demolitions, advanced CQB, Tactical Recovery of Aircraft Personnel, clandestine urban assaults, Zodiac training, and urban abseiling. While with Charlie 1/4, we participated in Operation Enduring Freedom traveling to Singapore, the North Arabian Sea, the Gulf of Oman, the coast of Somalia, Kenya, the Gulf of Aden, East Timor, the Straits of Hormuz, Bahrain, Qatar, Oman, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Thailand, the Straights of Malaka, Australia and Hong Kong. The entire time I served, I had the honor to work with the greatest men in the world. Even as a creative writer, I have a difficult time putting into words the love I have for my Marine brothers and it is why I dedicated nine years of my life trying to encompass the culture of our time together in print. Semper Fi brothers.

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The unique spelling of my first name is an anagram of "Drake" being named after a distant uncle of mine Sir Francis Drake. The same from the popular video game series "Uncharted."

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I grew up in Lenexa, Kansas and graduated from Shawnee Mission South high school in 1997. It is the same high school as actors David Dastmalchian, Katherine Boecher, and Rob Riggle (a fellow Marine) as well as NFL Quarterback Rodney Peete. My brother and sister attended Shawnee Mission West with actors Jason Sudeikis and Paul Rudd. (Pretty sure there is something in the water because this is just plain ridiculous!) That's about all I have tucked away in my bag of shameless name dropping.

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