I began my amateur radio hobby in 1978 as KA4KXE in Warner Robins, Georgia and upgraded to Technician not long afterward. I was in the Air Force at the time and in 1981 was reassigned to Hahn AB Germany. With the German call DA2WG and SSB priviliges on 80 & 10 meters, it didn't take long until I was hooked on HF. I returned to the United States in 1984 and since there was no way to test overseas at the time, I was still a Technician class.  I upgraded to General class in late 84 then to Advanced in 1985 or 1986 and changed my callsign to KM4MW. After some encouragement from a fellow ham, I passed the Extra exam in 2000. I retired from the military in 1990 and began a new career in law enforcement with the Sheriff's Office in Sumter, SC. I worked in patrol division for just over 11 years until back problems and then surgery forced me out of uniform division. I moved to the criminal investigations division in 2002 and spent the next 3 1/2 years in plain clothes. Burnout and family members health in Mississippi convinced me to retire from law enforcement and move back near family where I grew up. I work SSB now and then and but rather work cw and RTTY mostly on 80 and 40 meters. I took on Saturday night net control on MSPN on 3862 khz in May, 2007 and am enjoying that. Check into the net if you can. I was off of the HF bands for almost ten years but I still enjoy CW and I am working on learning it again. (If I get to work you on CW--Please be patient, Speedy Gonzales I am not) Hi Hi. In January of 2009 and after almost two years of dilema, I applied for a vanity call sign.  I got my second choice and acquired WJ5D which will probably be my last.  My wife and I have two daughters and seven grandchildren. I work at a Motorola service center as a bench repair technician, something I have long wanted to do. We do repair service for Motorola,Kenwood, Yaesu and Icom commerical radios. If you hear me on, please call.  WJ5D/73