A New Outlook

Okay… so I haven’t really had the time to post anything here… but a great deal has happened since I have been here at Surface Force IDC School.

This past advancement cycle, I managed to somehow pick up HM1 on the test, as well as complete the didactic portion of school with a cumulative GPA good enough that had I not advanced, I still would have been advanced upon graduation.

I received orders back to my Operational Home… the FDNF out in Yokosuka, Japan. I will be taking over as the Senior Medical Department Representative aboard the USS STETHEM (DDG 63).

Since making E-6, my whole view on the Navy as a whole has changed quite a bit. I find myself trying to find answers to gripes instead of joining in on the “bitch and complain” parade. Instead of controversial, I am aiming for mature and responsible solutions to whatever issues may plague me or sailors around me. Especially since I am headed to a ship again. And as SMDR aboard a ship, I will be in a sense a Department Head… (On small ships, medical is a department and not a division.) Although still a blue shirt in uniform, I need to step up my game and do the job that both of my last IDCs have trained me for.

I am excited, I am anxious, and I am also terrified. But I’ve been told, that if you don’t fear the job that I have been training for, you are more likely to kill someone or make a serious mistake… so a certain amount of fear is both healthy and necessary.

Graduation can’t come soon enough… I just can’t wait to get back to being a real sailor again. It is true when they say that you never really realize what you have until it’s gone… because this past year on shore has been more tedious and trying than any day out to sea. More to come… bear with me… this blog may end up being active again real soon.

Really busy...

I didn't fall off of the face of the earth... I plan on posting soon... just give me a little time and bear with me... I have a butt-ton to get off of my chest...

My time here is almost through...

 

In a mere 47 days I will depart my current command.  I am at the point now where I am starting to reflect on where I have been, and where I am going.  I have made thousands of decisions while here in the FDNF.  Some good, some bad, but all have made me into the person I am today.  One part of me regrets my previous posts, while another does not.  It’s good for me to see who I once was, and who I am today.  And while my previous posts may have struck a chord with a few, I do regret the way that they appeared and were carried out.  There were things that should have been brought up before airing out in public, and for that I truly apologize to the offended parties.  While I have tried to keep my posts as generic as possible without direct mention of names, it is only common knowledge aboard my ship as to who it is or am referring to. 

 

Those posts were wrong of me; and again, I apologize.  However, I am currently not retracting them, because as I have stated before, I like to look back at where I was.  (It really helps me see the greener grass on the other side if you will.)  In all retrospect, my command is not bad.  It was the ridiculous restrictions imposed by the FDNF itself, coupled with some of the more stringent rules that my command imposed to cover it’s ass… from a logistical standpoint, it makes sense.  There is a reason why my command has one of the best reputations for not having anyone truly mess up in the Japanese Public, and the stringent rules of yesterday where probably the sole reason.

 

I had a Career Development board a month or so ago, and I was able to take some pretty good advice from it.  It really didn’t revolve around my Naval Career as most CDBs do… (it was mentioned that I am on the right track and have my head on relatively straight.)  It was more focused on having a successful family life while continuing my life as a sailor.  And the knowledge imparted on me was from a Sailor whose career is coming to it’s twilight.  But this blog site was brought up in the process, and while I was told before just how it affected some people before, it didn’t really sink in until I had my CDB.  For one of the people to mention it in a semi-public forum only solidified the way that my typed words resonated leaving a great deal of disappointment and confusion.  Again, I apologize. 

 

I apologize for not being mature enough to bring my issues up when I should have, vice blurting them out here in cyberspace… if I could go back and do it all over, I would have done it the right way vice the wrong… but every decision made creates the person I have become today, and in some aspects, I feel myself to be a better person as a result of the roads I have taken.

 

Trust me when I say that this blog is far from complete… it’s just late, and I am ready for some sleep.  Until next time…

 

A Sign of Good Faith

It’s been awhile. But things have developed a bit since my initial hiatus that made a blog entry almost necessary. Times are finally starting to change a bit. My ship is in the midst of a Port Call, and liberty restrictions have finally relaxed a bit. The upper chain of command is giving sailors a sign of good faith by allowing looser liberty rules. Rules that actually make sense and are easy to abide by.

For instance, Sailors who are classified as low risk (i.e. those with no prior behavioral issues or incidents) who are in possession of a blue card and up (E-1 through E-6) Currently do not have to file an Individual Liberty Plan, or require a liberty buddy if they are not planning on consuming alcohol. So if I wanted to go out and go shopping for gifts for my family, I don’t have to drag a liberty buddy along as long as I don’t consume alcohol. This will make for a more exciting port call in my opinion.

I have always had the problem of conflicting desires while out on liberty. While I would have one thing planned, my liberty buddy or buddies would want to do something completely different or off the reservation. These relaxed liberty rules allow for such differences in opinions as long as the sailors are keeping within the set parameters.

This is a double-edged sword however, as Murphy’s Law no doubt applies… there are always one or two sailors out there who will inevitably end up ruining it for everyone else… I am hoping that this new granted freedom empowers my peers to help police our misguided shipmates while out on liberty in order to avoid any such occurrences or potential incidents which would end our new freedoms. I know that I personally will be keeping a more vigilant eye out, and interceding when necessary to facilitate a liberty-free port call.

I applaud the powers that be for a rational decision made, and thank them for the opportunity to act in the capacity of an adult who defends the freedoms of the United States of America. I sincerely hope that this is the first of many more positive blogs to come. Till next time…

Disenchantment

Do you remember how it felt when you found out that Santa Claus didn’t exist? I do. I was four years old, and my Aunt was tired of hearing me talk about how excited I was for Christmas; and the question of how Santa gets into my house since we didn’t have a chimney. Imagine being four years old… innocent and excited about everything, only to find that you have been lied to by your parents and elders. There’s no more motivation to be good year round… there’s no more mystery… just a “Thanks mom and dad for the Red-Rider BB Gun…”

Welcome to my world now. I came to my command as an innocent and content sailor, willing to do whatever it took to earn the trust and respect of those above me. In hopes that one day, I would climb the cooperate ladder of success and one day be an Independent Duty Corpsman. In 7 months when I leave, I will be the empty shell of a human being, miserable and discontent. Completely disenchanted with everything I once held dear. At least I will be leaving… unfortunately, I won’t be as motivated to press on. Thank you United States Ship… never mind…

When I was a boot camp sailor, struggling through Hospital Corpsman A School, I was told by one of my Chiefs that I would never amount to anything… at my first command, my first LPO and Chief told me the same thing, they also predicted that I would never make it past E-3. I started in the Navy as an E-1. Four Years later, I would be an E-5. For a Hospital Corpsman, this is way ahead of the advancement power curve. Not only did I advance (on my own accord) but I also achieved my Enlisted Surface Warfare Specialist Insignia as well as some advanced watch qualifications prior to achieving E-5. Oh yeah… and I forgot to mention that I was also selected as my command’s Junior Sailor of the Year for 2006 (and in doing so, I beat the person that had beaten me for Command Advancement; so while I wasn’t meritoriously advanced to E-5, it turns out that I was a better sailor and role model than the guy who beat me for the rank.) .

The above, plus a few other factors that I can’t get into have led us into the present. I am taking a hiatus, and will not be blogging much anymore. Apparently, my words have struck a chord with the Powers that Be, and in the best interest of those who around me, I will temporarily cease and desist. Or, maybe not… I haven’t fully decided. I think that I will play this one by ear. It could have been worse though… I could have written the Inspector General rather than publish a blog… But blogs are more fun, and less of a burden on the Powers that be. So, for now… so long. Thanks for reading my blog thus far… maybe I will be able to provide you with more cyber entertainment… or maybe this is just goodbye.