Gunnery Sergeant GRUMPY'S CONVOY for Veterans 2022 #Echo7Golf - MAY 31 Authored by: Dale Haukeli
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Gunnery Sergeant GRUMPY’S
CONVOY for Veterans 2022
#Echo7Golf
MAY 31
Authored by: Dale Haukeli
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Convoy for a Purpose
By Mr. and Mrs. Screaming Hawk
Thus far, our planning consists of: Build cool
vehicles, drive them around a lot, do fun Veteran
stuff in the cool vehicles, camp back and forth across
the USA a couple times in said cool vehicles while
playing the Marine Corps Hymn at the top of their
Hi-Fi’s volume nob, have some cool events, make
lots of good noise along the route, help Veterans we
find along the way, then auc�on away said cool
vehicles. Wash, rinse, and repeat. “KISS” Keep It
Simple Stup-d, so even a Marine can color in-
between the lines.
There is no “I” in Team or Stupid the way I spell it. I am usually straight to the point,
just my Marine Corps OCD planning thing. I will try to not let the level of audience
distract me. In the interest of your time, I will try to be as brief as possible whilst
hoping to keep your a�en�on, with a bit of luck, all the way through to our Bios. Just
in case, we will place those last. For now, we will leave the introduc�ons at: My wife’s
name is Karen Nicol-Haukeli MM, BSN, RN, Marine Corps Brat, and now Marine Corps
Wife Ret. Aka: DOC Hawk, and I am MSgt Dale J Haukeli USMC Ret. For the sake of
argument and time, let’s all assume we have the MOTIVE, means, & OPPORTUNITY to
execute the plan below and make a difference, of which, this is but our final career life
goals, second only to….not going bankrupt in the process.
Thank you for your time, and I hope you find as much inspiration in these words as the
tears we have found in their creation.
Situation:
Our Na�on has several generations of Combat Veterans both young and old. This has
created a crisis of its own here at home, years later and for decades to come. Here’s
how, a�er WWI and WWII, Veterans and families had strong and engaged Veteran
social clubs and events where they could and WOULD gather. Sadly, the younger
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generations now o�en do not frequent the local
Veterans’ social organiza�ons. It’s easy to find a
number of the younger Veteran, look in any home
town obituary any given day, we are finding them
too late. This is the only �me you will hear me
plead. Help me find them sooner. I have lost too
many of mine, home and abroad. Camaraderie and
source of Pride are the best medicine for a soul, everyone’s.
Q: Why are we doing this you ask? Great question, so let us start with the “Why”.
A: Dale: For me the reason is personal, I spent a life�me opera�ng/maintaining
military vehicles and equipment, and training Marines to do it in some of the worst
environments imaginable. Hone their skills to ensure their equipment could always
bring them home, even when home was just a Forward Opera�ng Base in some
temporary corner of the world. Many of my friends and family that I thought returned,
actually have not. I prepared them to go and survive but not how to come home and
survive. Frankly I was lost for a li�le myself upon retirement, my boys went back and I
went home. I have convoyed my Marines from their families to Fiddler’s Green and
beyond in every vehicle crea�on imaginable.
I am now back from my inner emotion
convoy to find peace, at least that’s the
vocabulary I have to describe it now. I have
always found the best way that I can serve
those who have sacrificed, I will not stop
now. This project is what my life�me of
Sergeant Fernando Padilla-Ramirez various training and skills have made me
02/06/77 – (MIA 03/28/03) 04/10/03 Al ready to undertake. “Here am I; send me”
Nasiriyah Iraq
Isaiah 6:8
A: Karen: “Why”, this is one of the questions that I love most. “Why” stimulates
thoughts, opinions and ideas, it’s like Miracle Grow for the mind. My “why” is simply,
I’m a nurse by heart and trade. I have a strong drive to always take care of things,
especially when they are broken. My father did six tours in Vietnam and re�red with
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10 years to the Air Force and 10 years to the Marine Corps.
As kids we would have to poke him with a stick to wake him
up to avoid the swinging arms as he flew out of bed. We
learned when to stay clear and when we could sit with him
and read a book. My father struggled and the stigma back
then was much worse than it is today but at least….he had
the VFW for socializing. Push forward a few decades and I
am now married to a Marine who was deploying. Some of
the wives left behind are new
to military life and their struggles are real. Now add
combat stress, PTSD, TBIs and a slew of other items to the
mix with no defined outlet, nowhere to really share
without fear. Worse yet, what do you say to the new
widow? It’s not a secret when you live in base housing
and there is no privacy.
I have been on both sides, first as a daughter to a post-
Vietnam Veteran, then as a wife to post-Middle East
deployments. Then again as a DoD RN Care Coordinator
for Marines and Navy families as well as case managing the Wounded Warrior
Program in Hawaii. I have seen the effects on both sides and done classes on how to
live with the post-theater Veteran. Dale and I have lost friends while they were
deployed and at home as they struggle with life, there is a war going on and people
back home are doing whatever they do every day. I want to see a convoy rolling down
a highway boldly displaying you are not alone.
Mission:
We are building a series of high-end custom,
military inspired vehicles, to find and inspire
those who returned home physically but,
le� a piece of them behind, their childhood
innocence, the memory they can will not
allow themselves, or just their inner peace
in some sad corner of the world.
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The star of the vehicles will be: Gunnery
Sergeant Grumpy (Echo7Golf) which
will be a highly customized 1969
Chevrolet, C/50, Crew cab, long bed.
The hand-built body will be married to
hopefully a 2022 Chevrolet 3500 Duramax Diesel, Allison trans, 4x4 chassis (if funding
is available, if not this 2006 chassis will do nicely as well). The styling will be as subtle
as a Marine ever could be but unmistakably, he will be wearing his Full-Service Green
Alpha’s, standing ever ready for inspection.
Here are a few photos of the
prototype I built in when I
first retired from the Marine
Corps in 2011. This one was a
compila�on of Grandmas
1970 chevy and a wrecking
yard salvage 2003 assembled
in a 3-car garage.
It now will stop even those car guys with the most
decerning eye for details.
Echo7Golf is also the name of our project itself which is far bigger than the vehicles
and convoy alone. This part of the project is also expected to be handed off as a self-
sustainable and revenue producing organization whose profits are used to further fund
the future needs of our veterans’ organiza�ons. Revenue will be produced by
providing high quality, paid advertising to national and local Veteran owned
businesses, and free advertising to na�onal and local charity organizations. Other
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sources of future revenues for the project will derive from patents, copy rights,
licensures and branded Veteran and automobilia merchandise.
The build and subsequent 22 month, 22,222 (or is it 222,222+?) Mile United States
Convoy, in and of itself a 3 year+, literal “Boots on the Ground”, Nationwide,
Grassroots marketing campaign that can offer free adver�sing for its sister veteran
chari�es and organizations utilizing marketing dollars from high quality Veteran
owned businesses. The convoy will present at 22 major Automo�ve Industry events
and 222 Local Veteran social organiza�on/charity stops, TBD# National Park camping
stops. What else would you like to see Echo7Golf’s Convoy do?
At the end of the tour Echo7Golf (the vehicle) will be auc�oned off with 100%
proceeds to a designated Veteran charity.
Execu�on:
I am currently in communica�ons with Clover Park Technical College (CPTC) in
Lakewood, WA to garner their interest which thus far has been flat. Both of us as
Alumni of CPTC, would like nothing more than to be a spark for a Veteran or family
member who has interest in pursuing a voca�on. The point is to ignite interest and
purpose as many �mes as possible.
I am building this vehicle either way, I would love for it to involve the school that
fueled my knowledge and skills. Most of the skills I already have, however I also have a
GI Bill and further training can only make me better. With CPTC or another vocational
school as a partner, Echo7Golf only becomes that much more. Be it with other
Veterans in vocational training, or at home in my personal facility, GySgt Grumpy will
come to life.
GySgt Grump’s truck’s first in-person appearance: Retired Marine Corps Birthday Ball,
loca�on Philadelphia, PA November, 10th, 2022.
Echo7Golf’s 22-month Convoy Departure date November, 11th, Time and Destination
TBD.
If sufficient funding becomes available in �me, there will be one charity auc�on
vehicle prior to Echo7Golf.
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Cpl Mayhem (Echo4Mike). Cpl Mayhem is a
1982 Chevrolet c/10 pickup. Nothing but a high
speed, low drag, full of little tricks, character.
Echo4Mike, is a previous customer’s twice
failed Chevrolet C/10 customization project.
Lots of
money, lots
of very nice
parts, and
zero plan for how to fit them together. After almost 2
years of literal Blood, Sweat, and Tears, Cpl Mayhem
is quietly but quickly dressing himself for Final
Inspection. Graduation Day, Screaming Hawks
proverbial Basic Training for wayward automo�ve
projects. You can bet his uniform will be beyond inspec�on ready and all the bling
required to seriously draw a crowd. Cpl Mayhem could be audience ready in 90 days or
less.
Just like the veterans we seek; these too are but fine machinery le� broken and
disassembled with no plan FORWARD! Yep, this is exactly where GySgt Grumpy was
made to fit in. “I’ve had all I can take, and I can’t take it’s no more!” Hold Grumpy’s
Root beer we got some epic level, Semper Fidelis Veteran shit to do, Coast to Coast, to
Coast.
Admin/Logis�cs:
We are but now building a network as we also attempt to establish the level of trust
required of the network. A network of the right partners with the right resources for
this right mission. To be blunt, if you are s�ll reading this, and if our words have
moved you at all, then who we seek just maybe You. Be you an Institution, a Charity, a
Partner, a Benefactor, or a Veteran yourself Echo7Golf is Coming to you all, for, “THEY
ALL”.
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Command and Signal:
Command Cast and Crew:
1. Convoy Commander: GySgt Grumpy Call Sign: Echo7Golf
2. Assist Convoy Commander: GySgt Batman Call Sign: Mercedes
3. Battalion Aid Sta�on: Commander Hawk Call Sign: “DOC” Hawk
4. Illustrator (not official): GySgt Wolf Call Sign: Sempertoons
5. You?
6. What’s your Super Power?
7. Who is your organiza�on/business’s Convoy Platoon Character?
8. Do we have a Coffee Dude Yet? This Folgers shit for the morning walks just ain’t
gunna cut it much longer or GySgt Grumpy may actually get Grumpier.
9.
Signal:
1. Battalion Tac #1: LinkedIn
2. Battalion Tac #2: Facebook
3. Battalion Headquarters: POC’s
a. GySgt Grumpy: 808-351-7658 DHaukeli@ScreamingHawks.com
b. “DOC” Hawk: 808-469-0423 KHaukeli@ScreamingHawks.com
4. Convoy Tac: Screaming Hawks Website someday soon. Maybe…..we hope.
5. No Communica�ons Plan: Yep Living it. Old and crusty, learning new electronic
and social media shit every day though.
Did you hear him pull up outside, Just Now! I now ask you What could Echo7Golf
become? Beyond my expira�on date, I hope.
If you need further proof of our resolve in this endeavor. Look up but these few names
below. If you seek references on our ability to perform, how many stars would you
prefer their rank have or the number of education designators behind their names and
we can get you a list.
Sergeant Fernando Padilla-Ramirez 02/06/77 – (MIA 03/28/03) 04/10/03 Al Nasiriyah
Iraq
Corporal Casey A. Owens 1981 – 10/15/14
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Corporal Frank Shelton Strahorn 07/05/85 – 06/19/2020
Staff Sergeant Eric Ochoa 04/18/86 – 11/16/20
Corporal Jared Bultinck 08/29/85 – ?? beyond my expiration date if I have anything to
say about it. 224-523-9374
Echo7Golf is staging out front! I’m Driving, Karen called Shotgun long ago. How are you
S�ll Serving?
Our Bio’s, resumes, creden�als, and accomplishments:
Karen and I both started off our careers at CPTC way
back when. Her in an LPN course in 1997 which was
the ground work for her RN then BSN and
subsequently her Master’s degrees in Business and
Organizational Management, and for me, Autobody
Technician in 1986 during my senior year of high
school at Woodrow Wilson in Tacoma, WA. Directly
from school I was hired by Pacific Motor Company in Tacoma, WA. (Bob McMameny
owner). Subsequently I a�ended CPTC Automo�ve Body & Fender apprenticeship
completing the requirements in May 1990.
Early 1991, I enlisted in the United States Marine Corps and departing for recruit
training April 1991. I served 20+ years in the Motor Transport occupa�onal field and
re�red as a Master Sergeant E-8. I served 3 deployments to Iraq and many to other
loca�ons where the culmina�on of my Prior and Military Professional Educa�on
enabled me to improvise, adapt, and overcome any obstacle to any mission. I have
many great stories how, but let’s save those for later.
Upon retiring from The Marine Corps, I was hired by Bonneville Power Administra�on
where I served as the Fleet Maintenance Manager. Over my 8 years in this posi�on we
consolidated, and modernized the Fleet and Maintenance facilities across 4 states,
Fleet management system, parts ordering, mechanic training, and organiza�onal
structure. The transforma�on across the board was amazing. But with this challenge
met it was again �me to retire and move on, which leads us too now.
Bottom line up front: I am early re�red with nothing better to do but con�nue my
service to others “Serve however my skills best allow”. This �me it’s doing what I love,
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Hot Rods, Convoys, and Veterans. So why not build one for my military family with the
help of the school that initially fueled my career and maybe I can help create sparks for
future generations.
Karen’s bio: Karen: About me! I have been in the military system from day one,
house to home if you will. I have a lifetime and multigenerational experience with
both Veteran and Ac�ve-Duty resources. I’m always thinking of ways to collaborate
and improve opportuni�es. I have par�cipated in collec�ve mee�ngs with Montel
Williams and Gary Sinise through organizations planning charity events benefi�ng both
Veterans and their families in the past and I am working on renewing those
relationships. My father was a Vietnam Veteran who retired in 1989. My family is full
of service members who have been Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine and even French
Foreign Legion. Needless to say, I love being involved with ac�vi�es for Veterans.
Professionally, I have worked in the civilian areas with Veterans, service members and
their families in CONUS/OCONUS. I worked for Navy Medicine Pearl Harbor managing
the Pacific Rim coordina�ng care with Army and Navy facili�es na�onwide to include
transi�oning members to the VA and the Wounded Warrior Program and while
working directly with the Medical Board in Quantico, VA. I have a very diverse
professional level of knowledge that relates to Veterans and spans >25 years. My
educa�on includes but is not limited to a Bachelor’s degree in Nursing, BSN and a
Master’s Degree in Business & Organizational Management as well as being cer�fied
as an Organ Donor Counselor, in U�lization Management and I am a licensed agent in
WA for Life and Disability. I also have a current Na�onal Provider Iden�fica�on (NPI)
number registered with Medicare and Federal Services.
Once Echo7Golf’s convoy is moving, I plan to take an ac�ve role in supporting service
members, Veterans and families through multiple educational ac�vities and with some
luck, our supporting partners.
A�er reading this you now know that Dale is the crea�ve one, I’m just a bit more
pragmatic.
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