I had very few problems. I was always down at the grass roots with the enlisted people. I wanted to lead them. I wanted them to know that I cared for… - Jay R. Vargas

A lot of these young officers I had around me, if a kid had a dirty rifle, they would give the kid a special punishment for it. My philosophy was, if anybody had a dirty rifle, it wasn't the kid's fault. It was his damn leaders, the squad leader or his platoon sergeant or his gunny. That's who I'd blame. And if they ever marched into my office with that kind of charge, I'd say, 'Well, whose fault is this?' The room would go silent. Then I'd say, 'You know whose damn fault this is? It comes all the way up to me.'

But I enjoyed commands. There were three things I wanted to do in the Corps, and I'm one of those that always liked to set objectives: One was to be able to lead Marines in peacetime and combat. And I proved that I could do that. Another was I wanted to be called a colonel of Marines, a full colonel. And the third one was I always wanted to lead a regiment of Marines, five thousand Marines. And I got to accomplish all that.

I had thirty great years in the Marine Corps. I accomplished my goals. If they would have let me stay till a hundred years old, I would have stayed. I loved it that much. I was basically very lucky to command everything from a platoon to a company to a regiment of five thousand Marines. I was always in command, and I loved leading and setting an example and taking care of Marines. It was in my blood.