Day 25
So, let’s see. There’s really not much to talk about today. It’s April 1st and we still don’t have a permanent place to live. Living in the Fest Tent is starting to wear on some folks. Or maybe more accurately, Fest Tent living is a contributing factor that is causing some folks to struggle with adjusting to life out here. Tempers have flared a couple of times in the past two days.
I’ve managed to settle into a fairly comfortable routine. I enjoy my job and the people I work with. The people I work with will change starting tomorrow as the Comms division goes to four watch sections while Surface/Sub-surface continues in three sections. Four sections will give the comms folks more time off. I wish the S/S guys could go to four sections as well so that I could continue to work with the same group of guys. This is probably pretty confusing for those of you who have never been in the Navy.
I’ve been contemplating my military career after OIF. I find the thought of switching to the Army some what uncomfortable. I really like the Navy. I’m very proud of the Navy uniform. More importantly, the Navy mobilizes its reserve components for much short periods than the Army does. We will likely be out here for seven months or so. The majority of Army units mobilize for one year or more. I feel like seven months is a long time to be away from my family. I’m not sure I want to sign up for longer stints.
The Army Civil Affairs operations are something that I suspect I would really enjoy. That might make a one year deployment go by very quickly. At least for me. I also discovered that the 351st Civil Affairs Command has a subordinate command in Hawaii. That seems to imply that my two week active duty stints could be done in Hawaii. That would be cool. First step is to finish what I’m doing out here, get home and talk to the folks at 351st Civil Affairs. Hey Mel, can you help me out with that? 🙂
Aloha