wake me up when september ends
i had a serious decision that was made a few minutes ago, and i'm of mixed feelings on it.
one of my good friends on the ship, wes simon (the fire control officer) was picked up to go to iraq for a year, working with the convoys. he's one of about 19 JOs navy wide that fill the requirements - second tour division officer, engineering watch officer qualified, and gone through the FCO/TrainO pipeline (two AEGIS schools in dahlgren, VA). he's scared for a few reasons - the work he's doing i think involves dealing with IEDs, he's just bought a house in jax, and he's been married for maybe a year and a half (of which, he's spent maybe 3 months with her). when he told me about it, i said that if they'd waive the EOOW requirement, i'd go in his stead, but i'd have to seek a little guidance and mentorship. which, in matters like these, means talking to my dad.
he reaction was that it would screw my career up even more than it is now. a year and a half in flight school, not getting my EOOW and barely getting my SWO pin, and then 7 months of temporary duty before these orders started has really put me behind the power curve. as it is, i'll have to rotate about 7 months early off the FARRAGUT if i want to have any chance at a master's degree in monterey (i'm currently pencilled in for the systems engineering and analysis degree starting march 07).
y'all know me, and know i'm one who will almost always take the blow to help out a friend. which is why i'm of mixed feelings about this. i feel bad for him, 'cause of all the shit that he's gonna go through (he's afraid that he'll end up divorced when this is all over) and because he's being pulled out of a situation that he wants to be in - he WANTS to be on this ship. on the other hand, i'm kind of relieved that i'm not the one going, for the same reasons, and because with the chance that this does fuck up my career, i'd be out of the navy in just over 7 years (if you don't get picked up for lieutenant commander, O-4, you are booted at the 12 year point).
i want to help him, but i can't. and even if i could, i'm on the fence on whether or not this would be a good thing to do. i've told him that if he needs anything, he can count on me to help him out. but it seems like so little to what i could do if i had my EOOW letter.
like i said, mixed feelings.
one of my good friends on the ship, wes simon (the fire control officer) was picked up to go to iraq for a year, working with the convoys. he's one of about 19 JOs navy wide that fill the requirements - second tour division officer, engineering watch officer qualified, and gone through the FCO/TrainO pipeline (two AEGIS schools in dahlgren, VA). he's scared for a few reasons - the work he's doing i think involves dealing with IEDs, he's just bought a house in jax, and he's been married for maybe a year and a half (of which, he's spent maybe 3 months with her). when he told me about it, i said that if they'd waive the EOOW requirement, i'd go in his stead, but i'd have to seek a little guidance and mentorship. which, in matters like these, means talking to my dad.
he reaction was that it would screw my career up even more than it is now. a year and a half in flight school, not getting my EOOW and barely getting my SWO pin, and then 7 months of temporary duty before these orders started has really put me behind the power curve. as it is, i'll have to rotate about 7 months early off the FARRAGUT if i want to have any chance at a master's degree in monterey (i'm currently pencilled in for the systems engineering and analysis degree starting march 07).
y'all know me, and know i'm one who will almost always take the blow to help out a friend. which is why i'm of mixed feelings about this. i feel bad for him, 'cause of all the shit that he's gonna go through (he's afraid that he'll end up divorced when this is all over) and because he's being pulled out of a situation that he wants to be in - he WANTS to be on this ship. on the other hand, i'm kind of relieved that i'm not the one going, for the same reasons, and because with the chance that this does fuck up my career, i'd be out of the navy in just over 7 years (if you don't get picked up for lieutenant commander, O-4, you are booted at the 12 year point).
i want to help him, but i can't. and even if i could, i'm on the fence on whether or not this would be a good thing to do. i've told him that if he needs anything, he can count on me to help him out. but it seems like so little to what i could do if i had my EOOW letter.
like i said, mixed feelings.