Five years ago today - 11 Sep 2003 - I put on my utilities for the last time, went down to the boat, had my checkout interview with the captain, and went on terminal leave.
I was off the boat by 0930 - something I could never have done on Jax, where the skipper refused to give checkout interviews before 1630. (I had to wait until about 1650 - the bull nuke was transferring the same day, so he got the 1630 slot.)
I miss the other two-thirds of my pay, having 30 days leave a year, and the travel. And there are occasional days at work when those six-month deployments don't really seem all that bad. But it's nice being home with my family every night....
2 comments:
When you get that bit of nostalgia going, remember the Fast Cruises, Field days, Duty days with no end, Tag outs, Squadron "Help", on and on.. Ad Nausum. Plus the fact that you and I worked for People like the CO mentioned in your post who don't have the time of the day for a member of his Crew until AFTER working hours to take the time, hear the Deckplate leaders opinion on the inner working of his ship and thank him for his service.
Being a Bubble head I will admit was the most challenging, under rewarding and a Job that had a Love/Hate ratio like no other.
Thanks for Serving our nation
Nereus
I have these moments occasionally too. I'll have a student come through the school house and talking about hanging Jesus action figures in radio, going to fantastic restaurants around the world, or watching the sun set on a foreign ocean.....
And then I remember all the things that the above poster mentioned, and I just smile wistfully.
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